The highly anticipated adaptation of acclaimed author Margaret Atwood’s award-winning novel The Handmaid’s Tale, from MGM Television, makes its Australian premiere exclusively on SBS On Demand, with the full series available to stream from Thursday, 6 July.

The 10-part series is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birth-rate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalist regime that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Elisabeth Moss) is a Handmaid in the Commander’s household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world. In this terrifying society where one wrong word could end her life, Offred navigates between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaids – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.

SBS Director of Television and Online Content, Marshall Heald, said: “The Handmaid’s Tale is one of the year’s most eagerly-awaited series’ and sits perfectly alongside SBS On Demand’s premium international and multilingual drama offering. We look forward to bringing Australians the series exclusively in July, available to stream anytime, anywhere and absolutely free.

“The Handmaid’s Tale has garnered worldwide attention and critical-acclaim, sparking conversation that has led to a high demand for the series. With a commitment to quality and handpicked content, unquestionably, there is no better home for the series in Australia than SBS On Demand,” said Chris Ottinger, President Worldwide Television Distribution and Acquisitions.

The Handmaid’s Tale features an all-star cast, including Moss (Mad Men, Top of the Lake), Joseph Fiennes (American Horror Story: Asylum, Shakespeare in Love), Samira Wiley (Orange is the New Black), Max Minghella (The Mindy Project), Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck, Dexter), O-T Fagbenle (The Five), Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), and Ann Dowd (Compliance, The Leftovers). 

The Handmaid’s Tale was created for television by Bruce Miller (The 100), who serves as the series’ showrunner. The Handmaid’s Tale was executive produced by Miller, Warren Littlefield (Fargo), Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears and Ilene Chaiken. The Handmaid’s Tale is produced by MGM Television and internationally distributed by MGM.

SBS On Demand is a world of inspired entertainment – a curated selection of over 6,000 hours of premium world class-drama, documentaries and movies from across the globe. The streaming service is accessible across several devices, with the newly-added Chromecast functionality now available on Android.