Hulu renewed The Testaments for a second season on May 20, announcing the pickup eight episodes into the show’s 10-episode first season. The renewal arrived the same day episode 9 was released on Hulu and on Disney+ internationally, with the season 1 finale slated for May 27.
The decision is plainly rooted in audience attention. The Testaments debuted with three episodes on April 8 and drew more than 11 million hours streamed globally across Hulu and Disney+ in its first eight days. By the time the renewal was announced at episode eight, the series had amassed over 45 million hours streamed globally.
Critical reception has been strong as well: the first season averages 88% on Rotten Tomatoes. The show, created by Bruce Miller from Margaret Atwood’s Booker Prize–winning novel, follows Agnes and Daisy in Gilead and features Chase Infiniti as Agnes, Lucy Halliday as Daisy and Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia. Elisabeth Moss returned for a guest appearance as June Osborn, and Gianna Sobol, who served as a co-executive producer on season 1, will step up to executive produce next season.
Rowan Blanchard, a member of the cast, raised a narrative beat that underlines why the timing of the renewal matters. “I’m curious what will make her think that there is something bizarre going on,” Blanchard said, and added, “I don’t think she really does until towards the end. I think, for the most part, she really wants to get pregnant and be married. That’s what she wants. So I wonder what will make her crack a little bit.” The remarks, given as episode releases approached the finale, point to plot turns that viewers will not see in full until after the season concludes.
The Testaments is presented as a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale and is set in Gilead at Aunt Lydia’s elite preparatory school for future wives. That pedigree — the continuation of a high-profile story world, plus the participation of actors associated with the original series — gives the new show an immediate built-in audience. Still, the renewal before the season concluded underscores that streaming metrics, not just brand recognition, carried the decision.
There is a tension between what the renewal celebrates and what remains unresolved. Hulu renewed the show amid high streaming totals and favorable reviews, yet the full narrative arc of season 1 was not yet complete when the pickup was announced. Episode 9 landed on the same day the renewal was made public, and the finale is still scheduled for May 27, meaning viewers and executives alike are committing to a second season without seeing the season’s last act play out in public.
That gap matters because cast members like Blanchard are already signaling that character revelations and fractures are coming late in the run — details that could shape the creative direction of season 2. Gianna Sobol’s promotion to executive producer is the only clear production change announced so far; whether the show will lean more into connections with The Handmaid’s Tale or push further into the new characters’ stories will be decided after the finale and in early work on the next season.
Hulu’s renewal is not a bet on promise alone; it is a payout for numbers and notice. The Testaments delivered both sizable streaming totals — more than 11 million hours in its first eight days and over 45 million hours by episode eight — and strong critical marks, and those measurable results explain why the streamer moved to greenlight the testaments season 2 before the curtain fell on season 1. With the finale due May 27 and episode 9 already out for viewers, season 2 is now official and will proceed with Sobol elevated to an executive-producer role as the creative teams build from the momentum the first season produced.
