Elisabeth Moss as Offred in 'The Handmaid's Tale'
Sophie Giraud/HuluOn The Handmaid’s Tale, survival in Gilead becomes more and more complicated every season, and for Elisabeth Moss, that level of complexity extends behind the screen as well.
Moss is set to make her directorial debut on Handmaid’s Tale in the forthcoming fourth season of the award-winning Hulu drama, based on Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel of the same name. Moss, who stars as June and executive produces, will direct the third episode of season four, which went back into production this week. Season four will premiere in the fall of 2020.
“I am thrilled to be given this opportunity by my partners Bruce [Miller] and Warren [Littlefield] and to have the support of all of our producers and Hulu/MGM,” says Moss. “It means so much to me and I do not take the responsibility lightly. Leading and executive producing this show the past three years has been such a joy and I’ve had the incredible gift of learning so much from the directors we’ve had on this show. I can’t wait to try my hand at working with my collaborators from this new perspective because I am lucky to have the best cast and crew in the world. My only hurdle may be working with the lead actress who I hear can be incredibly demanding. Wish me luck.”
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“I feel lucky that we are in a position, as a series, to give Elisabeth Moss this opportunity to direct,” says showrunner and executive producer Miller. “As an executive producer on the show, she has fostered a supportive environment that allows artists to do their best work. Elisabeth herself is now benefiting from this incredibly generous and ambitious atmosphere she helped create. She is an extraordinary talent, a badass, a tireless worker — I’m certain she will slay her directing debut.”
The Handmaid’s Tale is executive produced by Miller, Littlefield, Moss, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Eric Tuchman, John Weber, Frank Siracusa, Sheila Hockin, Kira Snyder and Yahlin Chang. The series is produced by MGM Television and internationally distributed by MGM.
The series stars Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Madeline Brewer, O-T Fagbenle, Amanda Brugel and Bradley Whitford. It also stars Sam Jaeger as American operative Mark Tuello, who has been upped to series regular for season four.
As for what the fourth season will entail, it will have to answer the big threads left dangling at the end of season three: June’s mission to free dozens of children from Gilead was successful, but at what global cost? Will it spark a war between Gilead and Canada? And what about June herself, last seen nursing a gunshot wound, only still alive by the grace of her fellow handmaids?
“People find [the show] unpredictable,” Miller previously told The Hollywood Reporter about what to expect next. “I don’t try to make it unpredictable. In fact, I try to do the opposite: almost inevitably what you think would happen, is what happens — it’s just not what would happen on television. It’s what would happen in Gilead, to June.”
Follow THR.com/HandmaidsTale for more coverage.
