Following reports yesterday that an investigation into on-set sexual misconduct allegations were being conducted, Oscar-nominated actor Frank Langella has been fired from the upcoming Netflix TV series The Fall of the House of Usher. Deadline reports that the actor was set to lead the series, based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe, as Roderick Usher. The role will be recast moving forward though after the investigation found Langella was “involved in unacceptable conduct on set.” Production on the series was halfway completed with scenes featuring the actor set to be reshot, filming is also set to continue while the hunt for a replacement is found.
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News of the investigation into Langella’s conduct on set were first reported by TMZ who revealed that “the 84-year-old actor allegedly made an inappropriate joke that was sexual in nature,” and “touched the leg of a female costar, and further drew attention to the action when he jokingly said something like ‘Did you like that?’” Deadline corroborated the news in their report today, adding that the actor had been “accused of sexual harassment” on the set of the series. Check back for more news on the series’ production as we learn it.
The Fall of the House of Usher marks the latest collaboration between Netflix and creator Mike Flanagan, having previously created The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Midnight Mass, and the upcoming Midnight Club. Other confirmed cast members in the series include Carla Gugino (Gerald’s Game), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Kate Siegel (Haunting of Hill House), Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica) as Madeline Usher, Zach Gilford (The Purge: Anarchy), Paola Nuñez (Bad Boys For Life), Annabeth Gish (Midnight Mass), Malcolm Goodwin (Reacher), Rahul Kohli (iZombie), Samantha Sloyan (Midnight Mass), JayR Tinaco (Another Life, Space Force), Willa Fitzgerald (Reacher), and Robert Longstreet (Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass).
A previously released synopsis for The Fall of the House of Usher reads as follows: “A man who has been invited to visit his childhood friend Roderick Usher. Usher gradually makes clear that his twin sister Madeline has been placed in the family vault not quite dead. When she reappears in her blood-stained shroud, the visitor rushes to leave as the entire house splits and sinks into a lake.”
“This miniseries is a modern remix of some of the most iconic works of Edgar Allan Poe,” Flanagan shared on Twitter last year about the series. “This miniseries is unique for Intrepid, we’ve never done anything quite like this before. I’m so grateful to be working with my long-time collaborator Michael Fimognari, who will be directing four of the eight episodes, and my producing partner and executive producer Trevor Macy. We’ll see you on the other side. In the meantime, dim the lights, light a fire, and just imagine a deep voice in the dark, quietly intoning… ‘Once upon a midnight dreary…’”
