The second season of Netflix’s hit horror series The Haunting of Hill House, officially titled The Haunting of Bly Manor, is unlikely to be delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. The Haunting of Hill House premiered on the streamer back in 2018 to great success and critical acclaim. Last year, it was announced there would be a second season of the show, but with a completely different premise. The Haunting of Bly Manor will be based on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James and see the return of several season 1 cast members like Victoria Pedretti, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Henry Thomas, and Kate Siegel. While an official release date hasn’t been given, the season is expected to arrive sometime in 2020. For reference, The Haunting of Hill House premiered in October.
The coronavirus pandemic has cast a lot of uncertainty over the entertainment industry, especially when it comes to release dates. While major studios have shifted their biggest 2020 films to later months or next year to avoid the pandemic, production shutdowns have pushed back future dates for 2021 movies. For example, yesterday saw Warner Bros. moving The Batman and other DC films around because of various production issues. When it comes to Netflix, much of their ongoing productions have been halted, like for season 4 of Stranger Things and season 2 of The Witcher.
The Haunting of Hill House showrunner Mike Flanagan took to Twitter to update fans on the state of season 2. According to Flanagan, things are still “on schedule.” because they wrapped production before the various shutdowns. Post-production is in progress at home, and “At the moment [there’s] no reason to think it’ll be pushed.” Flanagan also revealed it’s “shaping up wonderfully, I’m thrilled with it.” You can see his full tweet below:
The Haunting of Hill House isn’t the only Netflix series progressing with post-production during the pandemic. Last month, The Umbrella Academy producer Steve Blackman revealed on social media that the second season of the comic book series is still on track to arrive at some point in 2020, putting it in exactly the same boat as The Haunting of Hill House. With so many people self-quarantining at home, everyone is looking for new forms of entertainment on various streaming services. Netflix recently found great success with the docuseries Tiger King, proving just how eager people are to watch something new.
As it’s unclear as to how long the pandemic will continue, there is some concern that Netflix won’t be able to new produce new content in the long run. However, Netflix’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos recently insisted the streamer would be covered until later in the year, when it might run into some problems. With shows like The Umbrella Academy and The Haunting of Hill House hopefully wrapping up post-production soon, it does seem likely that Netflix will be okay for a while longer.
