The Emmy-winning dystopian drama reaches its climactic chapter as The Handmaid’s Tale returns for its sixth and final season on April 8, 2025, exclusively on Hulu. After five harrowing seasons of resistance, betrayal, and survival, June Osborne’s journey comes to a head in what promises to be the most intense installment yet. With Gilead’s grip weakening but still deadly, and the exiled U.S. government preparing its final moves, the series finale will determine the fates of our beloved (and reviled) characters in unforgettable fashion.

Leading the charge is Elisabeth Moss, whose portrayal of June has become iconic in television history. She’s joined by returning stars Yvonne Strahovski, Ann Dowd, and Bradley Whitford, whose complex performances have made Gilead’s villains terrifyingly human. As alliances shift and long-buried secrets come to light, this final season will cement The Handmaid’s Tale’s legacy as one of TV’s most powerful explorations of power, trauma, and rebellion.

The Handmaid’s Tale Season 6: Cast Lineup

1- Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne

Elisabeth Moss delivers her final performance as June Osborne, the reluctant revolutionary whose transformation from victim to leader has anchored the series. After five seasons of guerrilla warfare against Gilead, Season 6 finds June at her most strategic—and most dangerous. Moss’s ability to convey volcanic rage beneath steely resolve will be on full display as June faces her ultimate reckoning: can she destroy Gilead without losing herself?

Behind the camera, Moss has directed pivotal episodes this season, ensuring June’s farewell honors the character’s complexity. Expect her signature close-ups to capture every flicker of June’s resolve as she balances motherhood (to both Nicole and Hannah) with her role as the rebellion’s figurehead. Moss has hinted that June’s ending will be “messy, painful, but truthful”—a fitting coda for this antihero.

2- Samira Wiley as Moira Strand

Samira Wiley’s Moira, June’s steadfast ally in Canada, steps into a leadership role as the refugee community mobilizes for war. Wiley brings weary determination to Moira, whose trauma as a former Handmaid now fuels her work helping others. This season, Moira’s medical expertise becomes crucial to the resistance, while her relationship with Emily (a notable absence this season) is addressed with emotional nuance.

Wiley’s performance has always balanced warmth with grit, and Season 6 sees Moira confront a haunting question: what does “freedom” truly mean when Gilead still holds so many? Her scenes with Amanda Brugel’s Rita—two survivors rebuilding their lives—remain a testament to resilience.

3- Amanda Brugel as Rita Blue

Amanda Brugel’s Rita, once a Martha in the Waterford household, now emerges as a key voice for Gilead’s refugees. Brugel infuses Rita with quiet strength as she testifies against war criminals while mentoring new arrivals. This season, Rita’s faith is tested when a shocking revelation about Gilead’s collapse forces her to choose between vengeance and mercy.

Brugel, a vocal activist off-screen, has shaped Rita into one of the show’s moral centers. Watch for her devastating courtroom monologue—a standout moment that underscores how the series treats the aftermath of oppression.

4- Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford

Yvonne Strahovski’s Emmy-worthy portrayal of Serena Joy reaches its zenith in Season 6. Now imprisoned in Canada, the former architect of Gilead’s theocracy fights to survive as her own creation crumbles. Strahovski masterfully layers Serena’s desperation with fleeting glimpses of humanity, especially in scenes involving baby Nicole. Is she finally repentant, or simply adapting to survive?

The season’s most chilling moments come as Serena interacts with June for the first time since their violent confrontation. Strahovski and Moss’s chemistry remains electric, their characters bound by mutual hatred and eerie understanding. Showrunner Bruce Miller has teased that Serena’s fate will be “poetic”—but not necessarily just.

5- Bradley Whitford as Joseph Lawrence

Bradley Whitford’s Joseph Lawrence, Gilead’s morally ambiguous strategist, plays his most dangerous game yet. With the regime fracturing, Lawrence maneuvers to salvage his vision of a “kinder” Gilead—but Whitford lets us see the cracks in his intellectual detachment. Is he a reformer or a coward? A scene where he confronts Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) over the Handmaids’ fates may finally reveal the answer.

Whitford’s delivery—equal parts wit and weariness—makes Lawrence the show’s most fascinating wild card. His final scenes reportedly left the crew “stunned,” suggesting a conclusion as complex as the character himself.

6- Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia Clements

Ann Dowd’s Aunt Lydia, the pious enforcer of Gilead’s brutality, faces her reckoning in Season 6. Dowd peels back Lydia’s fanaticism to expose startling vulnerability as the regime abandons her doctrines. A flashback episode explores her pre-Gilead life as a teacher, reframing her entire journey.

Dowd’s ability to toggle between maternal warmth and chilling cruelty reaches new heights. Lydia’s final confrontation with Janine (Madeline Brewer)—a relationship that’s twistedly tender—may be the season’s most emotionally raw moment.

7- Madeline Brewer as Janine Lindo

Madeline Brewer’s Janine, the series’ wounded sparrow, undergoes a radical transformation in the final season. Having survived unspeakable trauma, Janine emerges as an unlikely leader among the Handmaids. Brewer’s wide-eyed vulnerability now carries a hardened edge, particularly in scenes where she challenges Aunt Lydia’s authority.

A midseason episode centered on Janine’s rebellion inside the Red Center (featuring Brewer’s most harrowing performance yet) is rumored to be a standout. Will she outlive Gilead, or become its final martyr?

8- Ever Carradine as Naomi Putnam

Ever Carradine’s Naomi, the brittle Wife who once tormented Janine, now scrambles to secure her place in Gilead’s downfall. Carradine plays Naomi’s unraveling with razor-sharp precision—her scenes bargaining with Lawrence showcase a woman realizing too late that her privilege was always fragile.

9- Jonathan Watton as Matthew Calhoun

Jonathan Watton returns as Matthew Calhoun, Serena’s Canadian ally-turned-adversary. Watton brings sleek menace to the role as Calhoun maneuvers in the political shadows, embodying how Gilead’s corruption has infected its neighbors.