The Testaments executive producer on decision to bring back June: ‘We were very careful’

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Before the release of The Testaments, it was announced that Elisabeth Moss would be back as an executive producer for the follow-up to The Handmaid’s Tale. However, it wasn’t clear if she would also reprise her role as June Osborne.

At the end of the last season, she was collaborating with Mayday and had gone back to the Waterford home, where she started recording her experiences. It was unclear if she would be in the new series, which focuses on teenagers Agnes and Daisy as they attend a special school run by Aunt Lydia, designed to train the next generation of wives.

So, everyone’s been asking about June’s potential return, and I recently chatted with Moss about it. He’s playing coy, understandably, but he did hint at how much he’s enjoyed staying involved with the show even behind the scenes. He basically admitted that moving into a producing role has allowed him to keep a foot in this world he loves, and he’s thrilled about that. It’s clear he wasn’t ready to let go of these characters and this story, and producing has given him a way to avoid a full goodbye.

It wasn’t shocking to see the character reappear in The Testaments – a change from the original Margaret Atwood novel. They show up briefly in the first episode and have a more significant scene with Daisy in the third.

Following the murder of her parents by agents of Gilead, June brings Daisy to a safe location. There, she shares a secret about her origins: she was actually born in Gilead. The people she grew up believing were her mother and father were resistance fighters who adopted her after rescuing her from Gilead.

The decision to focus on June during this important scene, instead of just briefly showing her, was intentional, as show creator Bruce Miller explained in a recent TopMob interview.

The decision to include her was a collaborative one, made with Elisabeth Moss. She’s been a creative partner throughout the entire process, serving as a producer on The Handmaid’s Tale and an executive producer on this current project. Ultimately, it was her choice as well.

June is a really important character to me, Elisabeth, and everyone else. We’d all love to see her return if possible, and that’s a big reason why I feel this way.

Miller recalled that when he started discussing The Testaments with Margaret Atwood around 2018, she spoke about how the character of June would fit into the story’s world.

So, some of what I was imagining while writing ended up in the book! I always knew The Testaments would be told through the eyes of different people, and that those characters would have connections to the ones we met in The Handmaid’s Tale. It was really exciting to build those links as I wrote.

We’re not aiming to recreate season 7 of The Handmaid’s Tale, but there’s something appealing about the core idea – that there’s a June for everyone, someone looking out for us – especially in a world like the one depicted in The Testaments.

The team’s eagerness to have June return wasn’t just about what they wanted; it was crucial to the story. Executive producer Warren Littlefield even described actress Alexis Bledel as essential, saying they were ‘hooked’ on her performance.

We knew The Testaments needed to feel like a complete story, even for readers unfamiliar with the original,” he said. “So, as Bruce mentioned, we worked closely with Lizzie to decide how much to connect it to June’s story. We wanted to hint at June’s experiences, but The Testaments had to be strong enough to stand on its own merits.

We were careful not to overuse her history, but wanted to highlight her importance and connection to this world. This feels like a natural progression, and a collaborative decision.

“Slowly and poorly,” laughed Miller.

Littlefield explained they worked with Lizzie a lot as a producer, and Miller added that she’s an equal partner on the show, just as involved as they are.

He noted that her contributions were particularly valuable, especially since she wasn’t simply revisiting a role she’d played years ago.

Chase Infiniti, who plays Agnes on the show, said having Ann Dowd (who plays Moss) available was a huge asset. Dowd’s character knows everything about Gilead, and that knowledge was incredibly helpful during filming.

I remember she was such a valuable resource for us. We were always asking her questions, and she was so open and willing to help everyone on the show, especially me and Lucy Halliday – Lucy plays Daisy, and she actually moved from Canada to join Aunt Lydia’s school, so she had a lot to learn!

“We felt very grateful to even have her be there for us.”

Halliday felt Moss’s presence was comforting, explaining that she strongly represents the essence of The Handmaid’s Tale.

When starting this project, we were careful not to ruin something people already enjoy. Getting Elizabeth Moss’s approval – her saying we were on the right track – was incredibly encouraging.

It felt like they were confidently saying, ‘We have a clear plan, and Margaret Atwood herself would approve.’

The Testaments is out now on Disney+ in the UK.

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Authors

Abby RobinsonDrama Editor

Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor at TopMob, where she writes about TV dramas and comedies. Before joining TopMob, she was a TV writer for Digital Spy and a content writer for Mumsnet. She has a degree and a postgraduate diploma in English Studies.

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2026-04-08 12:08