SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for the first three episodes of “The Handmaid’s Tale” sequel series, “The Testaments,” now streaming on Hulu.
On the series premiere of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” sequel, “The Testaments,” Elisabeth Moss‘ June Osborne appears in a brief cameo in the closing moments of the first episode. June is seen watching Daisy (Lucy Halliday) from afar inside a shop in Canada in a flashback to before Daisy entered Agnes’ (Chase Infiniti) academy in Gilead.
The appearance should come as a shock to fans of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” as the sequel series has been heavily marketed as a YA-skewing drama that would include a time jump and focus on June’s eldest daughter, Hannah, as she remains stuck as a citizen of Gilead known as Agnes, a daughter to a high-profile commander. Moss was announced as an executive producer working on “The Testaments,” but not a cast member.
When “The Handmaid’s Tale” concluded in 2025, it ended with June choosing to return to Gilead to begin chronicling her story as a handmaid and continue the resistance movement with hopes of one day getting her and Luke’s daughter, Hannah, back. June gives up her fulltime freedom in Canada and her life with her other daughter, Nichole, for the cause.
Lucy Halliday as Daisy and Chase Infiniti as Agnes/Hannah in “The Testaments”/Hulu
Courtesy of Disney
“We kind of followed our hearts, honestly,” Moss told Variety about reprising her role for “The Testaments.” “It wasn’t even like a big discussion about, should she or should she not [come back]? One of the differences from the book is that the timeline is different. So Margaret put ‘The Testaments’ 15 years ahead, but we don’t do that. I think it’s four years, so it’s even that long. So it made more sense to have June in it, as opposed to she’s off in a completely different place. She’s still active in the world. It wasn’t a discussion of whether or not to do it.”
“The Testaments” launched with its first three episodes on April 8, giving viewers more than just one hit of June — Moss plays a pivotal role in Episode 3. During that installment, a flashback shows June connecting with Daisy following the loss of her parents. June recruits Daisy into the movement, a major plot point that will fuel the rest of the “The Testaments” Season 1. It was for this reason, Daisy’s mysterious importance to the resistance, that Moss says “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “The Testaments” TV series creator Bruce Miller asked her to put the handmaid bonnet back on.
“I think at some point, I’m sure, Bruce was like, this is what I’m thinking — would you want to?” Moss said. “And I was like, yeah, of course! Like, how do you get Daisy involved in the resistance in a way that is exciting for the new audience, and the audience that is returning? Well, who is the leader of the resistance, right? He’s like, ‘Isn’t it June?’ Like, who are you going to have, some other person come in and be that? It was organic.”
What Moss did want to be mindful of is how June’s plot will ultimately intersect with Daisy and Hannah/Agnes’ story throughout the rest of the first season of “The Testaments.” Moss teased that she’s willing to come back as often as the show needs her to, as long as the larger storyline of June and Hannah’s separation is handled with care and her appearance doesn’t pull focus from what Agnes and Daisy are trying to do.
“For me, I think it was more asking how and why? And the ‘How close does she get to Hannah?’ discussion,” Moss said. “I guess we’ll call her Agnes. Like, how? What is that relationship? And that’s always the thing that we’re talking about. But it just seemed very natural. And I’m literally, like, very much, you call and I’m there, just let me know. I love playing that character so much, and because I love who I work with on that show so much, I’m like, doesn’t matter, just let me know.”
