How to watch The Handmaid's Tale season 5 online: Where to stream, release dates, synopsis and trailer

How to watch The Handmaid's Tale season 5 online: Where to stream, release dates, synopsis and trailer
(Image credit: Hulu)

The Handmaid’s Tale makes its long-awaited return to screens this week, delivering a double bill of episodes that pick up right where season 4’s shocking finale left off. With June’s actions last season having stirred up the hornet's nest, expect repercussions and revenge, but don’t expect remorse. Be the first to find out how the next chapter of this dystopian nightmare plays out for June and the rest of the resistance with our guide on how to watch The Handmaid’s Tale online in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.

Media has conditioned us all to think that the apocalypse will be populated by roaming bands of leather-clad criminals, manhunting machines, and grey matter gobbling ghouls. However, when Margaret Atwood put pen to paper on The Handmaid’s Tale, she didn’t need to make the dead rise, or to have little green men land on the White House lawn. Because the monsters were already here.

As the totalitarian state rose up, women like June were forced down. Stripped of their rights, their families, and their freedom. Season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale continues the story of June, the oppressive state of Gilead, its growing influence, and the resistance slowly rising against it. 

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 official trailer

How to watch The Handmaid's Tale season 5 online in the US

The Handmaid’s Tale returns to Hulu in the US for its season 5 premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. The first two episodes of season 5 (“Morning” and “Ballet”) will be released simultaneously to the platform with further installments following once a week until this season's 10th and final episode on November 9. Episodes will be released onto Hulu every Wednesday at midnight PT / 3 a.m. ET

New to Hulu? Sign up today and receive a 30-day, all-access trial of the service — absolutely free! Already a Hulu customer? Cut the cost of your monthly streaming memberships and gain even more of the best TV shows, movies, and sports with the Disney Bundle. Switching to the Disney Bundle will grant you access to ESPN+, Hulu, and Disney+ — all for one impressively low price.

Image

<a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=92X1584496&xcust=hawk-custom-tracking&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsignup.hulu.com%2Fplans&sref" data-link-merchant="SkimLinks - hulu.com"">Try Hulu for free & save big with the Disney Bundle

Hulu is the only on-demand service that provides access to shows from every major U.S. broadcast network with its library of content spanning over 70 thousand TV episodes and movies. Subscriptions start at just 6.99 USD for the ad-supported base plan. However, savings can be found in the Disney Bundle — which offers Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+ content for the low price of just 13.99 USD a month.

How to watch The Handmaid's Tale season 5 online in Canada

Those in Canada can stream the latest season of The Handmaid’s Tale on Crave. Mirroring the US release, Canadians will be able to catch the first two episodes of season 5 from Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022. New episodes will release to the streaming platform every following Wednesday until this season’s finale in November. To avoid any potential spoilers escaping across the border, Crave will be releasing episodes in tandem with Hulu from midnight PT / 3 a.m. ET.

Canadian cable TV customers will also be able to watch the upcoming season of The Handmaid’s Tale via CTV. From Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022 season 5’s latest episodes will be broadcast on CTV Drama at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET. Episodes will then be available through CTV’s on demand platform shortly after.

Image

<a href="https://www.crave.ca/en/subscribe" data-link-merchant="crave.ca"">Crave 7-day free trial

New to Crave? Take the service for a test drive with a 7-day free trial before investing in one of the streaming service’s impressive, all-access packages. Whichever plan you choose, you can enjoy thousands of hours of content from Crave, HBO, HBO Max, and SHOWTIME — including some of the best French and English-language on demand content from around the world.

How to watch The Handmaid's Tale season 5 in the UK

Fans of The Handmaid’s Tale in the UK have a while to wait before being able to catch up with the latest happenings in Gilead. Traditionally, the show’s UK release happens a few months after that of the US, Canada, and Australia. Season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale appears to be no different, with the show set to arrive on British platforms at some point after November.

When The Handmaid’s Tale does arrive in the UK, it will be available to watch on Channel 4 and available to stream on All 4 — the channel’s free on demand service for all 4 branded channels and content. To help with the wait, fans of the show can now catch all four previous seasons of The Handmaid’s Tale on Apple TV and Prime Video.

