As a novel, The Testaments was the long-awaited sequel to Atwood’s 1985 classic The Handmaid’s Tale. The Hulu series, which begins streaming on Disney+ on April 8, is both an adaptation of the book and a follow-up to the TV version of the original, which ran for six seasons. Like its predecessor, The Testaments is no laugh riot. The action takes place in a society controlled by fear and misogyny, where any sense of spirit and individuality is beaten or shamed out of the girls at the school. The characters witness violence, betrayal, torture, public hangings and all sorts of horror in their day-to-day lives. So it may be surprising that the ensemble cast — which also includes Mattea Conforti from NOS4A2 and Rowan Blanchard of Poker Face — was able to maintain a sense of jocularity on set in between scenes.