‘The Testaments’ Stars Ann Dowd and Mabel Li on Lydia and Vidala’s Dark Past, Gilead’s ‘Aunts’ Program Origin Story

Home TV News Apr 29, 2026 4:30pm PT ‘The Testaments’ Stars Ann Dowd and Mabel Li on Lydia and Vidala’s Dark Past, Gilead’s ‘Aunts’ Program Origin Story By Jennifer Maas Plus Icon Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer @jmaasaronson Latest ‘The Testaments’ Stars Ann Dowd and Mabel Li on Lydia and Vidala’s Dark Past, Gilead’s ‘Aunts’ Program Origin Story 5 minutes ago Amazon Posts $181.5 Billion in Revenue and Smashes Wall Street’s Q1 Earnings Expectations 3 hours ago Director Hiro Murai Re-Ups FX First-Look Deal as His New Apple Horror-Comedy ‘Widow’s Bay’ Debuts: ‘It Felt Nostalgic, But Without Getting Mushy’ (EXCLUSIVE) 4 hours ago See All Disney SPOILER ALERT: This story contains spoilers for “Stadium,” Episode 6 of “The Testaments,” now streaming on Hulu. It’s been clear since the beginning of Hulu’s “The Testaments” that Aunt Vidala (played by Mabel Li) is not Aunt Lydia’s (Ann Dowd) biggest fan — and now we know why. During this week’s episode of Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” followup series, more backstory is revealed for Lydia — whom “Handmaid’s” viewers came to learn much about over that show’s six-season run — including the fact she actually created the Aunts program in Gilead to save herself in the early days. What’s more, she was willing to actually murder Vidala to make it work. Related Stories Oliver Jones Exits Apple TV to Join Amazon MGM Studios as U.K. Scripted Senior Commissioner