How Margaret Atwood Feels About Hulu's The Testaments Adaptation

"The Handmaid's Tale" has gotten a sequel in the form of "The Testaments," a new Hulu series starring Chase Infiniti. So, what does Margaret Atwood, who authored the source novels for both shows, think about this new series? Not only does she like it, but she apparently already shot a top-secret cameo.

On Atwood's official website, the Canadian speculative fiction author revealed, months before the series debuted on Hulu on April 8, 2026, that she filmed a cameo. She actually addressed it twice, writing, "I have a cameo in ['The Testaments'], though I can't say as what, except that it's scowly." Elsewhere, she wrote, "I can't tell you what part I am playing — secret! — but it was a pleasure to work with the excellent team, and to watch the [marvelous] Ann Dowd in action as Aunt Lydia, alongside the very talented actresses playing the two young female leads. Can't wait to see the finished episodes!"

"The Testaments," if you're not yet familiar, picks up about four years after the conclusion of "The Handmaid's Tale." The latter show adapted Atwood's famous novel about Gilead, a dystopian version of the U.S. where cisgender women are subjugated and "used," primarily, for housework and breeding. Infiniti stars in "The Testaments" as Agnes, although we saw a younger version of the character, known as Hannah, in "The Handmaid's Tale." Agnes/Hannah is the daughter of June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss) but was taken from her when the U.S. became Gilead. In "The Testaments," however, Agnes doesn't know her mother was a Handmaid turned revolutionary, nor is she aware that Gilead newcomer Daisy (Lucy Halliday), presented as a convert to Gilead's strict lifestyle, encountered June in Canada before being brought to Gilead. 

So, how faithful is "The Testaments" to Atwood's novel? It's pretty close, except for one thing.

While "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Testaments" showrunner Bruce Miller worked very closely with Margaret Atwood and used her word as gospel when adapting "The Handmaid's Tale" for the small screen, he made an important change to Daisy's character for "The Testaments." In the show's source material, Daisy is also June's daughter, aka. Nichole/Holly, and was born back when June was a Handmaid, a woman used for childbirth by powerful Commanders in Gilead. So, why did Miller decide to instead make Daisy a young Canadian girl whose parents are slaughtered for their involvement in Mayday, the anti-Gilead resistance, for his TV adaptation?

"When making 'Handmaid's,' I followed the 'when in doubt, follow Margaret' policy. And it worked very, very well," as he explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "Not just out of fealty to her or to the book, but practically, she's a very good storyteller." For "The Testaments," though, he wanted Daisy and Agnes to actually interact ... and honestly? As a viewer and fan of both Atwood's novels and these shows, I think this is a shrewd choice on Miller's part. Letting Daisy and Agnes play off each other is fantastic (Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday are great together), but there was a timeline issue for Miller.

"I didn't want to make any changes at all, but I felt like I wanted to have Daisy and Agnes physically together, and not tell their stories 15 years apart like they do in the book," Miller continued. As for Nichole/Holly, he noted "she exists in the series and she's a child" and notes that "there are little hints that she's out there," so maybe we'll see her eventually in "The Testaments."

People who have loved "The Handmaid's Tale" — and by that I mean Margaret Atwood's book — since it was originally published in 1985 are probably happy to hear that not only does Atwood appear to approve of Bruce Miller's adjustments to her story, but that she also works closely with Miller to help realize her vision. 

"I'm not one of those authors who said, 'The necktie is wrong. I'm taking my name off the project.' I know the compromises you have to make, and you want somebody who's going to make the best ones," Atwood told The Hollywood Reporter in a May 2025 oral history of "The Handmaid's Tale" that ran before "The Testaments" premiered. "Bruce and I could talk frankly. He's so filled with enthusiasm and energy. It wasn't just a job to him. It was fulfillment of his lifetime dream." 

That's apparently why Miller was so happy when Atwood released her long-awaited sequel novel. "When I published 'The Testaments,' Bruce said, 'Thank you, thank you, thank you,'" Atwood recalled. "He was very happy to have something later in time that follows up on the people who are children or babies during the original."

It is genuinely fascinating to reconnect with the characters in "The Testaments" that we saw in "The Handmaid's Tale," like June Osborne and Ann Dowd's Aunt Lydia, and meet girls like Agnes, who doesn't know there's even a free world outside of the oppressively beautiful Gilead. Not only that, but we also get to see them connect, meaning that we might even see June and Agnes reunite ... and it's good to know that Atwood approves of it all. 

"The Testaments" is streaming on Hulu now.