One of the executive producers of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian drama based on the book of the same name by Margaret Atwood, referenced how the show is perceived in the current political climate.

Many liberal women have been drawing comparisons between the fictional republic of Gilead in the story and the current United States. Several stars of the Hulu series joined executive producers Eric Tuchman, Yahlin Chang, Bruce Miller, and Warren Littlefield at PaleyFest LA earlier this week to promote the show’s sixth and final season. 

“It’s been a show that we started the way we wanted to start it; we’re ending it the way we want to end it,” Miller said, per The Hollywood Reporter. 

Littlefield discussed how their focus for the series shifted after Trump was elected the first time. “And then along came our 45th president and we entered into a whole other world,” the executive producer said. “We became a symbol of the resistance and a fight for human rights.”

Co-showrunner Chang said, “We really felt like we wanted this [final] season to be a love letter to our fans. You guys have really stuck with us through thick and thin — we all know that it’s not the easiest watch, this show,” adding that there are “some really feel-bad episodes.” 

“I was like, I only want to feel-good episodes. I only want to like, end with victory and feelings of hope and triumph and uplift… this season we wanted to feel rewarding,” Chang said.

“It is very weird that this show started shooting in 2016; here we are, unthinkable things have happened and we’re bewildered right now,” said actor Bradley Whitford, who plays Commander Joseph Lawrence in the series. 

“We need to meet this moment, and [Elisabeth Moss’ character] June is an example of the most fundamental thing we have to remember in this moment, which is that despair’s a luxury that our children cannot afford,” he continued. “Racism is not going to go away, misogyny is not going to go away, religious hypocrisy is not going to go away.”

Littlefield said, “In a world that we want to just kind of walk away because it’s so very painful, don’t give up the fight. Our women are not Marvel characters, they’re ordinary women who are doing extraordinary things. And so our message is actually the war is not over, but the fight continues. That gives us hope and that’s what we’re trying to put forth. That is our legacy.”