The Handmaid's Tale Season 4 Has Been Delayed To Next Year

The next season of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale has been pushed to 2021 after COVID-19-related delays, The Wrap reports. The fourth season of the TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel was originally scheduled to premiere in the Fall--and a new trailer has arrived as well.

After Season 3 finished airing in August 2019, the series returned to film Season 4 in Canada this March, with Elizabeth Moss preparing for her directorial debut. However, production was soon halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has shut down film and TV productions around the world.

As to when in 2021 we should expect the new season, the timeframe is still unclear. The show hasn't got a date for when it can resume filming yet, which will be key for Hulu to pinpoint the show's new premiere window.

Canada, where The Handmaid's Tale shoots, is starting to open up to production again, with Manitoba, Quebec, and most of Ontario (excluding Toronto) now open for filming. However even with this green light, production can't resume immediately--each region has implemented its own restrictions to be followed while filming, leaving production companies with some work to do to make sure their sets are compliant.

Netflix recently announced that filming would resume on the second season of The Witcher on August 17, after the UK lifted some of its restrictions on film and TV production at the end of May.