It already feels like it’s been forever since The Handmaid’s Tale wrapped up its third season, and fans have been eagerly awaiting Season 4 after the shocking events of the Season 3 finale. Unfortunately, we’ve still got a long way to go before Hulu is ready to start answering all our burning questions.

When we last saw June (Elisabeth Moss), she was in dire straights, potentially bleeding out from a gunshot wound after staging a revolt of Marthas and Handmaids. Though the cost was high, she did manage to smuggle over 100 children out of Gilead and into Canada, safely into the arms of Moira (Samira Wiley) and Luke (O-T Fagbenle) of all people! As for the Waterfords, their troubles seem to have only just gotten started as they await trial for their war crimes thanks to Serena’s (Yvonne Strahovski) shady deal to be in baby Nicole’s life.

The Handmaid’s Tale spoilers are particularly hard to come by (especially since the gap between Seasons 3 and 4 will be so long), but here’s everything we know about what’s coming down the pipeline next season…

It will premiere in the Fall of 2020. Though the show was renewed for Season 4 just weeks ahead of its Season 3 finale, there was no anticipated release schedule included in the renewal news. We were all hoping for another late spring/early summer drop we’ve gotten with the first three seasons, but Warren Littlefield told TV Guide that given the later start to production on the new season, the premiere would land in the Fall of 2020.

It will be 10 episodes. IndieWire confirmed that Season 4 will dial back from the 13-episode format of the past two seasons, clocking in at only 10 episodes. According to executive producer Bruce Miller, the decision was “100 percent creative.”

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June is probably alive. Though Miller wouldn’t confirm whether or not June will survive her gunshot wound, he did say, “We are following June, and June lives in Gilead, and Gilead is not a nice place, and it will continue to be not a nice place. And we try to be very realistic about what would probably happen and how would things work, so over the break we’ve talked to the U.N. and we’ve talked about what happens to rebels in countries like this, so we’re parsing through the possibilities.” If they’re parsing through repercussions for June’s actions, we can only assume she’ll be alive to suffer those consequences.

We’ll see an unstable Gilead. Though Gilead’s regime has never been particularly stable, we’ll continue to see those in power wobble and waver in the aftermath of this mass exodus of children. “It’s definitely kind of hitting them,” Miller told TV Guide. “It’s their reason for their existence — reproduction. So when you start taking away those children, I think it’s going to make Gilead very angry.

We haven’t seen the last of Commander Lawrence (Bradley Whitford). In a surprising twist, Commander Lawrence decided to stay behind in Gilead to try to clean up the mess he’d caused rather than escaping to Canada like he planned. Though nothing is set in stone yet, Miller assured TV Guide that he has every desire to bring Commander Lawrence back for more in Season 4.

We’ll learn more about Nick’s (Max Minghella) past. Though Nick’s past and his role in founding Gilead were in the plans for Season 3, timing just didn’t allow the writers the opportunity to explore that storyline. No need to worry though, that backstory is definitely on tap for Season 4.

The Waterfords are in hot water. Fred (Joseph Fiennes) and Serena were both facing criminal trials for war crimes (despite Serena believing she’d gained immunity by handing Fred over), and unless Gilead pulls off a miraculous extradition, we’ll probably be heading straight for their trials in Season 4. Don’t worry if you’re conflicted about Serena’s fate, though, as Miller warns you should definitely expect to stay on the fence where she’s concerned.

“She does sometimes do things that we think are very understandable and noble and even likable,” Miller said. “And then she does so many horrible things. She has so much to answer for, and now she’s in a position to answer for the horrible things.”

It probably won’t be the final season. Executive producer Warren Littlefield told reporters at the Television Critics Association winter press tour that they are not writing Season 4 as if its the final season. In fact, there’s plenty of story left to tell. “We have not planned Season 4 to be the end, but we also look to Margaret [Atwood]’s book The Testaments and know that that story takes us 15 years into the future,” Littlefield said. “We don’t see ending it in [Season 4], and I can honestly say to you, we don’t have a definitive out. But I think we want to keep the bar high, and it would not be a bad thing to leave the audience wanting more, and then we could ideally shift into The Testaments.”

Elisabeth Moss will direct. Season 4 will see series star Elisabeth Moss step behind the camera for an episode. Episode 3 of the new season will mark her directorial debut, and Moss hilariously joked that her only hurdle for this job will be working with the “incredibly demanding” lead actress.

Seasons 1-3 of The Handmaid’s Tale are currently streaming on Hulu.

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Article by Lindsay MacDonald