The Handmaid’s Tale returns, are you ready for it?

On first TV view of The Handmaid’s Tale the women in red frocks with Voortrekker-like kappies creates the anticipation of some polygamist documentary but goodness, it is so much more.

Within five minutes of the show it draws viewers in and keeps you there.  While the show is not exactly new, the title, as with the opening scenes, is a bit deceptive and casts a bit of reticence when it comes to clicking play. But wow, tapping the remove positively is the only way to go with this title.

The Handmaid’s Tale has won an Emmy Award and is based on author Margaret Atwood’s novels. She is also a principal writer on the show. It is set in the former United States, now a totalitarian society called Gilead, ruled by a fundamentalist refine that treats women as property.

A handmaid’s role is to birth children and repopulate a depleting human race during a period of plummeting birth rates, environmental disasters and war. The story is narrated by a woman forced into sexual servitude, Ofred played by Elizabeth Moss whose determination to survive and find her daughter, who was taken from her, serves as Handmaid’s central premise. It is riveting viewing. One of TV’s best.

The cultural phenomenon picks up where we left off, with June’s fight for freedom against Gilead. But the risks she takes bring unexpected and dangerous new challenges, and her desire for justice and revenge threaten to consume her and destroy her most cherished relationships.

Based on Margaret Atwood’s acclaimed 1985 novel, The Handmaid’s Tale has won 75 awards to date, including 12 Emmys and Golden Globes for Best Drama Series and Best Actress (Elisabeth Moss). The series holds an 8.4/10 score on IMDb and an average critics’ rating of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Joseph Fiennes and Yvonne Strahovski are back in their Emmy-nominated roles as Fred Waterford and Serena Joy, as are Ann Dowd, Alexis Bledel, Bradley Whitford and Samira Wiley in their Emmy-winning roles as Aunt Lydia, Emily, Commander Lawrence, and Moira respectively. Critics’ Choice nominee Mckenna Grace (The Haunting of Hill House, Troop Zero, I, Tonya) joins the cast this season as the teenage wife of a much older commander.

Binge episodes 1-3 from 29 April, with a new episode to follow every Monday on Showmax

What else to watch?

While The Crown’s dramatic narrative has been criticized for not being entirely historically accurate, the Netflix TV documentary The Royal House of Windsor shows that much of the tale is not exactly that far off from the reality that was and is. The six-part season takes in in-depth look at the House of Windsor, nee Saxe-Coburg-Gotha since its beginnings in 1917. It takes us through the Second World War, the ascendancy of Queen Elizabeth 2 and the shenanigans of everybody in the extended family. Importantly, it shows how Prince Philip played a critical role in pivoting the royals from potential irrelevance and suggests that their sustained survival is in large part due to his influence. An in-depth exam of Charles and Diana’s relationship is inevitable but, more interesting, is a look at the relationship between the Queen and her eldest son. This documentary is so well made that at season’s end, it leaves even non-loyalist royalists wanting for more.

Staying with Netflix, the science fiction thriller Salvation is a must-binge for you and your TV. When a scientist calculates that there is an asteroid heading for earth, with just under 200 days for the world to survive, it sets off a string of events filled with intrigue, a strong plot and excellent cinematography and performances. The United States government is pitted against techpreneur Darius Tanz (Santiago Cabrera), who plays a pivotal role in ultimately avoiding the collision. Watching the show, Tanz’s character reminds of a crossbreed between what one would imagine a hybrid Steve Jobs and Elon Musk would be like. Unfortunately, the show was cancelled by its original carrying network, CBS, so there are only two seasons available. But, for a weekend’s binge, it is perfect.