10 TV Shows Like ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘The Testaments’ You Should Watch Next
While I’d never claim to speak for her, I suspect Margaret Atwood would be perfectly happy to be a little less popular now if it meant her prophetic works weren’t so frighteningly relevant. Written in 1985, The Handmaid’s Tale feels closer than ever, and its 2019 sequel, The Testaments , now has a long-awaited film adaptation. If The Handmaid’s Tale depicts an entire generation of women struggling to cope with a repressive Christian nationalist regime consolidating its power, The Testaments depicts a later generation of young women who have never known anything different; for whom this is all perfectly normal. And it feels quite real. Watch The Handmaid’s Tale and The Testaments on Hulu , then check out other fascist dystopias.
Alias Grace (2017)
This is another major adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s novel (existing in the shadow of the larger and more acclaimed The Handmaid’s Tale series ), but this miniseries is every bit as poignant and masterfully executed. It’s based on the true story of a poor Irish immigrant convicted of a double murder in 1843 under rather mysterious circumstances and after a life of trauma. Years later, she is seen by a psychiatrist, who examines her past and the circumstances that could (just could) have driven this destitute and disenfranchised girl to murder.Watch Alias Grace on Netflix .
Pluribus (2025 – )
In some ways, an anti- Handmaid’s Tale , Pluribus leans toward black comedy, but in this series from Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, we’re left in a fascist dystopia, albeit of a different kind. Rhea Seehorn plays Carol Sturka, a fantasy romance novelist and general grump who becomes one of only 13 people on the planet immune to “The Joining”—an alien virus that transforms the rest of humanity into a peaceful, cheerful, and eternally content hive mind. Carol refuses to accept her misery in the face of her loss of identity, instead fighting to return humanity to its admittedly horrific ways. Gripping, heartbreaking, and oddly funny, the series explores important questions about what it means to be human and, most importantly, suggests that even women who aren’t perfectly okay deserve freedom of thought and bodily autonomy. Watch Pluribus on Apple TV .
3% (2016–2020)
It would be tempting to see this as a metaphor for the American Dream, but of course, this is a Brazilian show, and inequality wasn’t invented in the United States—we’re just particularly good at it. In “3%,” poor young inlanders have one chance at success: pass “The Process”—a series of interviews, puzzles, and quests designed to test their suitability for a futuristic seafaring utopia. Most fail, and many don’t survive, leaving a success rate of… 3%. Thematically, it’s very similar to “The Hunger Games,” but the show has a darker, more adult tone.Watch “3%” onNetflix.
Watchmen (2019)
A standalone sequel to Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins’s groundbreaking ’80s graphic novel (which ignores Zack Snyder’s unrelated film), this series plays upon the book (arguably the origin of all modern superhero genre deconstruction) while expanding on its themes. Set in an alternate Tulsa, Oklahoma, where vigilante superheroes exist but are banned, the series begins dramatically with a depiction of the real-life massacre and destruction of Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street” by white residents in 1921. Regina King plays Angela Abar, a modern-day police officer whose grandparents died in the attacks—an event that resonates throughout the series. It’s a dystopia not so different from our own, with masked police operating on the fringes of the law and overtly racist organizations gaining increasing political influence. It centers on generational trauma, and like The Handmaid’s Tale , the series feels more depressingly prescient with each passing year. Watch Watchmen on HBO Max .
The Man in the High Castle (2015–2019)
Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick (whose works inspired films such as Blade Runner , Total Recall , Minority Report , A Scanner Darkly, and many others), The Man in the High Castle is set in an alternate history where the Axis powers have won World War II and the United States is split in two, with Japan ruling the West and Germany ruling the East. However, the protagonist, the Man in the High Castle, offers an alternative perspective in which the Allies actually won, which may help unite the opposition against the Axis rulers. As the series progresses over four seasons, the parallels with our increasingly Nazi-friendly world only intensify. Watch The Man in the High Castle on Prime Video andNetflix .
