*”Orange Is The New Black” vet Samira Wiley has joined the cast of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the upcoming straight-to-series drama starring Elisabeth Moss and based on Margaret Atwood’s novel.
According to Deadline Hollywood, production on the 10-episode series is due to begin this fall in Toronto ahead of a 2017 premiere.
The drama follows life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the U.S. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted religious fundamentalism that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (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. She is forced to navigate between commanders, their cruel wives, domestic “Marthas” (servants) and her fellow handmaids — where anyone could be a spy for Gilead — all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.
Wiley will play Moira, the college best friend of Offred and fellow handmaid-in-training. Moira is also Offred’s connection to life before Gilead.
Max Minghella and “The Leftovers’” Ann Dowd already have joined the cast.
Next for Wiley is Lionsgate’s cyber thriller “Nerve,” which had a sneak screening at Comic-Con last week ahead of its Wednesday release.
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