Samira Wiley won’t be returning for ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ sequel: ‘I am done with the trauma’

Samira Wiley has starred as Moira Strand in the dystopian drama for all six seasons of the show.
Samira Wiley, who has brought the character of Moira Strand to life for all six seasons of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” is ready to leave the dystopian world of Gilead behind for good.
Speaking to Parade during “The Handmaid’s Tale” season six premiere party at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood earlier this month, the 37-year-old actress said she would not be returning for the newly announced sequel to the show, “The Testaments.”
“I’m not gonna tease and say ‘maybe’ or nothing. Nope. I am done with it,” Wiley said. “I am done with the trauma. I am. I mean it. Margaret Atwood, the way she writes these characters, the depth to all of it, I feel like I have played my part and my story is done.”
Wiley went on to explain how, to participate in the show’s dark and dystopian world season after season, she had to use specific techniques to manage her mental health.
“I had to learn some techniques — meditation and mindfulness and all of those things — to consciously take myself out of the world of Gilead,” she said, adding, “I often tell people who binge-watch the show like, please take care of your mental health.”
When “The Handmaid’s Tale” first premiered on Hulu in 2017, viewers were introduced to Moira as the best friend to June, the show’s lead, played by Elizabeth Moss, as the reality they once knew gradually shifts to a violent dystopia where women have no rights or personal agency. The sequel series, “The Testaments,” is based on Atwood’s book of the same name and takes place 15 years after the events of “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Wiley has been a fan favorite throughout the show’s run, and the role has garnered her four Emmy nominations and one win.
The sixth season, which premiered on Hulu on Tuesday, kicks off where season five ended: with June on a refugee train heading for Alaska or Hawaii.
According to the official synopsis, in the sixth season, June’s “unyielding spirit and determination pull her back into the fight to take down Gilead. Luke and Moira join the resistance. Serena tries to reform Gilead while Commander Lawrence and Aunt Lydia reckon with what they have wrought, and Nick faces challenging tests of character. This final chapter of June’s journey highlights the importance of hope, courage, solidarity, and resilience in the pursuit of justice and freedom.”
New episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale” stream on Tuesdays on Hulu.