Haunting of Hill House Creator Shares First Look at Netflix’s Midnight Mass Series as Production Begins

Filmmaker Mike Flanagan built a following for himself with movies like Oculus and OUIJA: Origin of Evil, but it was his TV series The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix that introduced him to a massive audience, with the filmmaker returning to the world of long-form storytelling with the new series Midnight Mass, which he confirmed has started production with a photo from the set. Like many Netflix series, we can assume that production on the series is moving forward in Canada, as restrictions due to the coronavirus are still too strict in the U.S. for such a project to move forward.

“Day 1… here we go,” the filmmaker shared on Twitter alongside a photo of the production’s slate.

The new series is described, “Midnight Mass follows an isolated island community that experiences miraculous events — and frightening omens — after the arrival of a charismatic, mysterious young priest.”

Flanagan has been immensely busy in the years since The Haunting of Hill House debuted, having directed all episodes of that series before delivering audiences the highly anticipated sequel to The Shining with last year’s Doctor Sleep. The filmmaker then developed the second season of his Netflix series, The Haunting of Bly Manor, though he only directed one episode of that series while enlisting a number of other exciting filmmakers to contribute to the endeavor.

The new season of the series takes place at Bly mansion, 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.

Luckily, Bly Manor wrapped production earlier this year before the pandemic saw productions around the world shutting down. Given the accomplishments of the debut season, expectations are high for the new narrative, with star Oliver Jackson-Cohen teasing the new season will surpass those expectations.

“It’s truly kind of phenomenal what Mike’s done with the second season,” Jackson-Cohen joked with ComicBook.com about the new 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.”

Stay tuned for details on Midnight Mass. The Haunting of Bly Manor is set to hit Netflix later this year.

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