Granted, The Handmaid’s Tale is a disturbing story. It paints a picture of a dystopian future, where women of Gilead are treated and named like property, and used as literal baby-makers and not much else. But you know upfront that it’s disturbing; everything is grim, and people are miserable. How much more horrifying would it be if it were played as a joke the participants aren’t in on?
That’s the premise of Handmaids in the City, Saturday Night Live‘s fake promo for a new Hulu show spinning off the success of their most notable hit and combining it with a hit show of yesteryear that had pretty much the opposite take on sexual liberation, Sex and the City.
The obvious joke: what if, within the confines of Gilead’s brutal rules, these Handmaids nonetheless behaved as much like the Sex and the City ladies as is feasibly possible for them (not much)? So they laugh and reminisce about terrible, terrible things as if it were casual banter. But you can also imagine this being a popular program within the world of The Handmaid’s Tale itself, with gullible viewers convincing themselves that yes, these sex slaves are just like us, but happier with a lot less!
One might also argue that it’s a critique of Sex and the City‘s materialism being somehow mentally enslaving in a whole different way, but we’re not sure it’s going quite that deep. It is, however, positing that real life feels so dark sometimes that even a show as brutal as The Handmaid’s Tale can feel like escapism.
While this is a spoof, would you watch an actual Handmaid’s Tale spinoff? Let us know in comments.
Image: NBC
Get your SNL on…
- Donald Glover deconstructs Oran “Juice” Jones’ ’80s hit “The Rain.”
- Charles Barkley has trouble with Star Wars languages.
- The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air spins out of control.
