“A bingeable dystopian drama”: Arcadia is the “eerie” Handmaid’s Tale replacement coming to Channel 4

If the end of The Handmaid’s Tale left a rather large hole in your TV viewing schedule, you’ll want to know about Channel 4’s bingeable dystopian drama that’s about to fill it. The eerie Belgian-Dutch series is set in the titular dystopian society where each member is given a social score that determines their social status - and it's the perfect Handmaid’s Tale replacement.

Heading to Channel 4 imminently, the series centres around a family of hardworking people with a high score and a good life – however, father, Pieter (Gene Bervoets), has tricked the algorithm and manipulated the score of one of his daughters. When his deception is exposed, he’s deported to the Outer World and his family members’ scores plummet, leaving them facing a whole new reality.

While we await the arrival of Arcadia on our screens, here's everything you need to know about the upcoming series, including the cast, plot and release date.

What is Arcadia about?

The eight-part drama is set in the dystopian society of Arcadia, where safety and prosperity come at a price. You see, every citizen is given a score based on their social contribution, which determines their job, healthcare access – and, rather terrifyingly, their right to remain in Arcadia. If someone’s score drops too low, they’re removed from Arcadia and must face life in the lawless Outer World. Sound eery? We did warn you.

The series will introduce us to Pieter Hendriks (Gene Bervoets), a senior Arcadian official, who secretly manipulates the system to protect his four daughters - Milly (Abigail Abraham), Alex (Melody Klaver), Hanna (Ellie de Lange) and Luz (Lynn Van Royen). When he’s suddenly exposed, he finds himself deported, and his wife Cato (Monic Hendrickx) and their four daughters face devastating consequences. Their scores plummet and their lives are change for good. With their privileges removed, they’re put under surveillance by Regulator Marco Simons (Maarten Heijmans), who believes they were complicit in the fraud.

The question is, how will this family survive their new reality? Over the course of the series, we’ll see how each daughter responds. Alex becomes an informant, spying on her powerful father-in-law in return for her mother’s protection, while Milly joins the border patrol to search for their father. Hanna becomes part of the resistance, and Luz forms an unlikely – and complicated - bond with the man watching them.

The series has already proved popular countries including Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. With production company Jonnydepony behind it, producer Helen Perquy has reflected on the importance of the dystopian themes. “The popularity of Arcadia in so many countries, demonstrates the resonance this series has with audiences around the world, and it is also generating significant interest from international producers as a scripted format,” she says.

“Our dystopian themes seem more and more reflective of current times, with the setting of a society existing on limited resources and the concept of social scores becoming a reality for many.”

Who's starring in Arcadia?

The cast of Arcadia includes:

• Monic Hendrickx as Cato Christiaans
• Gene Bervoets as Pieter Hendriks
• Abigail Abraham as Milly Hendriks
• Lynn Van Royen as Luz Hendriks
• Melody Klaver as Alex Jans
• Ellie de Lange as Hanna Jans
• Maarten Heijmans as Marco Simons
• Natali Broods as Lena Harms
• Wim Opbrouck as Jaak Philips

Is Arcadia any good?

Yes – at least it is according to audiences in Belgium and the Netherlands, where the series first aired in 2023. So good in fact that a second series has been commissioned, which will air across 17 territories.

How can I watch Arcadia?

Good news - there's not long to wait until you can binge all episodes of Arcadia. The boxset will be available on C4 Streaming from Friday 11th July 2025. The series will also launch on Channel 4 on Sunday 13th July 2025 at midnight.