Hulu Renews 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Amid the official unveiling of its new live streaming service, Hulu on Wednesday announced the renewal of its original drama series The Handmaid’s Tale for a second season during its upfront presentation in New York. 

Season two of the series, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, will launch in 2018, according to the network. “The response we’ve seen to The Handmaid’s Tale in just one week since its premiere has been absolutely incredible," said senior vice president and head of content Craig Erwich in a statement. "It has been an honor to work with this talented team of cast and creators to develop a series that has struck such a chord with audiences across the country.”

In other upfront news, Hulu said it has secured exclusive streaming rights to FX’s original comedy series Atlanta. The first season of the Golden Globe award-winning series starring Donald Glover will become available to Hulu subscribers ahead of its second season premiere in 2018, with subsequent seasons becoming available to stream on Hulu following their run on FX, said company officials. 

Hulu also announced the greenlighting of two new series: Marvel’s Runaways – based on the popular comic book series; and The First (working title), a drama set in the near future about the first human mission to Mars.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.