Haunting of Hill House Season 2 Release Date, Cast, Story, and News
Netflix renewed The Haunting of Hill House for Season 2, set to showcase a new story, titled The Haunting of Bly Manor.
| | While Netflix does not release viewership information regarding their original content, it’s not hard to imagine that its October 2018-premiered original horror series, The Haunting of Hill House, was a massive success, based on fan reaction alone. However, we no longer need to imagine, since the streaming giant has confirmed that a second season is on the way, with Season 2 set to manifest as The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Since the anthological structure of the Hill House series was already known at the outset (and Season 1’s definitive conclusion), it should come as no surprise that the second season, The Haunting of Bly Manor, will showcase the exploits of new characters in a new story. Indeed, the name-drop of Bly Manor reveals the story as Henry James’s 1898 novella, The Turn of the Screw, the iconic Victorian-era story of a never-named governess who arrives at the sizable-and-spooky country manor, Bly, to care for two young children who become possessed by the ghosts of two tragedy-stricken former estate employees.
The Haunting of Hill House Season 2 Release Date
The Haunting of Bly Manor is set for a premiere on Netflix sometime in 2020.
The Haunting of Hill House Season 2 Cast
Mike Flanagan has announced a round of new actors for The Haunting of Bly Manor. And by new, he means actors who haven’t previously appeared in The Haunting franchise. New to The Haunting of Bly Manor will be T’Nia Miller (Years and Years) and Rahul Kolhi (Supergirl), and Amelia Eve. Eve and Miller will be portraying lead roles.
Also cast as the haunted children Miles and Flora are Benjamin Ainsworth and Amelie Smith.
The anthology series’ second season has booked yet another returning cast member!
Catherine Parker will be coming to Bly Manor, Mike Flanagan announced via Twitter. Parker is a longtime Flanagan collaborator and a Hill House alum. If Parker doesn’t immediately look familiar, just imagine her skin rotting away to nothing. That’s right, Parker is good ol’ Hill House resident Poppy Hill! It is unknown what role she will play in The Haunting of Bly Manor.
Kate Siegel, who previously portrayed Crane sibling Theo, is returning to The Haunting franchise in an unknown capactiy for The Haunting of Bly Manor. Creator Mike Flanagan (who also happens to be married to Kate) announced the casting via Twitter. He also promised that there is more to come. Honestly, there aren’t many major faces from Hill House season 1 left out thus far.
Henry Thomas, who starred in The Haunting of Hill House, won’t have to phone home just yet, since he’s set to return for The Haunting of Bly Manor, as confirmed by creator Mike Flanagan, who did not divulge any character details. However, Thomas, the former famous E.T. child actor, will next be seen in the October-scheduled film, The Great Alaskan Race, and will play the role of Dr. Mid-Nite on DC Universe series Stargirl, which arrives sometime in 2020.
Hill House alum Oliver Jackson-Cohen was previously revealed to be back for another scare in The Haunting of Bly Manor, according to The Wrap. He plays a character named Peter, whom he describes as “a charming fellow.”
further reading: The Haunting of Hill House: Adapting a Classic
Victoria Pedretti is also returning, this time in a starring role, as Deadline reported, also confirmed by an announcement video. Pedretti will play Dani, the governess at the eponymous estate, who – per the traditional story of The Turn of the Screw – has been tasked with caring for a pair of young orphan siblings who fall under the possession of ghosts.
The Haunting of Hill House Season 2 Story Details
The news of The Haunting of Bly Manor arrived with the announcement of an overall deal that will lock-in Hill House creator/executive producer Mike Flanagan and his regular collaborator and co-executive producer, Trevor Macy, for more Netflix content, notably including The Haunting of Bly Manor. The duo previously wrought Netflix horror offerings in 2017’s Gerald’s Game, 2016’s Hush and Before I Wake, as well as theatrical films such as Ouija: Origin of Evil and Oculus. As Flanagan and Tracy express in a statement:
“Netflix has been an important part of our story, and we’re proud to have worked with them on The Haunting of Hill House, not to mention Gerald’s Game, Hush, and Before I Wake. They’ve enabled and supported a great deal of our work and we look forward to much more.”
Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content at Netflix, reciprocates the love with her own praise for the duo, stating:
“Mike Flanagan and Trevor Macy are masterful at creating authentically frightening stories that leave audiences on the edge of their seats, but unable to look away. We’re excited to continue our partnership with them on The Haunting series and future projects to come.”
In contrast to the upcoming second season outing’s Henry James-inspired content, 2018’s inaugural anthology outing, The Haunting of Hill House, was a VERY loose adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s classic horror novel of the same name. That season of the show followed the Crain family and their experiences at the titular Hill House and how the trauma of living with ghosts (literal and figurative,) affects their lives as adults.
The show has been monstrously well received from the critical community and if the reaction to our coverage is any indication, it’s been well received from fans as well.
Joseph Baxter is a contributor for Den of Geek and Syfy Wire. You can find his work here. Follow him on Twitter @josbaxter.
Alec Bojalad is TV Editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his stuff here. Follow him at his creatively-named Twitter handle @alecbojalad