The World of Gilead Explained: 10 Things to Know Before The Testaments on Hulu

The Testaments is set to make its way to the screens in a few days, and now seems like a good time for exploring the world of Gilead. For those who might not know, this dystopian drama series is based on the 2019 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood and serves as a narrative continuation of The Handmaid’s Tale (2017–2025), created by Bruce Miller.

The Handmaid’s Tale was about June, who lives as a concubine to a Gileadan officer and his wife and is forced to agree to their strict rules and conditions while hoping to be free and reunited with her daughter. Meanwhile, The Testaments is set in a new generation of young women in Gilead who grapple with the bleak future that awaits them.

With its first three episodes set to drop on Hulu on April 8, 2026, here are 10 things you need to know about this world of Gilead before the show premieres on screens. Dig in!

1 The Timeline and Setting of The Testaments

The Testaments takes place approximately a few years after the events of The Handmaid’s Tale. While June Osborne successfully led ‘Mayday’ resistance efforts to damage Gilead’s stronghold in Boston, the totalitarian regime remains functionally intact and powerful in this series rather than having fallen immediately.

Nonetheless, this one focuses on the next generation, specifically teenagers growing up in Gilead. This includes June’s grown-up daughter, Hannah (now Agnes), and a new arrival from Canada, Daisy (Baby Nicole).

2 The Testaments Introduces a New Generation of Gilead’s Hierarchy

The story in this new series introduces a new tier of Gilead’s hierarchy: the Plums. Named for the distinct purple clothes they wear, these are the young daughters of high-ranking Commanders. What’s different is that the Plums are raised entirely within Gilead’s indoctrination and hold no memory of the world before.

So, unlike The Handmaid’s Tale, which focuses on survivors trying to escape, this show centers on individuals who have never known anything but authoritarianism. This one explores how those raised inside Gilead are now slowly gaining the resolve to rebel against it.

3 The Premise of The Testaments: All About Agnes and Daisy

Hannah Bankole, June’s grown-up daughter from the original series, has been renamed Agnes Mackenzie. She is adopted by the influential Commander Mackenzie and brought up in the prominent Gilead family, educated at a special school for elite girls designed to turn them into pious, obedient Wives. 

But despite being raised with privilege, Agnes is forced to grapple with the bleak future that awaits her, including an arranged marriage. 

Meanwhile, the third narrative voice is that of Daisy, a young Canadian teen who lives a normal life until she discovers that her adopted parents were actually Mayday operatives murdered by Gilead agents. She learns that she is actually ‘Baby Nicole,’ the daughter of a Handmaid and child smuggled out of Gilead, and is recruited for a dangerous rescue mission to infiltrate Gilead and destroy it. 

4 Aunt Lydia’s Secret War

Ann Dowd is returning as Aunt Lydia in this sequel series, who has transitioned from training Handmaids to running an elite ‘Wife School’. However, it is revealed that she is a deeply complex traitor, who “keeps her eyes wide open” to the regime’s failings. 

If anything, having been one of the founders of Gilead, she now appears to be using her position to meticulously plan to bring the regime down from within by gathering incriminating files on its leadership.

5 Aunt Lydia’s “Pearl Girls” Mission

To fight Gilead from the inside, Aunt Lydia recruits Daisy to re-enter Gilead as a ‘Pearl Girl’. Gilead has apparently opened its doors to Pearl Girls after facing internal rot and a low population of fertile women. 

These young women are actually female missionaries dressed in silver who travel internationally to lure foreign teenagers into converting to the Gileadean lifestyle, acting as pearl-wearing recruiters. To put it simply, these ‘Pearl Girls’ serve as propaganda tools for the regime, while also proving to be intelligence gatherers. 

6 This One is a Coming-of-Age Story About Rebellion of the Young

Unlike the previous series, which centered on adult survival, The Testaments is a coming-of-age story focused on young women’s defiance. This one focuses on the coming-of-age experience of teenagers trying to navigate the brutal expectations of becoming ‘Wives’ in a society that seeks to turn them into something awful.

