12 April 2017 TV Shows To Watch Instead Of Game Of Thrones

4. The Handmaid's Tale - Season 1

The Handmaid's Tale
Hulu

Hulu haven't made a major splash yet, at least not compared with streaming rivals Netflix and Amazon, but April sees them taking a big step forward. We've recently had the premiere of sci-fi anthology Dimension 404, narrated by Mark Hamill, and later this month we're getting what could be their big breakthrough hit: The Handmaid's Tale.

An adaptation of Margaret Atwood's beloved tale of feminist fiction, the show takes place in an alt near-future where the US government has been overthrown by a totalitarian theocracy. Here, women are subjugated, unable to work or even read, and many are infertile.

Because of this, young women who can have children are forced to become Handmaids, where they are in the service of rich men (Commanders) and expected to have ritualised sex and produce their babies.

We see all of this through the eyes of Offred (Elisabeth Moss, in utterly perfect casting), one such Handmaid who begins a strange relationship with her Commander, and can remember the time before. Support comes from the likes of Orange is the New Black's Samara Wiley, and Gilmore Girls' Alexis Bledel.

Premiere Date: April 26

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Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.