Hulu Sets The Handmaid’s Tale, The Path Return Dates

Hulu’s midseason 2018 programming slate has been set, and it includes the return of a pair of acclaimed prestige dramas, as well of the debut of two more promising shows.

First up is the third season of cult drama The Path on Jan. 17, 2018, followed by the debuts of 9/11 limited series The Looming Tower on Feb. 18 and pre-apocalyptic crime drama Hard Sun on March 7. Finally, The Handmaid’s Tale returns for a second season in April 2018.

The Path, starring Aaron Paul, Michelle Monaghan and Hugh Dancy, and created by Jessica Goldberg, was renewed for a second season last May, then again for a third this April. Ahead of the series’ premiere in spring 2016, we deemed it “must-watch TV,” calling attention to the show’s stacked cast and compelling subject matter: a fictional religion known as Meyerism.

Hulu’s synopsis of the show’s 13-episode third season reads:

A miracle by Eddie Lane went viral, and Meyerism has grown exponentially across the world. As the new Guardian of the Light, Eddie is forced to face the question of whether he can grow the movement without becoming a cult leader. Cal is haunted by dark demons from the past and must come face to face with them in order to defeat them. Sarah questions her faith, and in looking outside the movement for answers, she may discover one of Meyerism’s deepest secrets, and the one person who could put an end to it all!

The Looming Tower, which stars Jeff Daniels, Peter Sarsgaard, Alec Baldwin, Michael Stuhlbarg and Bill Camp, among others, is directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief). The 10-episode limited series, adapted from Lawrence Wright’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book of the same name, kicked off production in May. (Disclosure: Paste Contributing Movies Editor Shannon Houston is a staff writer on the show.)

Here’s Hulu’s synopsis:

The Looming Tower traces the rising threat of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda in the late 1990s and how the rivalry between the FBI and CIA during that time may have inadvertently set the path for the tragedy of 9/11. The series follows members of the I-49 Squad in New York and Alec Station in Washington, D.C., the counter-terrorism divisions of the FBI and CIA, respectively, as they travel the world fighting for ownership of information while seemingly working toward the same goal—trying to prevent an imminent attack on U.S. soil.

Hard Sun, created and written by Luther’s Neil Cross, stars Jim Sturgess and Agyness Deyn. Not much is known about the series yet, outside of its season one episode count (six) and intriguing premise.

Take it away, Hulu:

Jim Sturgess and Agyness Deyn play detectives Robert Hicks and Elaine Renko, partners and enemies, who seek to enforce the law and protect their loved ones in a world that every day slips closer to a world-ending natural disaster. Hicks is a family man and a great, committed officer. He’s also profoundly corrupt. Renko is a difficult and damaged, but utterly incorruptible officer. Thus, the two cops stand on different ends of the social and moral spectrum and also seriously distrust one other—and for good reason. But they must somehow learn to work together if they’re going to survive until the end of the world.

Last and not at all least is The Handmaid’s Tale, the Elisabeth Moss-starring Margaret Atwood adaptation that recently made TV history at the Emmys, winning five awards, including Best Drama Series, an honor never before bestowed upon a streaming series. Ahead of the show’s April debut, Paste TV Editor Matt Brennan lauded it as “the first great political drama of our authoritarian age.” The show’s cast also includes Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Alexis Bledel, Ann Dowd, Max Minghella, Madeline Brewer, O-T Fagbenle and Amanda Brugel, and it is created, executive produced and written by Bruce Miller. Needless to say, we are eagerly anticipating The Handmaid’s Tale’s 13-episode second season, now in production.

Hulu’s brief synopsis reads:

The Emmy-winning drama series returns with a second season shaped by Offred’s pregnancy and her ongoing fight to free her future child from the dystopian horrors of Gilead. “Gilead is within you” is a favorite saying of Aunt Lydia. In Season Two, Offred and all our characters will fight against—or succumb to—this dark truth.

Revisit our season one coverage of The Handmaid’s Tale here, watch a brief teaser for the second season below and stayed tuned for more on Hulu’s 2018 slate.