Emily is leaving Gilead for good: Alexis Bledel has announced she’s exiting the Hulu drama The Handmaid’s Tale ahead of its upcoming Season 5.
“After much thought, I felt I had to step away from The Handmaid’s Tale at this time,” Bledel said in a statement to our sister site Variety. “I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support.”
Bledel has costarred with Elisabeth Moss since The Handmaid’s Tale debuted on Hulu in 2017; she plays Emily, aka Ofglen, a fellow handmaid trapped in Gilead along with Moss’ June/Offred. Emily was caught having an affair with a woman and surgically mutilated in Season 1; she was sent to the Colonies in Season 2, but eventually escaped Gilead to the safe haven of Canada. She and June reunited there in Season 4.
Bledel has earned four Emmy nominations for her work as Emily on The Handmaid’s Tale, winning the Emmy for outstanding guest actress in a drama in 2017. Prior to that, she was best known as Lorelai’s brainy daughter Rory Gilmore on the WB/CW dramedy Gilmore Girls; she reprised the role for Netflix’s 2016 revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.