You Won't Believe Which The Handmaid's Tale Set Samira Wiley Found To Be The Scariest
Gilead has no lack of horrifying places, but no one saw this one coming.
One of the reasons that The Handmaid's Tale resonates so strongly with its audience and causes so much existential dread is that the world is so dystopian, yet so realistic, that viewers begin to believe that it could one day become real.
With all the abuse women face today, the possibility of being trapped forever in a cycle of reproductive slavery doesn't sound so far off as something that could actually happen.
This harrowing thought haunts not only the viewers but also the cast and crew of the show, who must truly immerse themselves in the universe to translate it to the screen.
It's no surprise that everyone leaves the set of The Handmaid's Tale with more fear than they ever had before. Samira Wiley, who portrays Moira on the show, shared one particular location that gave her more fear than you might think:
“When they go shopping, it's not in some old-timey-looking place. It's in a shopping center that looks like now. And I think those details make it a little scarier; it's really in the world we are living in right now,” the actress shared with Architectural Digest while discussing the effort that was put into the creation of Gilead.
As production designer Julie Berghoff mentioned, this set was also the most difficult to create. Because Gilead forbids any form of reading, this mall could not have written labels. Instead, the team had to fill the huge shelves of cans, boxes, and packages with re-created labels featuring symbolic images.
Production on this scale required hundreds and hundreds of labels to be designed, printed, and applied to the food by hand. One can only imagine how much time was spent creating an eerie scene of the maids going shopping.
This set must have been a nightmare to bring to life, not only for the actress’ but for all the set designers as well.
If you want to immerse yourself in all the beauty and horror of Gilead, you can stream all 5 seasons of The Handmaid's Tale on Hulu. The show has also been officially renewed for season 6, but there is no official release date yet, so stay tuned for any news or updates.
Source: Architectural Digest