The Biggest Television Event of the Year, THE HANDMAID'S TALE, Begins Streaming July 28 on CraveTV

– CraveTV debut follows an exclusive Canadian broadcast run on Bravo where it broke records as the network's most-watched program ever –
– Television adaptation of Margaret Atwood's iconic dystopian novel renewed for Season 2 – 

". . . this show has prompted important conversations about women's rights and autonomy." – Hillary Clinton

". . . brutally excellent" – Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail

". . . cable-length storytelling drama with psychological insight and sharp sociological perspective." – John Doyle, The Globe and Mail

". . . unflinching, vital and scary as hell." – James Poniewozik, The New York Times

". . . TV's Great New Heroine Is Born" – Daniel D'Addario, TIME

". . . an upsetting, immersive, and horrifyingly beautiful vision of a too-close dystopian world" – Sonia Saraiya, Variety

 "The best thing you'll watch all year" – The Guardian

"With its tone of go-girl defiance, the series forces Margaret Atwood's novel from the Reagan era into another perverse period for feminism - our own." – Emily Nussbaum, The NewYorker

To tweet this release: http://bmpr.ca/2sTEukM

TORONTO, June 26, 2017 /CNW/ - On the heels of a stunning season finale episode last night on Bravo, extraordinary critical acclaim throughout its broadcast run, and record-breaking Canadian audiences, all 10 episodes of THE HANDMAID'S TALE come to CraveTV on Friday, July 28.

"CraveTV is all about prestige, water-cooler TV, so we are thrilled to add this year's most-talked-about series, THE HANDMAID'S TALE, to the service," said Tracey Pearce, President, Distribution and Pay, Bell Media. "We're excited to introduce this must-watch series to new audiences and give die-hard fans an opportunity to stream it again and again."

Following unprecedented audiences for the premiere on April 30, THE HANDMAID'S TALE continued to break records for Bravo, cementing the drama as the network's most-watched program, ever. Leading up to the finale, the series averaged 794,000 viewers per episode, with a series-high 965,000 viewers for Episode 8, making it the most-watched new program on Canadian entertainment specialty TV this year.

And now the series that The Toronto Star called "…prestige television at its most substantive" exclusively joins Canada's streaming service, CraveTV, on Friday, July 28, as part of CraveTV's #iCraveFridays weekly roll-out of new content. 

THE HANDMAID'S TALE will be part of CraveTV's riveting Dramas Collection, joining a stellar lineup of some of the most celebrated current and past television dramas, including TWIN PEAKS, TRUE DETECTIVE, THE WIRE, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, THE SOPRANOS, BOSCH, THE EXPANSE, THE AFFAIR, and DOCTOR WHO.

Based on the award-winning, best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, which recently topped the best-seller's list once again, THE HANDMAID'S TALE is the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birth rate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted fundamentalist regime that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Elisabeth Moss, MAD MEN) is a Handmaid in the Commander's household, one of the caste of women forced into sexual servitude as a last desperate attempt to repopulate a devastated world. In this terrifying society where one wrong word could end her life, Offred navigates between Commanders, their cruel Wives, domestic Marthas, and her fellow Handmaid's – where anyone could be a spy for Gilead – with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.

The series also stars: Joseph Fiennes (AMERICAN HORROR STORY: ASYLUM, Shakespeare In Love) as Commander Waterford; Samira Wiley (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK) as Moira; Max Minghella (THE MINDY PROJECT) as Nick;  Yvonne Strahovski (CHUCK, DEXTER) as the Commander's wife Serena Joy; O.T. Fagbenle (THE FIVE) as Luke; Alexis Bledel (GILMORE GIRLS) as Ofglen; Madeline Brewer (ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK) as Janine; and Ann Dowd (Compliance, THE LEFTOVERS) as Aunt Lydia. Margaret Atwood is a consulting producer.

Filmed in Toronto, THE HANDMAID'S TALE was created for television by Bruce Miller (The 100), who serves as the series' showrunner. The drama is executive produced by Miller, Warren Littlefield (FARGO), Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Ilene Chaiken. THE HANDMAID'S TALE is produced by MGM Television and internationally distributed by MGM.

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About CraveTV
Created for TV lovers and devoted to television, CraveTV is Canada's premium TV streaming service, providing the most robust lineup of superior television content in the country. From TV's most-acclaimed dramas and beloved comedies to documentaries, music, and factual programming, CraveTV features thousands of hours of premium non-kids TV programming, representing hundreds of unique titles including the entire off-air library of HBO's iconic programming catalogue and hundreds of hours of acclaimed SHOWTIME series and specials. CraveTV is available directly to all Canadians with access to the Internet, as well as to customers of Eastlink, TELUS Optik TV, Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV, Bell Aliant FibreOP TV, Access Communications, Northwestel, SaskTel, Cable Cable, Hay Communications, Mitchell Seaforth Cable TV, Tuckersmith Communications, Wightman Telecom subscribers, NRTC Communications, WTC Communications, Tbaytel, Execulink Telecom, and VMedia. Available through traditional set-top boxes, mobile apps on iOS, Android, and Microsoft Windows 8.1, the web, Apple TV, Chromecast, and select Samsung Smart TVs, and CraveTV will soon be available via select game consoles. CraveTV is from Bell Media, Canada's premier multi-media company with more than a decade of leadership delivering Canada's most-watched and most-acclaimed television programming across the Pay, Specialty, Digital, and Network TV landscapes. For more on CraveTV, visit www.CraveTV.ca.

SOURCE CraveTV

Nicolle Stranges, 416.384.2056, [email protected]