In 2016, Hulu purchased the rights to adapt Margaret Atwood’s best selling dystopian novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, into a drama series. The show became an instant hit, and has since released a total of three seasons with a fourth on the way. It stars Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne, a woman living in an American dystopia that forces women known as “Handmaids” into child-bearing slavery. With a dark but addictive premise and memorable performances from Moss and her brilliant co-stars, it’s one binge that you won’t want to pass up. Here’s how to watch The Handmaid’s Tale online.
Created By: Bruce Miller
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer
Number of Seasons: 3
How to watch The Handmaid’s Tale online in the U.S.
As a Hulu original series, it’s wisest to stream The Handmaid’s Tale straight from the source. Hulu offers a one-month free trial upon signing up for its subscription plan. It gives you access to all three seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale as well as other popular titles. With each season comprised of 10 hourlong episodes, you can safely finish the binge and cancel the subscription within the 30-day window without having to pay any fees. However, if you decide that you want to maintain access to the selections in Hulu’s streaming library once the trial period ends, you can continue the plan for just $6 per month. Alternatively, you can sign up for the ad-free option, which comes out to double the cost (but no pesky commercial breaks) at $12 per month. No matter which monthly subscription plan you choose, both of them include a 30-day free trial with access to the first three seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale, offering the simplest and cheapest avenue to watch the dystopian drama online. Plus, with a Hulu account, you’ll already have streaming access to the upcoming fourth season.
Beyond Hulu, the episodes and seasons are available for individual purchase online. Amazon Prime Video sells seasons 1 and 2 of The Handmaid’s Tale for $25 each or $3 per episode. Season 3, the most recent, is also available for purchase on the service for $35 total or $3 per episode.
Additionally, iTunes sells episodes and seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale online. Although the price-points are identical to Prime Video’s, they do offer a bundled package of all three seasons for just $70. So, if you’re honest with yourself from the get-go by accepting that you’ll inevitably binge the whole series, iTunes’ package deal is definitively more economical than purchasing individual seasons or episodes. In fact, it’ll cost $15 less than purchasing all three seasons separately.
The Handmaid’s Tale has won countless awards and remained critically acclaimed throughout its first three seasons, making Hulu’s decision to order a fourth a no-brainer. The newest installation of the dystopian series is scheduled to drop sometime in 2021. No matter which online route you take to watch The Handmaid’s Tale, it’s imperative that you catch up on every episode before the fourth season premieres.
