Haunting of Hill House Star Says Bly Manor Is “Phenomenal” and Better than the First Season

When The Haunting of Hill House debuted back in 2018, the horror series took the world by storm and became its biggest obsession for weeks, putting expectations for the second season, The Haunting of Bly Manor, quite high. Oliver Jackson-Cohen, who stars in both seasons of the series as two different characters, recently detailed how shocking it was to see the series embraced so passionately and how that changes the expectations of the upcoming sophomore season, but admits that creator Mike Flanagan has somehow accomplished the impossible by making the second season even better than the original installment, which will debut later this year.

“I feel like there’s a sniper from Netflix, I have to be so careful about what I say,” Jackson-Cohen joked with ComicBook.com about the new season. “It’s truly kind of phenomenal what Mike’s done with the second season. It’s weird, because I think the first one, we were so, not shocked, but it was overwhelming how well it was received and, globally, how massive it became. And so how do you approach a second season and make it just as good, if not better? And Mike’s kind of done it. I go back up in about 20 minutes back to Vancouver to continue and we wrap next week so it will be out by the end of the year. I really, really hope people like it.”

The new season of the series takes place at Bly Manor, the setting for the Henry James psychological gothic horror novella The Turn of the Screw, which takes place almost entirely at the old country mansion. It is there where two young orphans are looked after by a young governess and by whom most of the story is narrated by.

The new season of the series will also see Victoria Pedretti, Henry Thomas, and Kate Siegel all returning, who are joined by newcomers Rahul Kohli, T’Nia Miller, and Amelia Eve. With the new season exploring an all-new storyline, the events won’t connect to previously-seen characters.

One difference with this new season is that, rather than Flanagan directing all the episodes, it will be helmed by directors Yolanda Ramke & Ben Howling (Netflix’s Cargo), Ciarán Foy (Sinister 2), Liam Gavin (A Dark Song), and Axelle Carolyn (Tales of Halloween).

Luckily, fans won’t have to wait much longer to see the actor in a horror project, as he stars as the title character in The Invisible Man.

In the upcoming film, trapped in a violent, controlling relationship with a wealthy and brilliant scientist, Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) escapes in the dead of night and disappears into hiding, aided by her sister (Harriet Dyer), their childhood friend (Aldis Hodge) and his teenage daughter (Storm Reid). But when Cecilia’s abusive ex (Jackson-Cohen) commits suicide and leaves her a generous portion of his vast fortune, Cecilia suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of eerie coincidences turns lethal, threatening the lives of those she loves, Cecilia’s sanity begins to unravel as she desperately tries to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.

The Invisible Man lands in theaters on February 28th. Stay tuned for details on The Haunting of Bly Manor.

Are you looking forward to the new season of the series? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!