There was a time when Alexis Bledel, fresh off of the original Gilmore Girls, had a nice thing going in Hollywood. She popped up in the popular Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movies and headlined several other big flicks. Still, in more recent years, she's been back in television, most recently starring in the Gilmore Girls revival. Now, we've learned Alexis Bledel has signed on for another big TV gig, signing on for the upcoming Hulu version of The Handmaid's Tale.
Per TV Line, Alexis Bledel is set to play the recurring role of Ofglen, who is another handmaid who knows Offred, who will be played by Mad Men and Top of the Lake actress Elisabeth Moss. On the outside, Bledel's character seems somewhat fragile and working within the system, but she's also a lesbian character who is described as "subversive." Handmaids in The Handmaid's Tale are expected to police each others' behavior in the totalitarian near future world that Margaret Atwood created, and it will be interesting to see how that plays out for Ofglen. Of course, if you've read the books, you may already know.
If you've been keeping track of this TV project, you may already know that it was in development a couple of years ago at HBO with Darren Aronofsky at the head of the project. The newer take on The Handmaid's Tale is obviously heading to streaming, although it has a really great cast. Joseph Fiennes, Ann Dowd, Samira Wiley (of Orange is the New Black fame), Madeline Brewer and Chuck's Yvonne Strahovski are all going to be in the new show.
The news of Alexis Bledel's casting is actually coming somewhat late in the process of making The Handmaid's Tale. The new series is expected to hit the schedule on April 26, 2017, so the series is extremely far in the development process at this point. Hulu has spent the last couple of years really beefing up its original programing lineup, with shows like The Path, The Mindy Project and Casual dominating the conversation. Hopefully, The Handmaid's Tale will also help to put Hulu on the map.
April is still a while away, so if you'd like to see what the streaming service, along with network and cable TV have coming up, take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule.
