The best stories mirror our world, but sometimes, fiction gets uncomfortably close to reality. Hulu knows this truth well as The Handmaid’s Tale, one of its flagship originals, brushes against that veil. The drama touches on almost every hot-button topic there is from sexual assault, oppression, slavery, and theocratic fears. The show’s blistering finale left audiences reeling last year, and now, Warner Bros. is ready to bring a successor to The Handmaid’s Tale to life.
And no, we are not talking about The Testaments, Hulu’s new sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. Warner Bros. is working on an adaptation of Parable of the Sower, and the dystopian drama leans into the same sort of dread Hulu’s hit series made famous.
If you are not familiar with Parable of the Sower, the political drama was published in 1993, but its message feels more relevant now than ever before. Penned by Octavia E. Butler, the story is set in 2024 as society in the United States begins collapsing under the weight of climate change. As corporate greed and wealth inequality run rampant, the book documents the diary of Lauren Lea Olamina, an African-American teenager who was born with the ability to feel the pain of others.
Raised in a gated community just outside of Los Angeles, Parable of the Sower tells Lauren’s story as the United States declines to new lows as climate change upends the country. Food supplies dry up along with jobs, leaving a new lawless normal to shape the nation. As the country breaks into heavily armed factions, Lauren’s life is turned upside down when an attack on her home leaves her family dead. She is able to escape north with two followers, and Parable of the Sower tells Lauren’s story as she finds a new religious movement: Earthseed.
Even after 30+ years, Butler’s book feels more contemporary than ever given its challenging story. Climate change plays a major role in the book, an issue we see mirrored in the real world, but it is not the only hurdle facing society. The book breaks down a slew of important social issues from racial inequality to religious extremism. In the same way The Handmaid’s Tale reshapes the United States in the face of theocratic authoritarianism, a similar path is laid out in Parable of the Sower. But rather than creating Gilead, Butler’s book paints a more anarchic future for the United States.
For audiences who have seen The Handmaid’s Tale, they will be the first to admit the show is hard to swallow. It really does touch on difficult topics such as rape, forced pregnancy, treason, and more. Many of these same issues are explored in Parable of the Sower, but Butler’s book does explore one facet that Hulu’s hit series simply brushes over: climate change.
While global warming is brought up in passing during The Handmaid’s Tale, it isn’t the crux of Gilead’s creation. The same cannot be said for the world readers find in Parable of the Sower. In Butler’s tale, climate change is the spark that pushes the United States into decline, and we see how society reacts in the fallout. For decades, scientists and climate experts have spoken about the threats of climate change in our lives, yet the threat persists. Parable of the Sower imagines a future where the United States reaps the consequences of climate denial, and the stark picture it paints is difficult to process. And when Warner Bros. brings this future to the screen, it will hit audiences in the same way June’s servitude does in The Handmaid’s Tale.
The Handmaid’s Tale ](/db/tv-show/the-handmaid-s-tale/)
Science Fiction
](/tag/sci-fi/)
2017 - 2025-00-00
Mike Barker, Kari Skogland, Daina Reid, Reed Morano, Floria Sigismondi, Jeremy Podeswa, Kate Dennis, Richard Shepard, Amma Asante, Christina Choe, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, Bradley Whitford, Dearbhla Walsh, Liz Garbus
Kira Snyder, Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, John Herrera, Jacey Heldrich, Dorothy Fortenberry, Marissa Jo Cerar, Lynn Renee Maxcy
June Osborne / Offred / Ofjoseph