The series stars Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia, a role she has portrayed for seven years since originating it in the first season of The Handmaid's Tale, alongside Chase Infiniti as Agnes MacKenzie and Lucy Halliday as Daisy. According to Daily Express - Showbiz, Ann Dowd described her eagerness to continue playing the character. Margaret Atwood insisted to showrunner Bruce Miller that Aunt Lydia not be killed off in The Handmaid's Tale, and Dowd believes Atwood had Lydia in mind when writing the sequel novel.
The official renewal status of The Testaments for a second season remains unknown, as it has not been picked up yet. However, according to Daily Express - Showbiz, Ann Dowd predicted the series will be picked up. Specific plot details beyond the basic premise and whether Aunt Lydia survives the first season are not disclosed, and the exact number of episodes and viewership reception upon premiere are yet to be confirmed.
I can’t get there fast enough. That’s the truth. It’s wonderful to play a role like this.
I think she decided she was going to write a sequel, and maybe getting the character she wants to be alive in her book.
So I say humbly, I think she had Lydia in mind, which I’m so grateful for. I wonder if she would have been killed? But anyway, very grateful that she did not. We did not die.
Well, we haven’t been picked up yet. I think it will be.
I’m pretty sure that this is going to be picked up… so they’re in the writer’s room now. I mean, not this moment, but they have begun writing it.
So, I think it’s soon to come. I’m sure they’d like to have several seasons. There’s a lot to tell.