7 Suspenseful Dramas To Watch Before ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ Says Goodbye
Six seasons, 60 episodes, and eight years after its exciting pilot episode, The Handmaid’s Tale is officially set to end with the imminent arrival of its series finale.
With questions still looming about June and Serena’s fate ahead of the show’s upcoming conclusion, fans remain perched on the edge of their seats for each new episode of Hulu’s lauded sci-fi series.
As viewers count down the days until the show’s very last episode, it’s worth wondering which other similarly-veined TV series audience members might turn towards to fill the dystopian void left in their lives following the end of The Handmaid’s Tale. From nightmarish alternate reality thrillers to harrowing survival dramas, here are some of the greatest TV series to watch ahead of The Handmaid’s Tale’s series’ finale.
Homeland
Admittedly, Homeland’s later seasons never came close to matching the esteem of its first 24 episodes. Even then, however, this Showtime series remains one of the most extraordinarily well-crafted TV shows of the 21st century yet. Ingeniously analyzing the systemic paranoia infecting the American mindset in the wake of 9/11, Homeland also weighs in heavily on one’s loyalties and the burden of their personal convictions. A well-written espionage series with ambition, drive, and an unparalleled air of suspense, it’s a binge-worthy drama perfectly deserving of viewers’ time and attention.
The Plot Against America
As series like The Handmaid’s Tale routinely teaches us, society is always in a state of precarious flux, threatening to topple whenever we least expect it. Just as Hulu’s TV series regularly harps on this fact, The Plot Against America similarly shows just how terrifyingly close to chaotic descent we are at any given moment. Based on Philip Roth’s best-selling novel of the same name, The Plot Against America offers a sobering what-if scenario, portraying America’s transformation into a fascist government during the early days of the 1940s. Like all the best dystopian dramas, HBO’s atmospheric miniseries underscores the tremendous dangers that come with radical politics and authoritarian government regimes, turning the average person into victims of tyrannical leaders and their emotionless political enforcers.
The Americans
As with a few other shows on this list, The Americans might not seem to resemble the dystopian reality of The Handmaid’s Tale. Yet in the case of each series, both The Americans and The Handmaid’s Tale offer an introspective study of identity, relationships, and the continuous struggle between one’s political allegiances and their own set principles and personal loyalties. Exploring the subject of marriage through the guise of an ‘80s-set espionage narrative, The Americans outfits itself with a sweeping philosophical edge, roping audiences in with its overt spy narrative and keeping them hooked through its emotionally charged characters and episodic storylines.
Watchmen
In the mid 1980s, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons changed the superhero narrative with their sensational work on Watchmen. Forty years later, showrunner Damon Lindelof decided to create his own continuation of the award-winning comic series with HBO’s 2019 drama, Watchmen. Building off the pre-existing universe constructed by Moore and Gibbons, Watchmen continues to show the resonating influence the original comic book events have had on the world at large, ushering in a strange reality where masked police officers struggle to maintain law and order in a borderline fascist future. With returning appearances from fan-favorite characters like Ozymandias, Silk Spectre, and Doctor Manhattan, Watchmen is a series capable of delighting dedicated comic book fans and casual viewers alike.
The Man in the High Castle
Yet another alternative history series, The Man in the High Castle specifically wonders: “What if the Axis Powers had emerged victorious in World War 2?” Exploring the horrifying possibilities based around that premise, The Man in the High Castle delivers a powerful dystopian narrative as haunting as it is genuinely thought-provoking. Like its recent contemporary in The Handmaid’s Tale, The Man in the High Castle shines brightest when depicting the fully-populated near future of its sci-fi settings, as seen through its portrayal of a fascist-controlled United States 20 years after the Second World War.
Yellowjackets
On the surface, Yellowjackets might not bear an overwhelming resemblance to its award-winning Hulu counterpart. But on closer examination, both series succeed at focusing on resourceful, endlessly self-dependent women contending with the harsh realities of their surroundings. In the case of Showtime’s premiere survival series, Yellowjackets flashes back and forth between an all-female teenage soccer team stranded in the Canadian woods, as well as depicting their later lives long after they’ve returned to civilization. Led by gripping performances and a stirring, nonlinear episodic presentation, Yellowjackets serves as one of the best additions to Showtime’s catalog in some time, more than measuring up to the heights left behind by Dexter, Shameless, and Homeland in the years prior.
Severance
Just as The Handmaid’s Tale readily evaluates gender and female representation in modern America, Severance opens up a critical analysis rooted around the ordinary corporate workplace. Quite possibly the greatest Apple TV+ series to date, Severance’s sharp writing, impressive ensemble, and topical depictions of unethical business practices have allowed it to find a welcome and highly appreciative audience of mass viewers. Dark, funny, and a tad disturbing in all the right places, it’s a series capable of making you laugh even as it emphasizes the shadiest aspects of our profit-obsessed capitalist system – one that sacrifices morals and human emotion for the sake of the almighty dollar.
