MGM & Hulu Developing Margaret Atwood’s The Testaments

MGM and Hulu are developing The Testaments, Margaret Atwood’s sequel to her best-selling dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale.

The Testaments picks up more than 15 years after the original Handmaid’s Tale novel. It will be published on September 10.

MGM and Hulu are currently in discussions with Handmaid’s showrunner Bruce Miller about how the upcoming novel can become an important extension to the award-winning Handmaid’s Tale series.

“Margaret Atwood is a literary icon who continues to delight and challenge readers through her provocative and compelling prose,” said Steve Stark, president of television production at MGM. “She has been an incredible creative partner and resource to MGM throughout the production of Handmaid’s and we look forward to working with her on the story’s exciting next chapter.”

Craig Erwich, senior VP of originals at Hulu, added: “Margaret Atwood is one of the visionary storytellers of her generation. From her award-winning poetry, short stories and novels, Margaret has continually pushed boundaries and broken barriers to bring innovative stories to life.”

This represents the third collaboration between Atwood and MGM Television. In addition to The Handmaid’s Tale, the studio acquired the rights to Atwood’s 2015 novel The Heart Goes Last, which tells the story of a young couple who have been hit by job loss and bankruptcy in the midst of a nationwide economic collapse.