BRUCE MILLER: Before the bubble got burst.
Did you have to tune all of that out, as you approached Season 2?
I think the biggest hurdle to Season 2 was Season 1.
In success, you feel like, Oh, my gosh, were gonna mess it up.
Theres all this pressure and you think, How do I write a show that wins an Emmy again?
Its all these things, and you have to venture to forget about them.
Image via Hulu
But it was very difficult, and I think it was difficult for the crew.
You have to settle people down and say, Its gonna be fine.
When you say, Good morning, this is Lizzie Moss, everybody gets a little star struck.
Image via Hulu
MILLER: Its no easier, but we have many more great choices.
Its harder, but its wonderful that people want to be on the show.
Before, it was like, Lets get a Marisa Tomei bang out.
Wouldnt that be great?
Its embarrassing that its so fun.
What have you most enjoyed about the collaboration you have with Elisabeth Moss?
MILLER: Its so important to me.
Its the center of the show, really.
First of all, Ive enjoyed getting to know her, as a human being.
Its like a master class in approaching an artistic job.
She really is amazing at it.
She puts so much energy into being warm, pleasant and open, on a day to day basis.
Its a lot of work.
She works incredibly long hours.
I wish everybody I worked with was as wonderful as she is.
Its been a pleasure.
This is not easy material, at all.
There are lighter moments, but theyre just moments.
What kind of vibe does that create, on set?
Also, because the material is so heavy, the trust between them is quite high.
This is a weird show.
It takes place in a weird world.
It has flashbacks, it has multiple storylines, and it has incredibly reduced point of view.
It has all these weirdo things.
It was a surprise, how all of those things would resonate.
Ann Dowd has made Lydia such a truly frightening character.
MILLER: And shes the most warm, lovely woman.
MILLER: You venture to reduce it to something you’re free to relate to.
Shes doing the best that she can for these girls, who are her girls.
The opening sequence in the first episode back is pretty horrific.
Did you think a lot about how you wanted to bring everyone back into this world?
Once you get your head around that, you write it.
So, I really wanted a good story for the first one.
What you want to do is go, Okay, what are we telling a story about?
Were telling a story about identity.
Were telling a story about her name and about freedom, and what freedom means.
Is it challenging to find that balance?
MILLER: We really are thinking about Gilead.
Gilead is very into appearances.
Things should look a certain way.
Things should feel like a return to when things were good.
Its doesnt come from me, it comes from Gilead.
Im not pasting my idea of beauty on it.
Once you get into that, it makes it more fun to do the designs.
The production design team are very into painting those beautiful pictures.
What are you most excited about viewers getting to see this season, that you couldnt do last season?
MILLER: Lizzies performance, last season, was the most amazing thing Ive ever seen.
I get to see it up close.
Im just in awe of what she can do.
Shes such a professional.
Thats an amazing thing, but Im biting my fingernails for the rest of the world to see it.
Do you think of the character as June or as Offred?
Shes June, playing Offred.
Sometimes in this season, Offered starts squeezing June out.
Being June is hard work, especially in Gilead.
Keeping June alive is hard, but worthwhile.
I always think of her as June.
That character is not Offred.
The Handmaid’s TaleSeason 2 is available to stream at Hulu on April 25th.
