To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web
browser that
supports HTML5
video
Looking for something horrifying to take your mind off the fact that the weekend is still three days away?
Well, you’re in luck. Disney Plus has just added one of the most shocking TV shows ever made to its library.
We’re talking, of course, about The Handmaid’s Tale, which has been added to celebrate the release of the new spin-off, The Testaments.
Set in a world where the global fertility rate has plummeted, and the United States has torn itself apart following a civil war, a new totalitarian government has risen.
Known as the Gilead, this theonomic state uses a warped interpretation of the Bible (and the fertility crisis) to justify the subjugation and enslavement of women.
The few remaining fertile women are known as the Handmaids and given to elite families where they are forced to bear the children of their male masters.
The show follows June Osborne as she fights for her freedom in the hope of reuniting with her family.
And yes, it’s every bit as gross and challenging as it sounds.
Indeed, Abigail Chandler argued in a piece for the Guardian that The Handmaid’s Tale might be ‘the most terrifying TV ever’.
‘It has been analysed as a dystopia, sci-fi, a political allegory, a cautionary tale and a feminist text, but The Handmaid’s Tale tends to get overlooked as horror, despite being the most terrifying show any of us have seen in years,’ she wrote.
Its shocking subject matter aside, the series became a minor phenomenon andThe Handmaid’s Tale is widely considered one of the greatest TV shows of the 21st Century.
Across six seasons, the series has maintained strong reviews (it’s got an average score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes) with only a slight wobble in season four.
More specifically, critics praised its chillingly realistic world-building, the high-stakes drama, and the show’s impressive acting.
‘For many, the anguish of watching won’t be worth it,’ wrote Lauren Carroll Harris in their Guardian review of the first season.
‘But the vision of a totalitarian society is realised so fully that the story remains gripping and its message vital.’
Jen Chaney of Vulture agreed, saying ‘[The Handmaid’s Tale] is meticulously paced, brutal, visually stunning, and so suspenseful from moment to moment that only at the end of each hour will you feel fully at liberty to exhale.’
It’s not just critics who love the show, either. On Reddit Exotic_Resource_6200 wrote that the show was ‘dark and depressing’but truly unique.
‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so forboding and dark, yet entertaining,’ they continued. ‘I have to say rewatching was terribly scary during these times, but I made it through.’
If you think you’rebrave enough to make it through The Handmaid’s Tale, you can watch it now on Disney Plus.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.