The Handmaid's Tale : Season 1

  • Network:
  • Series Premiere Date: Apr 26, 2017
The Handmaid's Tale Image
Metascore
97

Universal acclaim - based on 8 Critics What's this?

until day of season premiere
  • Summary: In the totalitarian society of Gilead, a handmaiden enslaved to produce a child for Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski) named Offred (Elisabeth Moss) seeks the daughter taken from her in this drama series based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel.
  • Genre(s): Drama, Science Fiction
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Reviewed by: Jen Chaney
    Apr 13, 2017
    100
    A faithful adaptation of the book that also brings new layers to Atwood’s totalitarian, sexist world of forced surrogate motherhood, this series is meticulously paced, brutal, visually stunning, and so suspenseful from moment to moment that only at the end of each hour will you feel fully at liberty to exhale.
  2. Reviewed by: Daniel D'Addario
    Apr 13, 2017
    100
    As a show, The Handmaid's Tale is as crisply and elegantly made as anything I've seen on TV this year. It manages to bring a dystopian story to life in a way that works as episodic TV, sapping none of the book's power. This is a show that could work anytime and one that will likely be watched and discussed for years to come.
  3. Reviewed by: Todd VanDerWerff
    Apr 13, 2017
    100
    None of this would work without a great performance at its center, and as Offred, Moss is astonishing. ... At every corner, The Handmaid’s Tale brims with invention.
  4. Reviewed by: Dan Fienberg
    Apr 13, 2017
    100
    This is probably the spring's best new show and certainly its most important.
  5. Reviewed by: Kimberly Roots
    Apr 13, 2017
    91
    Moss’ barely-restrained fury over her new lot in life is gorgeous to behold--the other characters are equally compelling. And when we see moments that Offred simply cannot (one book diversion pertaining to Bledel’s handmaid character, Ofglen, comes to mind), that story amplification pays off.
  6. Reviewed by: Erik Adams
    Apr 13, 2017
    91
    [Elisabeth Moss'] take-and the show’s take--on the character is a distinct blend of what Atwood once identified as the main thrust of Canadian literature (survival) and a gumption most closely associated with the country Offred once called America. This can cause some tonal clash in the voice-over--the mission statement that closes episode one feels like it belongs in a different show--but it also gives The Handmaid’s Tale the necessary verve for an ongoing series.
  7. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Apr 13, 2017
    90
    There's a solemn fascination in the details of soulless ritual depicted in the Handmaid's Tale ... A deadlier game of rebellion seems to be brewing, promising thrilling twists to come in this already terrific Tale. [17-30 Apr 2017, p.18]

See all 8 Critic Reviews

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