The much anticipated second season of The Handmaid's Tale arrived on streaming service Hulu today stateside and thanks to the good folks at RTÉ, we will be getting it on our screens tomorrow night.

The Emmy winning drama is set to pick up right where it left off with pretty much all of season one's stars returning and some new faces too.

So who will these new Gilead residents be?

1. Marisa Tomei

The biggest star joining the series will be Marisa Tomei, although it will only be a guest-starring role. The Spider-man Homecoming actress will appear in the second episode of the upcoming season where we will see the colonies on screen for the first time. Details of her specific character have been kept under wraps but as she is only in one episode, we wouldn't get too attached.

2. Clea DuVall

DuVall, who you will have previously seen in Veep, Better Call Saul and Girl Interrupted, will be joining the cast this season as Ofglen's (Alexia Bledel) wife Sylvia in a guest-starring role. She is set to appear in flashbacks with Bledel and their son as they try to escape the Gilead regime.


3. Bradley Whitford

Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Get Out) joins the series as Joseph Lawrence, the architect of Gilead's economy. He is described as gruff and intimidating, with a disheveled mad genius vibe. His sly sense of humour and flashes of kindness will make him a confusing, mysterious presence for his newest Handmaid.

 

4. Cherry Jones

24's Cherry Jones will star as Offred's mother, who hasn't really been mentioned until now but plays an important role in the book. "We've been thinking about her a lot," said showrunner Bruce Miller told THR. "June's mother is a big character in the book and representative of an interesting kind of feminism that was seemingly more of that time.

"June's memories of her mother and her activism are very vibrant in the book, so we've been talking about her from day one of season one, and it just didn't seem like enough time to do her justice. In season two, we mention her a little bit, but we just don't want to short-shrift her story. It's a story we want to tell — she was one of the most memorable characters."


5. Sydney Sweeney

Finally, up-and-coming actress Sydney Sweeney joins the cast as a 15-year-old girl called Eden, who is part of a group that is loyal to the Gilead assembly and wants to become the Commander's wife.

Serena might have something to say about that.

The second season of The Handmaid's Tale kicks off with a double episode on Thursday night on RTÉ2 at 9.30pm and 10.40pm.