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Don’t judge me, but, last month, I watched The Handmaid’s Tale for the first time. And I was immediately hooked. I binged all five seasons just in time for the sixth and final season, which premiered on April 8.

If you’re not familiar with the Hulu drama, long story short, it’s a dystopian series based on a novel with the same name that is set in Gilead, formerly a part of the United States.


Due to environmental hazards, which are affecting the birth rate, a new regime takes over, forcing the remaining fertile women into sexual servitude in an effort to repopulate the earth.

The series stars Elizabeth Moss as June and her onscreen bestie Moira, played by Samira Wiley. It was recently announced that the Emmy award-winning series will have a spin-off, The Testaments, which takes place 15 years after The Handmaid’s Tale events.

During the season 6 premiere party, Parade caught up with Wiley about the sequel, but the actress let it be known that she will not be returning.

“I'm not gonna tease and say maybe or nothing. Nope,” Wiley said. “I am done with it. I am done with the trauma. I am. I mean it. Margaret Atwood, the way she writes these characters, the depth to all of it, I feel like I have played my part and my story is done.”

I understand why she feels that way. As a viewer, some of the scenes are pretty tough to watch, so I can only imagine what it's like to be in the scene. However, we finally get to see Wiley’s character come out on the other side of it.

The Orange is the New Black star also shared how she turned to different wellness practices to make sure her mental health was intact during filming.

“I had to learn some techniques — meditation and mindfulness and all of those things — to consciously take myself out of the world of Gilead,” she said. “I often tell people who binge watch the show like, please take care of your mental health.”

The final season shows the characters pulling together to take down Gilead. The first three episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale sixth season are now available.

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Feature image by Maya Dehlin Spach/WireImage

 

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