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Emmys 2017: The Stars of ‘The Handmaids Tale’ Break Down Season 2

Get ready for another round with Gilead! Us Weekly caught up with the stars of The Handmaid’s Tale at the 69th annual Emmy Awards on Sunday, September 17, and they gave Us a few hints about what’s to come for season 2.

Ann Dowd, Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel
Ann Dowd, Elisabeth Moss and Alexis Bledel during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2017. David Livingston/Getty Images

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While Madeline Brewer couldn’t reveal much about the fate of her character, Janine, who had her eye removed in season 1 as punishment, the actress did promise that viewers will see her return. “I can tell you she’s back and I still have one eye,” Brewer explained. “They haven’t taken the other eye out yet.”

O-T Fagbenle’s Luke Bankole will continue his quest to be with Elisabeth Moss’ June (who is also known as Offred). “I gotta get my wife and kid back,” he tells Us. “We’ll see how that goes!”

Amanda Brugel admits that her character Rita’s story will unfold, but the actress still wants to keep parts of the role under wraps. “I hope she still contains her mystery,” Brugel says. “I hope there’s still always an edge to her and the audience isn’t really sure how to take her because that’s just the most fun to play. Selfishly, I hope she’s always a little on the outside.”

The Handmaid's Tale
Yvonne Strahovski, Joseph Fiennes, Madeline Brewer, Samira Wiley, Elisabeth Moss, O-T Fagbenle, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella and Amanda Brugel of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, winners of Outstanding Drama Series, pose in the press room the 69th annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2017. Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

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Brugel hints that new characters will appear in the second season and that viewers will learn much more about the recurring roles from season one. “I think we now have room and permission to delve into characters,” she says. “We really had to abide by the book a lot, but now we have a little more freedom, a little more breathing room to expand into the other characters and to also see other parts beyond Gilead.”

She added: “I think its going to be quite exciting!”

Aside from hinting at what’s to come in the new season, the cast opened up to Us about spending time with each other on set. Brugel told Us: “We all just want to get back to work!”

Nina Kiri, who plays Alma, shares her costar’s sentiments, explaining how much fun the cast has while filming. “I’m just stoked to be around everyone, no matter what happens with the story, I’m just stoked to be collaborating and having a good time,” she told Us. “The last season was so fun to shoot and now that we all know each other a little bit more, it’s even more exciting!”

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The actors have so much fun, Kiri says, that they often don’t realize the weight of what they’re filming when the camera is rolling. “When I watched it for the first time I was actually taken aback at how dark it was,” Kiri told Us. “When you’re on set, it’s not that it’s not dark, but because you’re all just trying to get something done and you’re talking in between you’re having a good time it doesn’t end up being as dark as it looks in t he end. We do like to chit-chat, hang out and have life talks with Ann Dowd. That just gives us all life and takes away any sort of anxiety that we might have.”

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