Hulu's 'The Handmaid's Tale' Adds Joseph Fiennes, Will Be B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Picture it: Its 2017, and youre settling down for a quiet evening at home with a bottle of red. All you need is the perfect miniseries to immerse yourself in, something with topical themes, gripping narratives, and top-of-the-line acting.Fortunately, the streaming service Hulu will have just the thing: A spanking-new, 10-episode adaptation of Margaret Atwoods seminal dystopian novelThe Handmaids Tale.Today, Hulu announced that the upcoming show will feature Joseph Fiennes (you may remember him as freaking William Shakespeare) as Commander Fred Waterford.Fiennes will be a baddy foil to the luminous Elisabeth Moss (Peggy from Mad Men), who, it was reported in April, will portray the novels heroine, Offred. Samira Wiley, known for her role as Poussey on Orange Is the New Black, has signed on to playMoira, Offreds friend and fellow handmaiden.For those who somehow skipped Atwoods feminist classic in high school English class, as well as in any college survey courses covering contemporary fiction, dystopian fiction, science fiction, feminist literature and/or novels by women, heres a little rundown of what to expect:The Handmaids Tale takes place in a future society set in North America. A theocratic Christian group has staged a takeover and formed a dictatorship, called the Republic of Gilead, where the United States once existed. The government systematically and gradually strips away the rights of women, ultimately seeking to return the society to an Old-Testament-based social order in which women are entirely subjugated to men. Some women serve as domestic drudges, others as prostitutes, and others as wives ' the highest status available, but still a very limiting one.Offred, the protagonist, is separated from her husband and placed with a high-ranking member of the Gilead leadership, the Commander, as a handmaid. This class of women are offered to men whose wives are unable to bear them children; while the Commanders wife is still very much present in the household, Offred is forced to act as a sexual and reproductive surrogate for her so that the Commander can produce heirs.But Offreds spunk and her memory of the joy found in a freely chosen, loving partnership urge her to keep resisting, and to keep seeking true connection and freedom.No spoilers here, but the book is a wild ride, and the series promises to be as well.We cant wait to see how The Handmaids Tale adaptation turns out, especially since Atwood herself is a consulting producer. Plus, who wants to see these two butt heads' We do. Something tells us Peggy Offred isnt going down without a fight. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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