'The Testaments' heads back to Gilead, picking up years after 'The Handmaid's Tale'

Nearly one year after the explosive series finale, it's time to dive back into the world of "The Handmaid's Tale."

"The Testaments" stars a brand-new cast of young actors and picks up the story several years down the line.

It's back to Gilead, but this time the plotline isn't just about survival, it's about awakening, a defiant coming of age story with hope at its center.

"The Testaments" takes place about four years after the end of "The Handmaid's Tale."

It follows young girls raised inside Gilead who only know the world they were handed, but they start to see the cracks.

The connector between both words is Aunt Lydia. Emmy winner Ann Dowd returns, but this is not the Aunt Lydia that viewers remember.

"I think the thing that keeps her from going insane is her love of the girls," Dowd said. "I think it is real and powerful. The handmaids, of course, now this different group. She loves them, creates the academy to give them training, to train them for their life."

She said she loves the new crop of actors.

"They bring a joy to the work, when I'm standing, waiting maybe between shots and I'm watching and they're giggling and laughing, enjoying each other's company, it's such a pleasure to see that, to be around them," Dowd said.

And those young actors more than hold their own.

Mattea Conforti and Rowan Blanchard play Becca and Shunammite, two girls navigating a world built to keep them from asking questions while asking all of them.

"The show in and of itself offers a new perspective on these young adolescent women," Conforti said. "They have no other outside perspective and no other material to really draw on for an alternative option that's not Gilead."

The show also stars Chase Infiniti and Lucy Halliday.

"If you've watched 'The Handmaids,' you will love this, if you haven't, you can begin fresh," Dowd said.

Blanchard says the series is funny too.

"It's lighter, and these girls have so much love for each other," Conforti said. "And I really hope they fall in love with each character and the friendships and bonds that they've curated throughout the season."

The first three episodes of "The Testaments" drop April 8 on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. That's also where you can watch all six seasons of "The Handmaid's Tale."

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of Hulu and this ABC station.