The Handmaid's Tale 2x01 | Hanging scene. The Handmaid's Tale is an American dystopian tragedy web television series created by Bruce Miller, based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Canadian author, Margaret Atwood. The series was ordered by the streaming service Hulu as a straight-to-series order of 10 episodes, for which production began in late 2016. NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT INTENDED. ALL CONTENT BELONGS TO ITS RIGHTFUL OWNERS. FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY.