There’s no rest for the wicked, and that includes those fans of “The Haunting of Hill House” who are scouring the internet for all the details they can find about Season 2 of the Netflix horror series, this time titled “The Haunting of Bly Manor.”
Created by Mike Flanagan, the show’s 10-episode first season launched in October 2018 and centered around the Crain family: father Hugh (older version played by Timothy Hutton, younger version 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.
While you eagerly await the arrival of a new ghost story with “Bly Manor’s” launch this fall, check out TheWrap’s list of everything we know about the season so far.
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 2019, 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 previously 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.
So far, we know the cast of “Bly Manor” includes Season 1 alums Henry Thomas, Victoria Pedretti, Catherine Parker, Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Kate Siegel (the latter two castings exclusively reported by TheWrap), as well as series newcomers Rahul Kohli (“iZombie”), T’Nia Miller (“Years and Years”) Amelia Eve, Benjamin Ainsworth and Amelie Smith.
Pedretti will star as a governess named Dani “who takes care of two very unusual children” and Jackson-Cohen has been cast as Peter, described as “a charming fellow” who lives at Bly Manor and “makes life very difficult for everyone there.”
4. Season 2 is based on the supernatural works of Henry James.
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 primarily be a retelling of Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw,” with other work by James mixed in.
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 (who we know will be played by Pedretti) 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 was it filmed?
Production on “Bly Manor” began in September 2019 and wrapped in February 2020.
6. When will it premiere?
Netflix revealed Monday that “Haunting of Bly Manor” will launch Oct. 9. The Halloween-pegged premiere date lines up with the October 2018 release of “Hill House,” which is when Flanagan told TheWrap he thought it would debut when we spoke with him last fall.
7. Does it have a synopsis?
Yes! Here it is:
“From ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ creator Mike Flanagan and producer Trevor Macy comes ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor,’ the next highly anticipated chapter of ‘The Haunting’ anthology series, set in 1980s England. After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry Wingrave (Henry Thomas) hires a young American nanny (Victoria Pedretti) to care for his orphaned niece and nephew (Amelie Bea Smith, Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) who reside at Bly Manor with the estate’s chef Owen (Rahul Kohli), groundskeeper Jamie (Amelia Eve) and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (T’Nia Miller). But all is not as it seems at the manor, and centuries of dark secrets of love and loss are waiting to be unearthed in this chilling gothic romance. At Bly Manor, dead doesn’t mean gone.”
8. What about first-look photos?
Yup! You can find those here.
9. And how about a teaser?
Another yes! Watch the newly released teaser here.
10. How many episodes is it?
While “Hill House” had 10 episodes, “Bly Manor” will consist of nine.