Viewers of "The Handmaid's Tale" heard a familiar voice on the latest episode of Hulu's Emmy Award-winning series.
[Be warned, fans: spoilers ahead.]
Oprah Winfrey loaned her voice to the 11th episode, titled "Holly," to play a radio host. In the episode, the show’s protagonist Offred, played by Elisabeth Moss, is struggling to decide whether to escape Gilead, the theocratic regime that has overtaken the United States, when she comes across a car.
Turning on the car, she is surprised to hear a voice coming from the radio.
It's Winfrey, as an unnamed, uncredited character, "broadcasting from somewhere in the Great White North." Winfrey's character reveals that economic aid is coming to the American government in Anchorage while the United Kingdom has announced additional sanctions against Gilead "as well as plans to raise the cap on American refugees relocating from Canada."
While Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" plays, Winfrey's voice continues, "Now a tune to remind everyone who's listening -- American patriot or Gilead traitor -- that we are still here. Stars and stripes forever, baby."
Stars and stripes forever, baby. pic.twitter.com/G4ou854mS9
— The Handmaid's Tale (@HandmaidsOnHulu) June 27, 2018
Showrunner Bruce Miller explained in a statement shared with ABC News that Winfrey was down for the role.
"We'd heard Oprah was a fan of the show, and had a story idea, and thought, wouldn't it be wonderful if ... So we asked and she said yes, and it was a lovely, easy process," Miller said. "The radio segment she recorded was inspired by the free radio of the Allies from World War II. It was an absolute honor to have Oprah featured on the show, and especially thrilling as she was the one who presented us with the Emmy last year."
While presenting the Emmy for best drama series, Winfrey embraced Moss who was first on stage to accept the award.
The pair first spent time together for The Hollywood Reporter's Drama Actress Roundtable in 2017. It was then that Winfrey showed what a fangirl she was, peppering Moss with questions about the series.
"She was in the dressing room next to me and she kept popping back into the room to ask questions about the show or to make comments or ask what was coming up for a specific character," Moss told THR in an interview earlier this year. "Then she'd leave and I'd close the door and have a silent freak-out moment, just screaming silently, that Oprah Winfrey even knew what the show was and then she would pop back up with more questions."
Episode 11 is currently available on Hulu. The series' second season will wrap up with the finale, which premieres Wednesday, July 11.
