Deadline reports that fan favorite, Victoria Pedretti, of last October’s The Haunting of Hill House will be returning in a lead role for the second season of what is turning out to be an anthology series revolving around haunted houses. While the first season of the show was an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s 1959 gothic novella of the same name, the upcoming season, titled The Haunting of Bly Manor, will be based on Henry James short story from 1898 titled The Turn of the Screw. The horror novella, Turn, has been adapted several times in the past, sometimes by another name and other times by the same name (see 1961’s The Innocents or 2009’s The Turn of the Screw). However, this adaptation has clearly been renamed in the vein of the first season’s title, sticking with a clear haunted house theme.
According to Variety, the premise of season two is a psychological horror story with Pedretti playing a young governess to two young orphans. However, supernatural elements soon make their presence known around the manor by taking hold of the children. In her role as the governess, Pedretti will serve as the narrator.
Victoria Pedretti has become Netflix’s breakout star and has even made her way into mainstream movies. Besides starring in season one of Haunting Of as Nell Crain and season two as a young governess, she will also appear in season two of Netflix’s hit series You. She can also be seen in Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming film, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. Her appearance as Nell Crain in the first season of Haunting Of was her first major role fresh out of college and earned her an MTV Film and Movie Award nomination.
Collider notes that Mike Flanagan was the creative mind behind the first season of Haunting Of and has also signed on to helm the second season of the show. He clearly has a taste for horror storytelling as between the two seasons he worked on the sequel film to The Shining, Doctor Sleep, which will star Ewan McGregor and premieres later this year. The Shining and Doctor Sleep are also adaptations of well-known horror novels.
While a potential season two was first talked about in February of 2019, the second season isn’t expected to premiere until 2020. So, unlike the first season, one can’t binge the horror series on Halloween. Below is Pedretti’s personal announcement that she’ll be returning to the show.