“The Testaments,” based on Margaret Atwood’s book, takes place years after the events of “The Handmaid’s Tale” and focuses on a younger generation of women who’ve come of age under Gilead’s rule. This time around, Moss will focus her efforts on producing, though helming an hour or two proved tempting. She was planning to direct the “Testaments” series premiere, but then the production schedule of the last two “Handmaid’s” episodes — which she did direct — made the decision moot.
“There was a crazy moment where we were all kind of like, ‘Wait, could I do it? Could I direct and act in the finale of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ while prepping the opening of ‘The Testaments’?” she says, laughing. “And then I was like, “No, no, Lizzie, you physically f**king can’t.'”
Mike Barker, who directed 12 “Handmaid’s” episodes, stepped in to helm the first three instead. “To me,” Moss says, “that’s way better than me directing it.”
“Conviction,” Hulu’s adaptation of Jack Jordan’s 2023 legal thriller, marks another collaboration with Littlefield, Fox 21 Television Studio, and Hulu. “[Hulu head of drama] Jordan Helman said to me a few years back, ‘The number-one goal in development for this company is to find Lizzie Moss’ next show,'” Littlefield recalls. In early 2024, Littlefield read “Conviction,” which follows a lawyer whose involvement in a major murder case becomes compromised by an anonymous blackmailer. The producer instantly knew who had to play her. “I was like, ‘Oh s**t, this is Lizzie Moss!'” he says.
Littlefield sent her the book while she was filming “Shell.” “For me to read something while I’m shooting is so unusual,” she says. “But I read this book in, like, maybe 48 hours, tops. I texted him back and said, ‘I’m in.'” David Shore (“House,” “The Good Doctor”) later signed on as showrunner (“He’s the real deal,” Moss fangirls). Hulu issued a series order in February 2026, and casting is underway — “It’ll be very fun to figure out who the men around her are in that show,” McManus says with glee — with an eye to shooting this summer in New York.
While she can’t say much about the project right now, Moss excitedly described her character, Neve Harper, as “extraordinary.”
“It’s so different from June. It’s so different from [“Mad Men” ingenue] Peggy. It feels very much like something I’ve never done before, but in the great tradition of mostly male antiheroes,” she adds. “Sometimes you just feel like something is special, and I think this might be a special one.”