Interview: The Cast of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ on Season 5 of the Hit TV Show

The Emmy-winning drama, The Handmaid’s Tale, returns today for a fifth season. This time around ,June faces consequences for killing Commander Waterford while struggling to redefine her identity and purpose. The widowed Serena attempts to raise her profile in Toronto as Gilead’s influence creeps into Canada.

Awards Radar had the opportunity of speaking with the cast of the show, who were eager to discuss the upcoming episodes. O-T Fagbenle talked about his character’s priorities, while Bradley Whitford and Max Minghella spoke about how the show relates to real life. Ann Dowd also tooks us through the process of getting to know her character over the course of five years. Madeline Brewer, Amanda Brugel, Sam Jaeger and executive producer Warren Littlefield all expressed their excitement for the fifth season of the show.

Regarding the relationship between Commander Lawrence and Nick, Max Minghella mentioned: “I think we just have a lot of natural chemistry.”

Speaking about how important it is to tell stories about the values seen in The Handmaid’s Tale, Bradley Whitford said: “It’s important, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough just to tell stories if you want marriage equality. These stories are important, but they must lead to political engagement.”

Madeline Brewer talked about how her character, Janine, has changed over the years: “She’s a completely different woman. I am a completely different woman, I was twenty-four when I started this show. I’m a completely different person(…) You can only meet a character as deeply as you’ve met yourself.”

You can find all of the full interviews with the cast and crew below:

The first two episodes of the fifth season of The Handmaid’s Tale are now available on Hulu, while new episodes will premiere on Tuesdays.