Poussey is heading to Hulu. “Orange is the New Black” star Samira Wiley is joining the streaming service’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” Vanity Fair reports. The series will star Elisabeth Moss (“Mad Men”).
As we previously reported, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” tells the story of life in the dystopia of Gilead, “a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the U.S. Facing environmental disasters and a plunging birthrate, Gilead is ruled by a twisted religious fundamentalism that treats women as property of the state. As one of the few remaining fertile women, Offred (Moss) 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. She is forced to navigate between commanders, their cruel wives, domestic ‘Marthas’ (servants) and her fellow handmaids — where anyone could be a spy for Gilead — all with one goal: to survive and find the daughter that was taken from her.”
As Vanity Fair writes, “Wiley will play Offred’s best friend, who is training to be a handmaid herself.”
Acclaimed cinematographer Reed Morano is directing. Her credits include “Kill Your Darlings” and “Frozen River.” She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her cinematography in “Meadowland,” her 2015 directorial debut starring Olivia Wilde.
Wiley has also signed on for the next season of the FX comedy “You’re the Worst,” playing a therapist for main character Gretchen (Aya Cash).