Mrs. America (2020)
Though a work of fiction, Mrs. America dramatizes the 1970s struggle for the Equal Rights Amendment, which simultaneously represents both a peak and a trough in the quest for justice and autonomy. Cate Blanchett plays activist Phyllis Schlafly, who led the fight against the (once) widely popular proposed amendment, weaponizing it by allying with radical feminists and abortion rights advocates, homosexuals, desegregationists, and other maligned groups. She was at the forefront of a broad conservative cultural shift that was in full swing when Atwood wrote The Handmaid’s Tale , and now is the perfect time to take a hard look at the people who radicalized basic equality—a reminder that misogyny is far from the exclusive preserve of white men. The series also features a terrific supporting cast, including Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, and Elizabeth Banks. Watch Mrs. America on Hulu .
The Masked Girl (2023)
Kim Mo-mi (originally Lee Han-byul), the “Masked Girl” of the title, is a uniquely complex woman in this twisted Korean drama that borders on the experimental thanks to its constantly shifting perspective. Mo-mi has always dreamed of becoming a K-pop idol, but she’s constantly made to feel like she’s not pretty enough for that kind of fame. So to fill that void, she takes on a part-time job: in addition to her boring office job, she dons a blonde wig and mask to perform as a webcam model for anonymous men. It’s a way to express herself creatively and sexually with a certain amount of control—until one mistake causes her to lose that control, a coworker exposes her secret life, and desperation leads to murder. It’s a wonderfully twisted thriller with a dark sense of humor, but it never forgets that Mo-mi’s increasingly disturbing actions are fueled by a culture that views her as unassuming, and therefore merely a random figure.Watch Mask Girl on Netflix .
Soul Mates (2022)
An adaptation of Atwood’s contemporary Octavia Butler’s 1979 cult novel, “Soul Mates,” follows Dana James (Mallory Johnson) as she is transported back in time to a pre-Civil War Maryland plantation. Moving to Los Angeles in 2016 (the year is no coincidence), Dana repeatedly finds herself in different corners of the world, while her white neighbors worry about the new Black woman on the block. While the film isn’t as effective as the book (which should be required reading), it also makes clear that the corrupting influence of American slavery has infected everything it touched, then and now, and that Black women bear an even greater share of that burden. Watch “Soul Mates” on Hulu .
Leila (2019)
Much of this will feel familiar: adapted from Prayag Akbar’s novel, Leila follows Shalini (Huma Qureshi) in segregated India in the 2040s, where water and clean air are increasingly scarce. Despite this, Shalini and her family live better than most until they are attacked for their interfaith marriage—her husband, Rizwan, is killed, their daughter is kidnapped, and Shalini is sent to a re-education center along with other women deemed sinners or impure. There is the option to pass the so-called “purity test,” but not for women of “mixed blood,” like Leila. This is a future where women are held to strict but evolving moral standards, dissent is ruthlessly suppressed, non-religious education is rejected, and the environment becomes increasingly unstable. Of course, none of this could happen here.Watch Layla on Netflix .
Shining Girls (2022)
This sci-fi film, based on the acclaimed novel (in this case, by Lauren Beukes), stars Elisabeth Moss, known for her work on The Handmaid’s Tale . Moss plays Kirby Mazrahi, an archivist for the Chicago Sun-Times who was attacked and left for dead years ago. She still suffers from the trauma, and this legacy becomes even more complex when she discovers that reality is shifting around her and stumbles upon a murdered woman with wounds nearly identical to those that nearly killed Kirby. She is determined to find the killer, even as the number of female victims grows. Crucially, she is an archivist, not a police officer: Kirby doesn’t want to see these women as mere bodies or victims, but is determined to tell their stories. It’s best not to reveal more details here, except to say that the title contains another important clue, referencing women who stand out in a culture that doesn’t always encourage such behavior. Watch “Shining Girls” on Apple TV.