Testaments vs. Handmaid’s Tale Spinoff Book: Biggest Changes

Hulu’s series The Testaments, inspired by Margaret Atwood‘s book, explores notable changes from its predecessor, The Handmaid’s Tale.

The Handmaid’s Tale, based on Atwood’s novel and aired from 2017 to 2025, is set in a dystopian world where declining fertility rates result in women being assigned to men to bear children.

The Hulu adaptation drew from Atwood’s work and expanded with The Testaments, set 15 years later in the book. Narrated by Ann Dowd‘s Aunt Lydia, the story returns to the dystopian future, featuring characters like Agnes from Gilead and Daisy from Canada. They secretly collect and smuggle damaging information about Gilead’s regime. Agnes and Daisy adopt the guise of “Pearl Girls” to penetrate Canada, while Aunt Lydia serves as a secret informant within Gilead.

At a 2019 event, Atwood explained, “Although I could not continue with Offred’s story, I could explore three other characters involved in these events and narrate the beginning of the end, as we know from The Handmaid’s Tale that Gilead vanishes. It’s absent 200 years later, as evidenced by a symposium on it. How did it fall? How do such regimes disappear? I wanted to delve into that.”

She also mentioned, “There are new costume designs in this book. Human beings throughout history have been drawn to uniforms that signify identity, like football team jerseys. So yes, we have some new outfits.”

Upon the premiere of The Testaments in April 2026, creator Bruce Miller discussed the adaptation process, highlighting what elements they retained and altered.

Miller explained to The Hollywood Reporter, “I’m trying not to follow the book’s sequence strictly, but rather to take central elements and fit them into a timeline that makes sense for us. We aim to follow the book’s overarching narrative, but the storyline’s specifics are challenging because characters’ ages differ. We had to redefine the Daisy character to remain practical in our adaptation.”

Miller also sought to expand on certain aspects, saying, “With Handmaid’s, there was always material to explore. Even in the final season, we were uncovering pieces. Many things in the book are mentioned vaguely, and we thought, ‘Let’s develop that idea.’ But this is Margaret’s world, and we should rely on her storytelling. If we diverge from Margaret’s narrative, we need a compelling reason. I aim to adapt as much as possible because there’s a reason it worked in the book, not due to mere loyalty to the source material.”

Read on to discover the major differences between the show and the book:

The Difference in a Time Jump

While Atwood’s book resumes 15 years later, the spinoff series is set four years after The Handmaid’s Tale ended.

Daisy’s True Identity

In Atwood’s The Testaments, Daisy is the name given to Nichole, also known as June (Elisabeth Moss) and Nick’s (Max Minghella) daughter, who is referred to as Holly by the conclusion of The Handmaid’s Tale.

In the TV adaptation, Daisy is not Holly, primarily due to the time jump.

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Hulu Hulu’s highly anticipated The Handmaid’s Tale spinoff The Testaments is in the works — but what is there to know about the show so far? Margaret Atwood’s dystopian universe was initially brought to life with The Handmaid’s Tale, which is based on the novel of the same name about a future where low fertility […]

Lydia’s Backstory Being Explored

Prior to the premiere of The Testaments, Ann Dowd hinted that Lydia would be portrayed as a school teacher in the TV adaptation, while the book depicted her as a family court judge.

The General Timeline

Bruce Miller, the show’s creator, confirmed that the first season of The Testaments would focus on the initial segment of Atwood’s novel. Given that The Handmaid’s Tale spanned six seasons from a single book, The Testaments may also take creative liberties if it proves successful on Hulu.

Commander Judd’s Casting

In Atwood’s The Testaments, Judd is depicted as a high-ranking Gilead commander who repeatedly marries young brides in his old age. Characters like Agnes and Becka do not desire marriage to him. For the show, Judd was portrayed by actor Charlie Carrick, and was made younger. Agnes and her classmates admire Judd’s wife, their friend Penny.