Handmaids

Stars from two of the biggest shows of the century are going head-to-head in an upcoming thriller on Sky

Sky has just released a brand new trailer for its upcoming thriller series, Atomic, starring some very recognisable names from the world of TV.

The gripping new footage released this Thursday (14th August) promises plenty of action and jaw-dropping twists and turns throughout this high-stakes chase across North Africa and the Middle East.

Game of Thrones icon Alfie Allen leads the series as a drug smuggler who gets mixed up with wanderer JJ, played by Star Trek: Discovery’s Shazad Latif.

When they find themselves inadvertently trafficking some valuable and volatile cargo, their mission catches the attention of worldwide enforcers who will stop at nothing to take them down.

The Handmaid’s Tale star Samira Wiley heads up their opposition as Cassie Elliott, who’s determined to bring them in after falsely connecting them to dangerous elements.

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An official synopsis reads: “When the path of free-spirited drug smuggler Max (Allen) collides with JJ (Latif), an enigmatic outsider on the run, an unlikely friendship is formed.

“They’re swept into a chaotic, high-stakes mission they never signed up for— trafficking highly enriched uranium across North Africa and the Middle East, with the CIA, MI6, and a global web of opposing forces closing in fast.

“Leading the charge for the CIA is highly skilled scientist and a Non-Official Cover (NOC) officer Cassie Elliott (Wiley).

“Convinced Max and JJ are in league with violent extremists, her relentless pursuit puts them all on a collision course revealing that nothing is what it seems, and everyone has an ulterior motive.

“The pair find themselves on a wild road trip, confronting covert operatives, an internationally funded cartel, and ultimately their own pasts.

“What starts as a bid for survival slowly becomes something more: a reluctant partnership, a shot at redemption, and one hell of a ride.”

Atomic is shaping up to be one of Sky’s biggest shows of the year and is set to cap off the summer with a bang.

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One viewer replied to the trailer on YouTube: “both lead actors rock – let’s see how the writers are.”

And another said: “Sky does these types of serials extremely well. They’re yet to let me down. I look forward to giving this a chance.”

Is it on your radar or are you not a fan of high-octane thrill rides?

Atomic premieres Thursday, 28th August on Sky.

The Handmaid’s Tale dovetailed neatly as the series ended

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from The Handmaid’s Tale series finale

Elisabeth Moss, the leading lady of The Handmaid’s Tale, has shared her thoughts on the show’s final moments and the hauntingly memorable last scene, reports the Mirror US.

In a poignant full circle, the series concludes with June Osborne (portrayed by Moss) in the Waterfords’ residence, echoing the very first episode’s ending.

June embarks on recording her narrative, a harrowing testament to Gilead’s atrocities that have remained hidden from the world.

The series signs off with the powerful line: “My name is Offred”, a stark contrast to her declaration in the debut episode: “My name is June.”

Echoing the inaugural episode, June once more peers directly into the camera lens, offering a knowing smile.

Moss, dissecting this pivotal moment in an interview with Gold Derby, explained: “Her mom points out she needs to tell it for her daughters. … She has to go back to the beginning, and she has to tell the whole story, and it started as Offred.”

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This act of reclaiming her handmaid identity was crucial for June to recount her experience truthfully.

Moss, who also directed the finale, revealed a behind-the-scenes anecdote about the final line. She aimed to replicate the same tone used in the first season’s voiceover.

Yet, fate played its hand when Moss realised she had forgotten this detail just 10 minutes before filming the crucial scene.

In a frantic rush, the star of Mad Men and Top of the Lake hastily purchased and downloaded the Hulu app on her phone to revisit the original scene.

She replayed the sequence repeatedly and committed its rhythm to memory, remarking “it worked” and was “incredible” in enhancing her final scene’s delivery.

Reflecting on June’s return to the Waterfords’ abode, Elisabeth Moss shared that she “didn’t have to think too much” about the setting because she intimately “felt all the things” her character experienced.

