Sunday, June 23, 2019
‘The Haunting of Bly Manor': Everything We Know About Netflix’s ‘Hill House’ Follow-Up
There’s no rest for the wicked, and that includes those fans of “The Haunting of Hill House” who are already scouring the internet for all the details they can find about Season 2 of the Netflix horror series.
Created by Mike Flanagan, the show’s 10-episode first season launched last October and centered around the Crain family: father Hugh (older version played by Timothy Hutton, younger version portrayed by Henry Thomas), mother Olivia (Carla Gugino), and their children, Steve (Michiel Huisman), Shirley (Elizabeth Reaser), Theo (Kate Siegel), Luke (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) and Nellie (Victoria Pedretti).
The story follows the events that transpired during the one summer the Crains lived in the titular haunted home and their lives decades after leaving Hill House due to a tragic incident.
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Though details about Season 2 are scarce, TheWrap has rounded up all the ways the show plans to haunt you with its next batch of episodes. We will continue to update this list as more information becomes available.
1. It is the second chapter in “The Haunting” series.
When “Hill House” creator Flanagan and executive producer Trevor Macy signed a multi-year overall TV deal with Netflix in February, the streaming service announced the show — now labeled an anthology and titled “The Haunting” — had been renewed for Season 2.
2. It’s not about the Crains.
Just as Netflix announced the series had been renewed it also revealed the next season would be “a new story with all new characters” and will have “no connection” to “Hill House.”
We can’t say Flanagan didn’t totally warn you this would be the case, seeing as he definitely flat out said the Crains’ story was over, even if the show was renewed.
3. But that doesn’t mean Season 2 won’t involve some of the actors who played the Crains.
TheWrap reached out to Netflix back in February to ask if any of the cast members from Season 1 will return for “The Haunting of Bly Manor” as different characters, with a spokesperson for the streamer saying no casting details were available at that time.
And though there still has been no word on who is starring on Season 2, that hasn’t stopped TheWrap from asking “Hill House” alums if they are part of the lineup — even if they wouldn’t give us solid answers.
Jackson-Cohen told us he’d “get shot” if he confirmed one way or another and Gugino said she’s been “talking” with Flanagan about coordinating their schedules, but that’s about as far as we’ve gotten in our casting investigation.
However, we can point out that Flanagan is one of those directors who likes to collaborate with the same actors over and over, including Gugino and Siegel (who he also happens to be married to, by the way). So make of that what you will.
4. It’s based on a Henry James horror novella.
While “Hill House” is an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 gothic novel “The Haunting of Hill House,” when Netflix revealed Season 2 was titled “Bly Manor,” the streaming service pretty much confirmed it will be a retelling of Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw.”
The 1898 horror novella is a story within a story, which is told by an unnamed narrator listening to his friend Douglas read a manuscript on Christmas Eve that was penned by a now-deceased governess.
The governess tells the tale of a summer during which she looked after two children, Flora and Miles, after their uncle retains custody of them following their parents deaths. The man, who lives in London, wants nothing to do with the children, so the governess is sent to look after them at his country house in Essex, Bly Manor. While watching the children, the governess begins to see the figures of a man and a woman around the property that no one else seems to notice.
We won’t spoil the rest of the plot for you here, but as we’re sure you can already tell, it’s another ghost story.
5. When will it premiere?
No exact launch date for Season 2 has been set yet, but Netflix says it will be coming some time in 2020.
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‘The Haunting of Hill House’ Star Oliver Jackson-Cohen Exclusive StudioWrap Portraits (Photos)
Source: the wrap feed
