The first look at Netflix’sThe Haunting of Bly Manor, the follow-up season toThe Haunting of Hill Housewhich seesMike Flanaganreturning to direct, is finally here. A new post and the first batch of images from this season made their debut on Monday, teasing Flanagan’s eerie adaptation ofHenry James' novella “The Turn of the Screw.” ReturningHill HousealumsHenry Thomas,Victoria Pedretti, andOliver Jackson-Cohenare also present and accounted for in these newBly Houseimages, but they’re definitely not playing repeats of their Season 1 characters.
The new images were revealed on Monday morning. Throughout the 10 new images, curious fans got their first look at whatBly Manorwill feel like. As the solo shot of Pedretti’s character, American expat and tutor Dani Clayton, in a basement filled with antique dolls suggests,Bly Manorwill be set in the ’80s — 1987, to be exact — and will once again be set at a large estate with more history in its walls than the current residents can handle. We also get our first look at Dani’s charges, Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and Flora (Amelie Bea Smith) Wingrave, the Bly Manor manager Hannah Grose (T’Nia Miller), Thomas as Flora and Miles' uncle, Jackson-Cohen as Peter Quint, a shady associate of the Wingrave family,Tahirah Sharifas Flora and Miles' previous tutor,Amelia Eveas Jamie, the Bly Manor groundskeeper, andRahul Kohlias Owen, the chef at Bly Manor.
Speaking withVanity Fair, Flanagan shared some insight on the themes and spirit of this new season, which is also very much reflected in these new images. He commented, “It certainly provides a new way to tell a love story, and there are three [characters] really that beat at the heart of this season. 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.”
He continued, “At its foundation, theHauntingseries is very much about haunted spaces and haunted people. The way we make those things dance together is really going to be what’s uniform aboutHill HouseandBly.Outside of that though, it was really important for all of us not to play the same notes we played for the first season.”
The Haunting of Bly Manorwill be released on Netflix, but a specificdate has yet to be announced. In the meantime, check out the new images and poster forBly Manorbelow. For more, check outwhat’s coming to Netflix in September.
Allie Gemmill is the Weekend Contributing Editor for Collider. You can follow them on Twitter@_matineeidle.