“There had been so much that had happened in that room, and I was so happy to be back in a better place, and in a place where I was ready to bring this story to a close, at the same time that June is starting to tell it,” Moss articulated.

While The Handmaid’s Tale has come to an end, the saga continues as The Testaments gears up for production with Bruce Miller, the original showrunner, at the helm of this forthcoming series.

Moss remains connected to the fabric of the drama, taking on the role of executive producer, with the fate of June’s appearance presently shrouded in mystery.

The Testaments diverges from its predecessor, fixating on youthful characters navigating Gilead’s oppressive regime even from the seemingly privileged echelons of society.

Ann Dowd will revisit her role as Aunt Lydia, revealing that her character has been transformed by the Boston uprising as seen in The Handmaid’s Tale.

New talent leads the pack in the upcoming series, including Chase Inifinti and Lucy Halliday, who will step into the roles of Agnes/Hannah and Daisy/Nicole respectively.

The Handmaid’s Tale airs on Channel 4 and Prime Video in the UK on Saturdays

Red cloaks. Stiff white bonnets. Bent heads. If there’s a single image that Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” leaves audiences with as it ends its six-season run this week, it’s this one: That of women in a dystopian anti-America called Gilead, evolving from anonymous sexual slaves into rebels, warriors and, sometimes, survivors.

But for “Handmaid’s” creator Bruce Miller and star Elisabeth Moss, who also directed several episodes in the final season, the series, based on the 1985 book by Margaret Atwood, was never about what the women wore. It was about the women inside the color-coded uniforms.

“June started out as a normal person, a mom, a wife,” says Moss, whose other long-running roles include “The West Wing” and “Mad Men.” She won an Emmy for playing the “Handmaid’s” title character in 2017, the same year the show took home the first drama series prize for a streaming show.

“Then [June] had to shut down and become something that I don’t think she wasn’t proud of,” Moss continues. “But I feel she comes out of that into a place of true heroism, where she is able to be herself, be generous, forgive, inspire other people, lead — but also be vulnerable, ask questions, not know everything.”

Elisabeth Moss in the series finale of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

(Steve Wilkie / Disney)

Miller, who stepped back from showrunning duties for the final season, with Eric Tuchman and Yahlin Chang taking over, especially wanted to ensure that as a man, he was telling a female-forward story from the female point of view — both in the writers’ room and on camera.

“I’m very mindful of the fact that I’m a boy, and who do I think I am?” he says, adding that winning the Emmy boosted his confidence in being a man telling a story about women’s rights. (The series has 15 Emmys total.) “Definitely, when you win an Emmy it helps you feel a bit less like you have one penis over the limit.”

Knowing that, Miller says he centered the story on June and Moss alike, adjusting camera angles to focus on her point of view — but lowered to an eye level that corresponded with the actress’ 5-foot-3 height. “The crowd scenes get much more scary” when you do that, he says. “I want to see the world not just through June’s eyes — but also Lizzie’s eyes, as much as she’s able to show me those things.”

Meanwhile, Moss used roles as executive producer and director to focus on the show’s look and how June came across on camera. Frequently, she’s shown smoldering with fury or dark intent, gazing up from under her brows with a lowered chin, something Moss says she lifted from Stanley Kubrick’s films. “That is ‘Clockwork Orange,’” she says. “I am certainly not the first person to do that look.”

Elisabeth Moss.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

But she might be one of very few actresses to convey it onscreen. “It’s definitely not something women do [on camera],” she says. “Women aren’t allowed to get angry. [June] uses her anger and weaponizes it at so many points during the show — and by the final season, she knows when to do that and when not to.”

The journey June, Elisabeth and “Handmaid’s” have been on began at an uncomfortably synergistic time in American politics: Amid the airing of a series about women subject to state regulation of their bodily autonomy, real-world politicians were successfully rolling back women’s reproductive rights. In 2018, protestors began showing up at real-world events in those handmaid-red cloaks and white bonnets, putting the show in an unexpected spotlight.

