In the past decade,Mike Flanaganhas established himself as one of the biggest names in horror. With a number of original horror films likeHushandOuija: Origin of Evil, Flanagan has become a new go-to guy forStephen Kingadaptationsas well, but really came into his own with his horror series on Netflix, starting withThe Haunting of Hill Housein 2018. Based onShirley Jackson’s novel of the same name,The Haunting of Hill Housewas the first in Flanagan’sThe Hauntinganthology followed byThe Haunting of Bly Manortwo years later. As an anthology series, you don’t have to watch one to understand the other (though you should watch both), as they take place in different locations, in different decades, and with different characters, butthe overlap in cast is the main element that connects them and makes each of them so brilliant.
Most of the main cast inThe Haunting of Hill House–Victoria Pedretti,Oliver Jackson-Cohen,Kate Siegel,Carla Gugino, andHenry Thomas– also appear inThe Haunting of Bly Manor, givingThe Hauntingseries asense of interconnectivityeven though the stories have nothing to do with each other. There are a number of actors you’ll seepop up again and againthroughout Flanagan’s filmography, and employing so many of the same cast members in both series maintains some consistency and allows the actors to demonstrate their talent in a different way, while also bringing in some new actors to switch things up.
Mike Flanagan’s Horror Universe Is Connected by the Cast
It’s pretty common for filmmakers to develop a list ofactors they like to workwith in most, if not all, of their films. As far as horror television goes,Ryan Murphyhasdone the same in hisAmerican Horror Storyanthologywith actors likeEvan PetersandSarah Paulson. Flanagan is an expert at using his familiar rotation of actors to create well-rounded ensembles for his films and television series, meaning there is plenty of overlap between them, and the list of actors continues to grow with each new project he releases. Some of his most frequent collaborators are the aforementioned Siegel (Flanagan’s wife), Gugino, and Thomas, along withAlex Essoe,Michael Trucco,Katie Parker,Samantha Sloyan, andRahul Kohli, among others. Pedretti and Jackson-Cohen are unique in that they’ve only starred inThe Hauntinganthology and have yet to return for another one of Flanagan’s projects.
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“The rest is confetti.”
The Haunting of Hill Houseis some of Flanagan’s most beloved work, andsome may argue his best, and many were disappointed he didn’t revisit the story with the second installment in hisThe Hauntingseries.The Haunting of Bly Manoris a loose adaptation ofHenry James’ 1898 novellaThe Turn of the Screw, and therefore has no connection to the events ofHill House. Not wanting to retread the same ground for his follow-up series, Flanagan decided to tell an entirely new story withBly Manor, sharing withGamesRadarin 2019, “This frees us up because, in theory, in this anthology format, every season can be its own exploration of another classic piece of horror literature. Actors can stay or go depending on their preference and their availability. That opens it up to new cast and new chances for existing actors. I love that format.”
‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and ‘The Haunting of Bly Manor’ Are Mike Flanagan’s Best Shows
The crossover in casting inThe Haunting of Hill HouseandThe Haunting of Bly Manorworks so well becausethe characters that are played by the same actors aren’t too similar to the point where you would get confused as to who’s who.InThe Haunting of Hill House, Gugino and Thomas play the young Crane parents, while Jackson-Cohen, Siegel, and Pedretti play three of the adult Crane siblings. InThe Haunting of Bly Manor, Gugino has less screen time, but is used to narrate the story, playing an essential part in tying the series together, especially in the final, heartbreaking episode. Thomas also has less of a role inBly Manor,playing Henry Wingrave, the lord of Bly Manor and uncle of Miles (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) and Flora (Amelie Bea Smith), who keeps his distance from the manor and hires Pedretti’s character Dani to serve as their au pair.
While Jackson-Cohen plays one of the mosttragic characters inHill House, he plays a very different, more villainous role inBly Manoras Peter Quint. InHill House, Siegel plays one of the main characters, Theo Crane, but also takes a step back inBly Manor, appearing in just two episodes, but becomes the most haunting figure in the entire series asThe Lady of the Lake. Out of all the shared cast members,Pedretti is the true standout ofThe Hauntinganthologyas the main protagonist inBly Manorand the Crane sibling with themost pivotal role inHill House, giving equally great performances as Nell Crane and Dani Clayton.
Hill HouseandBly Manorshare similarities beyond just the cast and their haunted house setting, as they both feature many of the hallmarks of Flanagan’s work. They explore grief and trauma through ghost stories and employ lengthy,thought-provoking monologues that will stick with youfar more than the jump scares. It’s impressive to see several of the same actorsdisappear into such different rolesand leave their mark on each series in a unique way. Pedretti’s two charactershave the most in common– both women are haunted by their pasts involving the traumatic death of a romantic partner and both of them meet similarly tragic fates – but she brings something completely different to Nell and Dani.
By using so many of the same actors inThe Hauntingseries, Flanagan allows each of them to show off the range of their abilities, and watching both series will make it obvious as to why he has chosen to work with so many of the same people throughout his filmography. Gugino, Thomas, and Siegel, along with Kohli andT’Nia MillerofBly Manor, all reunited for Flanagan’s most recent Netflix series,The Fall of the House of Usher, but we can only hope Pedretti and/or Jackson-Cohen will make their return to the Flanaverse at some point in the future.
The Haunting of Hill House
