Coming off reprising her starring role in the Gilmore Girls movies for Netflix, Alexis Bledel has signed to recur on the upcoming Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale, from MGM Television and writer Bruce Miller.
The drama series, based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what formerly was part of the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalism regime that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander’s household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world.
Bledel will play Ofglen, Offred’s companion and fellow Handmaid. At first, Ofglen seems like a pious rule-follower, loyal to the oppressive Gilead system, but she turns out to be daring and subversive.
Miller executive produces with Warren Littlefield, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Ilene Chaiken. Reed Morano is directing and executive produce the first three episodes of the 10-episode series, which is shooting Season 1 in Toronto for an April 26 premiere.
Bledel, who played Rory Gilmore in the cult dramedy series Gilmore Girls and its recent reboot, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, also starred in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants feature franchise and did an arc on the AMC drama Mad Men. She is repped by CAA, Industry Entertainment and Jackoway Tyerman.
