It was a page straight out of their very own dystopian MGM/Hulu TV drama series. It was the day of November 8. Election day. Elisabeth Moss was hanging out at the Drake Hotel with fellow Handmaid’s Tale director Reed Morano and a few other people. Most of the Americans were still at the polls, voting for their president.
Moss remembered not worrying about her lines and just relaxing, taking in the moment. It wasn’t her usual work ethic, but today was a very special day because it would be a historic moment. The very first female president would be elected and sitting down in the most powerful seat in the White House.
But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. As the night wore on, it resembled a striking similarity to what they were working on. What was happening in the real world was becoming frighteningly close to the dystopian drama the crew was filming during the past few months. It was like Elisabeth Moss and Reed Morano suddenly entered the Twilight Zone. Then the pieces started to click together. It was becoming very real.
The news hit home when the crew started filming the next day. Here, Joseph Fiennes, playing as the Commander, said to Elisabeth Moss’ persona, Offred, “Better doesn’t mean better for all. It means worse for others.”
Handmaid’s Tale premiered 6 months after that. The chilling parallel to President Trump’s America brought up questions, and social media took to the controversy the drama show provided. Politically-charged hashtags such as #resist and #feminism regularly surfaced and became trending topics on social media platform Twitter. The show’s iconic costume combination of robes and bonnets became the preferred uniform for all women rights activists in America. Planned Parenthood volunteers used this when they protested against the Senate’s GOP bill about health care in June.
Executive producer Warren Littlefield has expressed the feeling of being able to give a voice for the women protesters and being a part of the whole thing is empowering. The director mentions that he’s seeking dual citizenship in Canada due to the amount of work he does in the country and as a kind of political statement.
So what’s next for season 2?
Bruce Miller and his staff are already working on it. Elisabeth Moss drops that season 2 will have more humor and will have a more light-hearted feel to it. Miller states that some ideas that didn’t make it to season 1 will be thrown in the mix. Grounded things that give a more resonant feel will be included as well.
Believe it or not, scripting for Handmaid’s Tale began even before the election took place. There were some similarities that got the axe, such as one line that had the same meaning as “Make America Great Again”.
Miller states how he remembered Stephen Colbert mentioning something like this to his staff: “If you’re worried that you’re not doing important things, stop worrying.” It hit a note and sent the same message across the crew as they were filming in the sense that if they were worried about not becoming part of the political conversation, then they shouldn’t because the whole series mattered.
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