The Handmaid's Tale, based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, is a dark and gritty show starring Elisabeth Moss. It transports viewers to a dystopian future where the US is taken over by deranged religious zealots determined to restore the country, renamed as Gilead, to its glory days and fix its dwindling population. Fertile women are forced to become handmaids and reproduce against their will, obeying the whims of their male Commanders. At times, The Handmaid's Tale makes for some brutal viewing and is not for the faint-hearted.

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The fifth season of The Handmaid's Tale is concluded and has been renewed for a sixth and final season. Once audiences have binge-watched The Handmaid's Tale, they may need a dystopian fix. Look no further than these hand-picked shows, all with themes close to The Handmaid's Tale, to fill that void for fans of the show, though viewer discretion is advised.

Updated December 21, 2023 by Rie Takumi:Margaret Atwood’s work remains beloved decades after its publication because of its themes. Fundamentalism, curbing women’s rights, fertility, and gender roles, among other themes, are explored with boldness and conviction.

Newer works tackle femininity, exploitation, and other themes touched on by The Handmaid’s Tale in ways relevant to modern audiences. Those adapted from other works also answer questions that their source had no means to answer or didn’t even think of. With The Handmaid’s Tale’s last season delayed, watching these shows can make the wait less agonizing.

10 Y: The Last Man

IMDB Rating: 6/10

Adapted from the celebrated graphic novel series Y: The Last Man, explores a world without men. Specifically, a world where all but two beings with y-chromosomes are wiped out.

In this version, however, the issue of trans, nonbinary, intersex, and cis people with Y chromosomes was tackled. Instead of skirting the line of gender essentialism, the series posits that human chromosomes go beyond the cultural gender binary.

This draws parallels to The Handmaid’s Tale’s discussions of femininity and feminism. Those who benefit from the rigid gender binary and the patriarchy fight to uphold it, even in a world where new power structures that can benefit everyone exist.

9 Colony

IMDB Rating: 7.3/10

Dystopian television shows are growing in popularity, and Colony is no exception. It is set in a semi-futuristic Los Angeles trapped under military occupation by alien intruders. Former FBI agent Will Bowman and his family must make difficult decisions as they fight to stay together and survive.

Internal conflicts exist between the resistance movement and those who try to peacefully collaborate with the new world order, known as the Redhats. Colony is a show full of intrigue, heartbreaking betrayals, and revelations, just like The Handmaid's Tale.

8 The Plot Against America

IMDB Rating: 7.3/10

The Plot Against America is an alternate history show set in the 1940s, examining some seriously xenophobic tendencies. In this alternative reality, Charles Lindbergh is running a presidential campaign veering towards fascism.

The Plot Against America focuses on the Levins, a Jewish family trying to achieve the American Dream but are impacted by Lindberg's policies due to their beliefs. The rising tide of bigotry affects their daily lives, just as the creation of Gilead destroyed women's rights in The Handmaid's Tale.

7 Alias Grace

IMDB Rating: 7.6/10

Fans of The Handmaid's Tale will enjoy Alias Grace, another television adaptation of a Margaret Atwood book. This period-drama miniseries is similar to The Handmaid's Tale in how it examines the horrors inflicted upon women through the patriarchy and the feminine struggle for freedom.

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Alias Grace is based on the real life of Grace Marks, an Irish-Canadian immigrant accused of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in the 1800s. Though she was convicted of murdering the rich man who employed her as his maid, Grace claims to have no memories of committing the crime. In an attempt to exonerate her, Grace's outside supporters hire a psychiatrist, Dr. Simon Jordan, to assess her mental state, but not everything is as it seems.

6 Yellowjackets

IMDB Rating: 7.8/10

The Handmaid’s Tale probes female rivalries, psychosexual toxic friendships, female grief, and trauma as it navigates its points on the patriarchy. Similarly, Yellowjackets’ characters are still learning to negotiate with the after-effects of being stuck in the Canadian wilderness for 19 months as adolescents.

Moreso than The Handmaid’s Tale, Yellowjackets physically explores women’s complex relationships and their gendered grief. Wordless savagery, dissolution of agency, and dangerous secrecy are weaved with the body—its use as a tool, a sacrifice, and a means of absolution.

5 Mrs. America

IMDB Rating: 7.9/10

In the dystopian world of Gilead in The Handmaid's Tale, women are second-class citizens with no purpose other than to serve men, with characters like Serena Joy solidifying this with her book, "A Woman's Place." Mrs. America is a similar gripping drama, inspired by actual events and set in the 1970s, chronicling the feminist movement to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

Like Serena Joy, there were opposing forces in Mrs. America that believed a woman's place resided in domesticity, like Phyllis Schlafly. She heralded the joys of homemaking, believing that being an anti-feminist was the only way the largely masculine political world would take her seriously. Mrs. America explores the grinding work and personal sacrifice that went into women changing the world.

4 Maid

IMDB Rating: 8.3/10

Maid is a hard-hitting modern television show in which the protagonist and her struggles are frighteningly realistic. Alex has a fair amount in common with June Osborne, the main character of The Handmaid's Tale. Both are fiercely protective mothers who would do anything for their children and find themselves paving the way for other marginalized women.

After fleeing her abusive partner, Alex struggles with her newfound independence and battling all the burdens that come with it, like the legal system and finding adequate childcare. No matter the setbacks she experiences, Alex remains determined to provide a better life for herself and her daughter to seize a brighter future, just like June in The Handmaid's Tale.

3 The Leftovers

IMDB Rating: 8.3/10

Just like Gilead is obsessed with using religious scripture to control their population, The Leftovers presents viewers with a modern visual representation of biblical rapture. The Leftovers begins three years after a global event known as the "Sudden Departure," where 140 million people inexplicably disappeared without a trace.

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Following this event, all mainstream religions declined as several extremist cults emerged, notably the Guilty Remnant, a group of white-clothed nihilists and a cult led by Holy Wayne, who named himself the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Each season of The Leftovers follows a different family as they come to terms with this changing world and who they have lost.

2 Mad Men

IMDB Rating: 8.7/10

For even more insight into the toxic patriarchy in society, audiences should consider watching Mad Men. This character-driven drama revolves around Don Draper, an advertising tycoon, and renowned womanizer, and also features another diverse role played by Elisabeth Moss.

Mad Men explores the changing culture of the 1960s and details the work politics at play amid the advertising industry.

Just like The Handmaid's Tale, it scrutinizes the misogyny women faced in the working world and how they were shamed for trying to step outside their expected domestic lives.

1 Black Mirror

IMDB Rating: 8.7/10

Black Mirror is a British anthology series, and the episodes can be watched in any order. Most episodes are set in near-future twisted dystopias showcasing the dangers behind human advancement. This is a form of speculative fiction, as each episode comments on contemporary social issues that are terrifyingly realistic. The episode "The Entire History Of You" is particularly terrifying, as it takes entirely plausible technology, the ability to record and replay memories and moments, and adds it into a gripping domestic drama of scandal and lies.

Black Mirror creatively uses sci-fi technology to explore deeper themes while utilizing satire. These musings on technology and futuristic storylines become more mind-boggling and darker, leaving viewers on the edges of their seats.

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