What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedThe Handmaid's Tale
Margaret Atwood · Book · 2017
If you loved The Handmaid's Tale, start with The Handmaid's Tale (Bruce Miller, 2017) — a series from the same story. Below: 4 films, 1 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to The Handmaid's Tale across media.
What hooked you in The Handmaid's Tale was the way systemic oppression forces individuals to navigate dangerous power dynamics to survive.
Start with the source
Adaptation
The Handmaid's Tale
Bruce Miller · Series · 2017
Films on the same thread
The Handmaiden
Film · 2016
Explores: Deception, Forbidden Romance, Manipulation.
Like The Handmaid's Tale, this story centers on a woman trapped in a restrictive environment who must use deception and quiet subversion to challenge those holding power over her.
The Housemaid
Paul Feig · Film · 2025
Explores: Class Conflict, Gaslighting, Identity Theft.
Much like the domestic surveillance found in The Handmaid's Tale, this thriller captures the suffocating tension of living under the constant, prying gaze of those who control your livelihood.
The Help
Film · 2011
Explores: Racial Injustice, Female Empowerment, Civil Rights.
The Handmaid's Tale highlights the resilience of women in oppressive societies, and this narrative similarly follows individuals fighting against systemic injustice through quiet acts of courage and female solidarity.
The Hunger Games
Gary Ross · Film · 2012
Shares 3 threads with The Handmaid's Tale: Oppression, Survival, Dystopian Fiction.
If you resonated with the rebellion against a totalitarian regime in The Handmaid's Tale, you will find a similar spirit of defiance in this story of a girl fighting back.
Series on the same thread
The Testaments
Bruce Miller · Series · 2026
Explores: Drama.
As a direct continuation of the world established in The Handmaid's Tale, this series explores the generational impact of Gilead and the ongoing struggle for freedom against religious extremism.
Podcasts on the same thread
1619
The New York Times · Podcast · 2019
Explores: systemic racism, national identity, legacy of slavery.
The Handmaid's Tale uses fiction to examine the roots of inequality, while this investigative series offers a grounded look at the systemic history that shaped American social structures and identity.
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Gimlet · Podcast · 2026
Explores: internet subcultures, modern connectivity, technological ethics.
While The Handmaid's Tale portrays a chilling future, this exploration of modern connectivity provides a necessary look at the digital forces that define our current reality and social survival.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is The Handmaid's Tale based on a book?
Yes, The Handmaid's Tale is based on the 2017 novel written by Margaret Atwood. The book depicts life in the Republic of Gilead, a monotheocracy formed after social unrest and a declining birthrate in the former United States.
What is the premise of The Handmaid's Tale?
The Handmaid's Tale is set in the near future within the Republic of Gilead. This society emerged from the former United States as a repressive monotheocracy that enforces strict social control in response to a sharply declining birthrate and widespread civil unrest.
Is there a TV adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale?
Yes, there is a television adaptation of The Handmaid's Tale that premiered in 2017. It is a Hulu Original Series that brings the powerful imagery and the forecast of Margaret Atwood's novel to the screen.
Should I read The Handmaid's Tale before watching the show?
Reading the 2017 novel The Handmaid's Tale provides the original context for the story. The book explores the Republic of Gilead's rise to power, which serves as the foundation for the Hulu Original Series adaptation that began in 2017.