How The Handmaid’s Tale traveled from page to screen, explained by showrunner Bruce Miller

Few of 2017's new TV shows have hit with the impact of Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale, which went from "they're making a TV show out of _that_" territory to 13 Emmy nominations (including Drama Series) in what seemed like record time. Taken from the book by Margaret Atwood, the series depicts a dystopian society, built from the ruins of the United States, where women have no legal rights and where fertile women (also known as "handmaids") are held as slaves by powerful men and ritually raped once a month with the purpose of conceiving a child. The show's reality seemed, for many viewers, to eerily dovetail with actual reality in the wake of the election of a president who boasted about committing sexual assault and still was voted into office. But The Handmaid's Tale would have been excellent regardless of who was in office. The series is beautifully directed, hauntingly performed, and terrifically written. The show's writers room is headed up by longtime TV hand Bruce Miller, and he joins Todd to talk about the series' journey from page to screen, figuring out a way to tell such an elementally feminist story when he's a man, and working with Elisabeth Moss and Margaret Atwood. Note: This week's episode was recorded in Miller's office, and there are some stray traffic noises. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices