Shortly after Hulu was launched, The Handmaid's Tale became an Emmy-winning sensation. One of the best Hulu shows to watch, the book-to-screen adaptation wrapped last year and ended June's story. Those with a Hulu subscription recently returned to Gilead with The Testaments, and there's one character from the flagship series I'm really hoping pops up: Ever Carradine's Naomi Putnam/Lawrence.
What we know about The Testament has been limited, but the first few seasons definitely started things off with a bang. The show picked up the narrative after The Handmaid's Tale finale, and has already had some intriguing connections to that show's events. While Ann Dowd's Aunt Lydia is a main character, I think it would be awesome to see Naomi also return to the narrative sometime in the future.
Naomi Is Presumably Still In Gilead And/Or Working With Lydia
Ever Carradine was a scene stealer as Naomi throughout the entire run of The Handmaid's Tale, although she was promoted to a series regular in the sixth and final season. When we last saw her it was the series finale, where she and Aunt Lydia finally gave Janine her daughter back. It was a huge moment of redemption for the pair of Gilead women, and now I want to know what happened to one of the fictional country's most iconic wives.
In the Testaments novel, Aunt Lydia ends up fighting against Gilead and making up for her villainous ways. This has yet to play out on the TV adaptation, but I have to assume we'll see that story play out as written. But the Aunt is going to need some help, so maybe Naomi would be the perfect person.
Critical response to The Testaments has been positive, and I have to assume that Handmaid's Tale fans would be thrilled to see more returning characters pop up. It was thrilling when Elisabeth Moss showed up as June, so it doesn't seem out of the question for Ever Carradine to get the same treatment... especially if/when the young women of the spinoff become Wives.
Of course, it's possible that things didn't go great for Naomi after the finale of The Handmaid's Tale. Joseph Lawrence was the second husband to have died, and Wives don't have many rights without being married. She also helped Lydia return Angela to Janine, which could have landed her on the wall. Then again, maybe she was inspired to join Mayday. Her fate left us with plenty of questions, and it would be awesome to see them answered in the new spinoff. Fingers crossed.
New episodes of The Testaments air Wednesdays on Hulu as part of the 2026 TV schedule. It should be fascinating to see how the novel is adapted, and if we get more connections to The Handmaid's Tale.
