Hulu Cancels Line Of Wines Inspired By ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

As far as current television programming goes, there’s not much out there that offers the level of hopelessness provided by Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale. The show, based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name, depicts a brutal dystopian reality where most women are systematized as property, robbed of their identities, and repeatedly raped for the purpose of reproduction.

In short, it’s the bleakest shit out there.

For some reason, winemaker Lot18 and Hulu thought it would be a good idea to release a line of wines inspired by the show’s characters. The wines were cancelled less than 24 hours after they were announced, amid a flurry of backlash.

Finally a product that combines everything I hate: wine, marketing, unbridled capitalism, and authoritarian patriarchal dystopias where women are chattel! https://t.co/Hd7242e2nR

— andi zeisler (@andizeisler) July 10, 2018

So, there will be no Offred Pinot Noir for you. The red was “inspired” by Elizabeth Moss’ character, which was to be marketed as “seductive and appealing” and “useless to resist.” No Ofglen vino, either. The wine was based on Alexis Bledel’s character who, without spoiling anything, was subjected to some horrible oppression and procedures in the show’s two seasons.

There you have it… marketing a line of wines based on a show where women are effectively enslaved and stripped of their rights isn’t going to fly in today’s climate.