Elisabeth Moss Returns for a Cameo in 'The Testaments'

Fans of the Hulu drama The Handmaid's Tale are excited that the show has a new spin-off, The Testaments, and they were very pleased to see a cameo with Elisabeth Moss returning as June in the premiere episodes. Both shows are based on books by Margaret Atwood.

According to Variety, June's appearance in the show shocked many fans because the spin-off was marketed as a drama with a time jump focusing on June’s daughter, Hannah, who is still trapped in Gilead. At the end of The Handmaid's Tale, Elisabeth's character joins the resistance movement to find Hannah, her daughter with husband Luke, who was kidnapped at the beginning of the war. June leaves her life with Luke and her other child, Nichole, in Canada, to do so.

Elisabeth spoke about her cameo in The Testaments, and she explained how the show decided to have June return.

“We kind of followed our hearts, honestly,” she said. "It wasn’t even like a big discussion about, should she or should she not? One of the differences from the book is that the timeline is different."

The producer added that in the show, the time jump is four years instead of 15, as in the book.

"So, Margaret put The Testaments 15 years ahead, but we don’t do that," she continued. "I think it’s four years, so it’s not even that long. So it made more sense to have June in it, as opposed to she’s off in a completely different place. She’s still active in the world. It wasn’t a discussion of whether or not to do it.”

Elisabeth also said she may return to the show for more cameo appearances in the future. The first three episodes of The Testaments dropped on Hulu on April 8, 2026. Showrunner Bruce Miller said in an interview with People that June has more to do in the victory department.

"When you get to the end of Handmaid's Tale, I think you feel that June has won some great victories, and not won some great victories," he said. "I think you feel like she has more to do."

A girl named Daisy in the show is the daughter of two murdered members of Mayday, and June advises her that their work made them targets in Gilead. Daisy is June's daughter, Nichole, in the book, but it remains to be seen how the show will handle her identity.

"Like, how do you get Daisy involved in the resistance in a way that is exciting for the new audience?" Elisabeth said. "And the audience that is returning? Well, who is the leader of the resistance, right? He’s like, ‘Isn’t it June?’ Like, who are you going to have, some other person come in and be that? It was organic.”

Bruce added that Elisabeth wasn't quite finished with June.

"Moss didn't want to hang up her cloak, as she says," he said. "She would've been central to this show anyway, even if she wasn't in it. But I think she was very eager to come back."

Ann Dowd also returns in the new show as Aunt Lydia. The first three episodes are currently available on Hulu.