‘The Haunting Of Bly Manor’ Is A Love Story, Among Other Things
The Haunting of Bly Manor, the follow-up toThe Haunting of Hill House, is changing things up a bit. For one thing, it’s telling a whole new story – drawing on the works of Henry James rather than Shirley Jackson. For another, the series is going to put theromanceback ingothic romance. According to creator and directorMike Flanagan,Bly Manoris a love story as well as a ghost story.
Every love story is a ghost story, or so said David Foster Wallace. And in a new interview withVanity Fair, Mike Flanagan says you’re able to expect some romance to go along with the ghosts inThe Haunting of Bly Manor. While season one was a very loose adaptation ofThe Haunting of Hill House, season 2 will draw on Henry James' novellaThe Turn of the Screw. But it will also pull from James stories like “The Jolly Corner” and “The Romance of Certain Old Clothes.”
Flanagan’s producing partnerTrevor Macycalls it “a literary remix,” adding: “You want to update the story, you want to find whatever fertile ground for elevating the character that you’re able to in the source material, but we obviously took some liberties in updating it with a more modern setting.”
“It certainly provides a new way to tell a love story, and there are three of them that really beat at the heart of this season,” said Flanagan. “They all have a very dark edge to them. And by the end, it’s really hard to differentiate tragedy with romance. That sense of romantic longing for someone who meant so much to us—but who’s gone—really is the heart of any ghost story.”
Hill HousebreakoutVictoria Pedrettiis back, this time playing Dani, a governess in the ’80s hired to take care of two orphan children at the spooky manor they call home. Needless to say, things are not what they seem. “It’s the idea that the world that we’re presented with has all of the answers, but it has hidden meanings and has clues that would help us understand it differently if we were able to see them,” said Flanagan.
Vanity Fair goes into more regarding the series' many characters, including live-in housekeeper Hannah Grose (T’Nia Miller); Henry Thomas as the uncle of the orphans;Amelia Eveas groundskeeper Jamie;Rahul Kohlias chef Owen; the previous governess Rebecca Jessel (Tahirah Sharif); andOliver Jackson-Cohenas Peter Quint, who has a connection to Rebecca.
All of this hints at a much different experience thanHill House. So even though many of the cast members and creative team are still involved, don’t expect the same old, same old. There’s no premiere date just yet, but the series will arrive sometime inFall 2020. In the meantime, check out the poster below, along with some images.
The Haunting of Bly Manor premieres this Fall — FIRST LOOK:pic.twitter.com/9S2HyCL6C6
— Netflix (@netflix)June 21, 2025
