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Hollywood: 'Gilmore Girls' star Alexis Bledel exits 'The Handmaid's Tale'

She thanked cast and crew among others in a statement on Friday.

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American actor Alexis Bledel will not return for Season 5 of The Handmaid’s Tale.

“After much thought, I felt I had to step away from The Handmaid’s Tale at this time," Bledel, who has played Emily/Ofglen on the Hulu drama since its first season began in 2017, said in a statement Friday. “I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support," she said, as reported by Variety.

Bledel garnered four Emmy nominations and one victory for her role in the Bruce Miller-created TV version of Margaret Atwood’s renowned novel The Handmaid’s Tale during her four-year tenure.

Apart from The Handmaid’s Tale, Bledel is best known for her roles in Gilmore Girls, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants franchise as well as Mad Men.

The Handmaid’s Tale, which will air its fourth season from April to June 2021, follows June (Elisabeth Moss) as she fights the totalitarian regime Gilead as a powerful rebel commander, but the risks she takes lead to unforeseen and frightening new obstacles. Her desire for vengeance and justice threatens to overtake her and damage her most important relationships.

Emily, an escaped handmaid and refugee in Canada who was known as Ofglen when still under Gilead’s authority, was last seen in The Handmaid’s Tale Season 4 finale, where her character joins forces with June and other former handmaids to exact revenge on Gilead.

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