Last updated: February 2, 2020
Here’s what people can expect from The Haunting of Hill House season 2, which is being called The Haunting of Bly Manor. The first season of The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix may have seemed to end with a satisfying finale, but – not unlike the the titular house’s appetite for human souls – there’s always room for seconds. And in a surprising twist, season 2 will explore an entirely new ghost-ridden house in The Haunting of Bly Manor.
By the end of The Haunting of Hill House, some considerable damage has been done. Characters do heal in their own ways, whether physically (like Luke, played by Oliver Jackson-Cohen) or emotionally (like Theo, played by Kate Siegel), but it all comes at the expense of several tragedies. Olivia, Nell, and Hugh (played by Carla Cugino, Victoria Pedretti, and Timothy Hutton, respectively) are consumed by Hill House, as is Mrs. Dudley (played by Annabeth Gish), though she gives herself to the house willingly.
While many assumed that the The Haunting of Hill House season 2 would continue the Crain family’s story, the show’s February 2019 renewal announcement came with the news that it’s becoming an anthology, and season 2 will be titled The Haunting of Bly Manor.
The Haunting of Hill House Season 2 Release Date
The Haunting of Hill House season 2 (a.k.a. The Haunting of Bly Manor) will release in 2020, though we don’t have a more specific release date than that just yet. Season 1 was released on October 12, 2018, so Netflix may well shoot for another October release date in order to capitalize on the Halloween season. The streaming service usually announces release dates about a month or two in advance, often accompanied by a teaser trailer, so we’ll likely have to wait until later in 2020 for a more specific release date.
The Haunting of Bly Manor Story Details
The Haunting of Hill House was based on the book of the same name by Shirley Jackson, but the story itself was drastically different. Though the TV show featured versions of the characters from the book, the idea of them all being siblings and the concept of the story taking place both in the past and the present was wholly original. Therefore it’s safe to assume that The Haunting of Bly Manor won’t be a straightforward adaptation of The Turn of the Screw, but rather will use it as the inspiration for a more long-form story.
Published in 1898, The Turn of the Screw is about a young woman who is hired to be the governess to two orphaned children who live in a grand house called Bly. Upon arriving at the house and meeting the children, however, she begins to fear that there is some evil influence upon them, threatening to corrupt their innocence. This is compounded when she begins seeing two ghostly figures haunting the grounds, who appear to be fixated on the children. The Turn of the Screw was famously adapted into the 1961 film The Innocents, directed by Jack Clayton, which starred Deborah Kerr in the lead role. It was also more recently adapted as The Turning.
The Haunting Of Hill House Season 2 Cast
Although The Haunting of Hill House season 2, aka The Haunting of Bly Manor, will be entirely unrelated to season 1, that doesn’t mean its cast has to be different. Similar to what FX does with American Horror Story, The Haunting of Bly Manor will feature at least some returning actors and actresses. The first person confirmed for The Haunting of Bly Manor was Victoria Pedretti. She’ll be playing Dani, a governess who’s been hired to look after two children, Flora and Miles, at Bly Manor. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth and Amelie Smith will portray the children, while Oliver Jackson-Cohen will play Peter, described as a charmer. Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, and Catherine Parker are also returning for season 2 in unspecified roles, while new additions to the cast include T’Nia Miller, Rahul Kohli, and Amelia Eve.