“Art does have an impact,” says Moss about that kind of a response, but suggests that repurposing the show’s images, outfits or story in service of real-world politics misses a key element of the series. “I don’t think any of us necessarily set out, when you’re making a TV show, to [make a political statement], because that’s the wrong way to go about it. You’re telling this one woman’s story. … It’s always been ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ her story.”

That’s one reason why after six seasons the series chose to end as it did: With June back in the house where it all began, starting her memoirs — “The Handmaid’s Tale.” When Miller pitched that final episode script, Moss says it made her cry.

“I love the idea that at the end is when she starts to tell the story that is the book, and the circular nature of that gives me chills,” she says. “The fact that she realizes that she has to tell it because it wasn’t all bad.”

But the ending also does one more thing: It shows how little is truly resolved. June’s daughter Hannah is still trapped in Gilead, for example. And fans of the series know the action will pick up 15 years later when “The Testaments,” based on a 2019 sequel by Atwood and now in production, begins airing. (Moss won’t say whether she’ll cameo.)

So this is an ending — just not the ending. Now, the story leaves off, still focused on the woman who escaped the bonnet and cloak and not about the trappings of her enslavement. “For me, the ending is perfect,” says Moss. “I also don’t feel like it is an ending. The war is not over. June’s journey is not over.”

The Handmaid’s Tale will be coming to an end next week

WARNING: This article contains spoilers from The Handmaid’s Tale season 6

The curtain is set to fall on The Handmaid’s Tale, with the series finale of the Emmy Award-winning drama scheduled to air on Hulu next week.

This week’s penultimate episode delivered a shocking blow, claiming the lives of key characters Nick Blaine (Max Minghella) and Commander Joseph Lawrence (Bradley Whitford), along with several other high-ranking Boston Commanders. Their demise came at the hands of a Mayday altitude bomb during a doomed flight.

As the series approaches its conclusion and the New England rebellion escalates, fans are growing increasingly anxious about the fate of protagonist June Osborne (Elisabeth Moss).

Hints from the season six trailer suggest that June will face grave danger, leading some viewers to fear she may meet her end in the series finale, reports the Mirror US.

Executive producer and former showrunner Bruce Miller has shared insights into June’s journey in the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale.

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Does June die in The Handmaid’s Tale?

In short, no. June won’t meet her end in The Handmaid’s Tale.

Miller recently revealed to Entertainment Weekly that The Handmaid’s Tale is fundamentally based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name and is primarily the story of June/Offred, rather than focusing on Gilead, the revolution, or even the sequel novel, The Testaments.

The showrunner confirmed the fate of June, stating: “It doesn’t end up killing June.”

Bruce Miller tantalised fans with hints about the finale, highlighting Hannah Bankole (Jordana Blake), still trapped in Gilead, and June’s relentless efforts to reach her.

He expressed his desire for the series conclusion to strike viewers as “absolutely unpredictable, but inevitable”.

Miller further hinted to fans familiar with the source material: “And the other thing I would say is if you read the book, you know the end, just think about it.

“Just think about it a little and you’ll know exactly what’s going to happen at the end of the show.”

The original novel leaves readers in suspense, with June’s destiny ambiguous as she rides away in the back of a van, leaving us to ponder whether she has been rescued by Mayday or captured by the Eyes.

Elisabeth Moss, who leads the cast, is set to don the hat of an executive producer for the forthcoming sequel series The Testaments, ensuring her significant influence over the narrative.

While Moss’s involvement behind the scenes is confirmed, it remains to be seen if she will step back into June’s shoes for The Testaments.

Her executive role does open the possibility of her making an appearance in the new series.

Ann Dowd is slated to return as Aunt Lydia, playing a pivotal role in the unraveling of Gilead in the upcoming series.

The Handmaid’s Tale season 6 airs on Prime Video and Channel 4 on Saturdays in the UK