Image

<a href="https://www.channel4.com/" data-link-merchant="channel4.com"">Watch hundreds of shows and movies for free on All 4

All 4 is Channel 4’s award-winning on demand channel with over 18 million registered users in the U.K. all enjoying thousands of hours of content absolutely free. All 4 is home to exclusive shows, including Vice and Adult Swim; hundreds of box sets of iconic Channel 4 series, live streams, and catch-up content from all of Channel 4’s broadcast channels.

How to watch The Handmaid's Tale season 5 in Australia

The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 premieres on SBS in Australia on Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Australian fans of the show will have their choice of ways to enjoy the latest episodes with SBS both broadcasting new episodes and making them available to stream via SBS On Demand. The first two episodes of The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 will be broadcast on SBS at 8:30 p.m. AET, with future episodes releasing every Thursday at 9:30 p.m. AET.

If you’d prefer to stream episodes with SBS On Demand then you can check out all the latest goings on in Gilead from as early as 2 p.m. AET. Episodes will then release at the same time each week up until episode 5, where the release time will be changed to 3 p.m. AET going forward. The last change in release times will be for the season finale which will be released on to SBS On Demand at 4 p.m. AET.

Image

<a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/program/the-handmaids-tale" data-link-merchant="sbs.com.au"">Watch The Handmaid’s Tale for free on SBS

With over 11,000 hours of TV and film from all around the world, SBS On Demand is your go-to destination for on demand entertainment in Australia. What’s more, SBS On Demand’s selection of dramas, documentaries, comedies, movies, sports, news, and more are available to stream anytime and anywhere absolutely free. Catch up on your favorite SBS programs alongside thousands of hours of online-exclusive content with SBS On Demand.

(Image credit: Hulu)

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 synopsis

Based on the best-selling novel by Margaret Atwood, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale is the story of June Osborne/Offred (Elisabeth Moss) and her life in the fundamentalist, totalitarian society of Gilead. The state treats all women as second-class citizens and fertile women as property, forcing them to live as concubines or handmaids for government officials. 

Through the show’s many twists and turns, season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale sees June facing the consequences of killing Commander Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) while struggling to redefine her identity and purpose. The widowed Serena (Yvonne Strahovski) attempts to raise her profile in Toronto as Gilead's influence creeps into Canada. Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford) works with Aunt Lydia (Ann Dowd) as he tries to reform Gilead and rise in power. June, Luke, and Moira fight Gilead from a distance as they continue their mission to save and reunite with Hannah.

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 teaser

The Handmaid's Tale season 5 release schedule: When will new episodes be released?

The Handmaid’s Tale returns for its fifth season on Hulu in the US, Crave in Canada, and SBS On Demand in Australia. The first two episodes of season 5 will be available to stream across North America on Hulu and Crave from Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, and in Australia on SBS and SBS On Demand from Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. Episodes are set to arrive on their respective services from midnight PT (or 3 a.m. ET) and 2-4 p.m. AET. New episodes will premiere in the U.S. and Canada every Wednesday, and every Thursday in Australia for the remainder of season 5’s 10-episode run.

(Image credit: Hulu)

Currently, there is no confirmed release date for The Handmaid’s Tale season 5 in the UK and Ireland. However, the show will premiere on Channel 4 and be available to stream on the on demand service All 4 at some point in the coming months. Previously The Handmaid’s Tale has seen its UK release roughly two months after other regions, meaning season 5 is likely to arrive sometime in November.

The following is the episode list and release dates for The Handmaid's Tale season 5:

  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E01: "Morning", Sept. 14 (US), 15 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E02: "Ballet", Sept. 14 (US), 15 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E03: "Maypole", Sept. 21 (US), 22 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E04: "Dear Offred", Sept. 28 (US), 29 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E05: "Fairytale", Oct. 5 (US), 6 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E06: "Together", Oct. 12 (US), 13 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E07: "No Man’s Land", Oct. 19 (US), 20 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E08: "Motherland", Oct. 26 (US), 27 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E09: "Allegiance", Nov. 2 (US), 3 (AUS), 2022
  • The Handmaid's Tale S05E10: "Safe", Nov. 9 (US), 10 (AUS), 2022
Rael Hornby
Content Editor

Rael Hornby, potentially influenced by far too many LucasArts titles at an early age, once thought he’d grow up to be a mighty pirate. However, after several interventions with close friends and family members, you’re now much more likely to see his name attached to the bylines of tech articles. While not maintaining a double life as an aspiring writer by day and indie game dev by night, you’ll find him sat in a corner somewhere muttering to himself about microtransactions or hunting down promising indie games on Twitter.