There’s been a lot of news (and we’ve reported it!) about Hulu’s adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale — and it was starting to seem that, after the streaming service released a series of cast photos, the casting news part of the series’ development would be over. But it seems like Hulu was sneakily withholding one key bit of information: the series also features Alexis Bledel in the recurring role of Ofglen.
In Margaret Atwood’s novel, Ofglen is one of many of the fellow handmaids the protagonist — Offred, to be played by Elisabeth Moss — encounters. Within their misogynist, theocratic dystopia of the Republic of Gilmore Gilead, Ofglen and Offred — whose role in society is, essentially, fertility slave — are placed together to do daily shopping; like all handmaids, they’re not supposed to be alone, and so partnerships are enforced for everyday activities. In the book, there are a few Ofglens, because the names of handmaids simply refer to the Commanders they serve (“of Fred” or “of Glen”). One Ofglen is bold and resistant; another far less so. (Bledel’s Ofglen seems, from the description on TVLine, to be the former.) Her character also happens to be lesbian, a fact that has spurred some amusingly clumsy attempts to fit her sexuality into a headline:
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The series’ lesbian first season debuts on April 26.