In this sequel series, Agnes (played by Chase Infiniti), Becka (played by Mattea Conforti), and Daisy (played by Lucy Halliday) form a bond that acts as a catalyst to upend Gilead’s structure. 

7 The Elite ‘Wife School’ by Aunt Lydia

In The Testament, Agnes and her friends, including the timid Becka, attend a ‘Wife School’ run by Aunt Lydia. There, they are taught to be obedient future wives to powerful men, a role they are increasingly terrified of, especially as they see the reality of s-xual servitude.

Plus, what’s worth noting is that much of the series is set in Ardua Hall, the headquarters of the Aunts. For those unversed, this area is the only place in Gilead where women are permitted to read, write, and manage the administrative, brutal surveillance of the state.

8 Internal Corruption and Decay Within Gilead

After the events of The Handmaid’s Tale, Gilead maintained its power, yes. However, this new series will reveal that Gilead is decaying, rotting from within. The elite, high-ranking Commanders are engaged in power struggles, hypocrites who flout their own religious rules.

As the rottenness of the regime’s foundation begins to show, Aunt Lydia uses her surveillance to blackmail them, leveraging their secrets to facilitate the rise of new, rebellious voices. 

9 Is June Still Alive in The Testaments?

In The Testaments book, June is shown to survive and continue her war against Gilead from the shadows. That book is set 15 years after the events in The Handmaid’s Tale, and June’s actions shape the resistance and the eventual fall of the regime.

This time around, though, she isn’t the central character, as this sequel focuses on a new generation of rebels that also includes her own daughter, Agnes/Hannah. Nonetheless, there has been speculation that June (played by Elisabeth Moss) will make a cameo in this upcoming series, so fans will just have to wait and see.

10 When is The Testaments Releasing on Hulu?

The Testaments premieres on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ internationally on April 8, 2026. The series will release its first three episodes on the premiere date, followed by new episodes weekly. Meanwhile, its prequel series, The Handmaid’s Tale, is currently primarily available to be streamed on Hulu in the USA.

Besides all this, fans must also know that this sequel series has been created by Bruce Miller as well, and stars the likes of Chase Infiniti, Lucy Halliday, Eva Foote, Rowan Blanchard, Kira Guloien, Amy Seimetz, Brad Alexander, Birva Pandya, Zarrin Darnell-Martin, Mattea Conforti, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Mabel Li, Isolde Ardies, and Ann Dowd.

No.Key AspectDetails

1	Timeline & Setting	Takes place a few years after The Handmaid’s Tale; Gilead still powerful despite resistance efforts.
2	New Generation Focus	Story shifts to teens raised entirely in Gilead, unlike survivors from the original series.
3	Main Characters	Agnes (Hannah), Daisy (Baby Nicole), and Becka drive the narrative.
4	Social Hierarchy	Introduction of “Plums” — daughters of elite Commanders raised under strict indoctrination.
5	Aunt Lydia’s Role	Aunt Lydia runs a Wife School while secretly working against Gilead.
6	Pearl Girls Mission	Female missionaries sent abroad to recruit and secretly gather intelligence.
7	Core Theme	Coming-of-age rebellion story focused on young women resisting oppression.
8	Wife School	Elite girls trained to become obedient wives; set largely in Ardua Hall.
9	Gilead’s Condition	Regime is internally decaying with corruption and power struggles among leaders.
10	Release Details	The Testaments premieres April 8, 2026 (Hulu US, Disney+ internationally).

With this series expected to explore the beginning of the end for the totalitarian regime of Gilead through a new lens, fans can expect even more drama and rebellion in the sequel. As the central characters fight for freedom and the lives they deserve, it remains to be seen whether The Testament lives up to the spectacularly high bar set by its prequel series.

Check out the trailer of The Testaments here:

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