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‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ will continue to be told in Season 2 on Hulu

Hulu has picked up a second season of its new drama series “The Handmaid’s Tale” just a week after the show’s launch.

Given the amount of attention the series — based on Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel of the same name — has received, the renewal isn’t much of a surprise. Hulu made the announcement Wednesday morning at its upfront presentation to advertisers. Season 2 will debut sometime next year.

“The response we’ve seen to ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ in just one week since its premiere has been absolutely incredible,” Hulu head of content Craig Erwich says in a statement. “It has been an honor to work with this talented team of cast and creators to develop a series that has struck such a chord with audiences across the country. … ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ is exactly the type of gripping and thought-provoking storytelling we want to bring to viewers.”

Hulu also says the show’s premiere is the most-watched debut of any show, original or acquired, on the service. Just how many people that represents remains a mystery, since Hulu follows suit with other streaming services and doesn’t release viewership figures.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” stars Elisabeth Moss as Offred, a “handmaid” — a woman whose sole purpose is to serve as a reproductive vessel for a powerful man — in a near-future society where women’s rights are severely abridged. The series also stars Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Samira Wiley, Ann Dowd and Max Minghella. Bruce Miller (“The 100,” “Eureka”) is the showrunner.