We know everyone’s still annoyed at Channel 4 for the ‘Great British Bake Off’ saga, but the broadcaster has given us cause for celebration, by buying the UK rights to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’.
At present, it’s impossible to legally watch the much-hyped TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s book here in Blighty, but from later this month, it will be viewable on Channel 4.
Their Chief Creative Officer Jay Hunt has shared her joy at securing the deal, and said: “‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is a chilling and frighteningly topical exploration of a world where women are subjugated.
“I’m delighted that Channel 4 viewers will get to see this critically-acclaimed take on a classic novel.”
The 10-part series began airing in the US earlier this year, and sees Elisabeth Moss take on the role of Offred, who lives with the Commander, played by Joseph Fiennes, and his wife.
The programme debuted to great reviews in the States, with Entertainment Weekly among those praising it.
“[The cast’s] performances — and the show’s consistent sense of textural, lived-in realism — anchor the drama in something beyond speculative sci-fi,” their critic wrote. “Making the story feel less like a quasi-fictional fable than an entirely possible preview of what’s to come.”
A second season of the show was then ordered, just three episodes into the current run.