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The Handmaid’s Tale is adding to its cast for season five.
The Emmy-winning Hulu drama has cast Christine Ko (Dave) in a key recurring role for the coming season, which is in production in Toronto and slated to premiere later in the year. She’ll play a character named Lily, a Gilead refugee who now is a leader in the Canada-based resistance movement.
The Handmaid’s Tale is the second Hulu series Ko has booked recently; she’ll also be part of the second season of Only Murders in the Building, which premieres June 28.
Season five of The Handmaid’s Tale will pick up after June (Elisabeth Moss) and some of her fellow escaped handmaids killed captured Gilead leader Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes). Showrunner Bruce Miller told The Hollywood Reporter after the season four finale that June’s action “has the potential to push things in a ton of ways.”
“For June, it could push her to infamy or it could push her to prison,” Miller said. “She’s a refugee who did this but, on the other hand, who is going to know? Who was there and who is going to tell them? The nice thing is that it can turn into a giant image and inspiration, or an image that besmirches the Handmaids. Anyone who looks at it can see a very different thing.”
Ko’s character, Lily, will enter the story as a leader in the resistance who’s no stranger to perilous situations — with the scars to prove it. A former Martha, she’s gritty and resourceful. Once someone earns Lily’s trust, she becomes a fierce ally.
Ko is a regular on FX’s Dave and will continue her role in the show’s third season. Along with that series and Only Murders in the Building, her credits include Upload on Amazon’s Prime Video and CBS’ Hawaii Five-0. She is repped by Circle of Confusion, WME, Viewpoint and Hansen Jacobson.
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