The Fall of the House of Usher: where to watch, plot, trailer, episode guide, and everything you need to know
The Fall of The House of Usher comes from the team behind The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, so it's guaranteed to give you a good scare!
Based on the Gothic horror tale The Fall Of The House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe, the eight-part series is directed by horror legend Mike Flanagan and includes themes of madness, family, isolation, and tragedy, as well as a very spooky family mansion that’s rumored to be alive!
"It’s crazy, and unlike anything I’ve ever done," says Flanagan speaking before the US writers strike, and whose credits also include Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Bly Manor, as well as films Oculus (2013) and Hush (2016). "
He added: "My favourite way to describe it is that The Haunting of Hill House is kind of a string quartet, The Haunting of Bly Manor is a delicate, beautiful piece of classical piano music and The Fall of the House of Usher is heavy metal or rock and roll,’ says Flanagan. ‘It’s wild, colourful, dark and blood-soaked. It’s wicked and funny, aggressive and scary, and also hilarious."
Here’s everything we know so far about The Fall of the House of Usher...
The Fall of the House of Usher release date
The Fall of the House of Usher was released worldwide on Netflix on Thursday, October 12 as an eight-episode series.
Is there a trailer for The Fall of the House of Usher?
Yes, there are now a few trailers for The Fall of the House of Usher. Also, there's a trailer introducing us to all the main characters. Take a look below...
The Fall Of The House of Usher plot
This new version of The Fall of the House of Usher gives a modern twist to the classic Edgar Allan Poe horror. It follows ruthless twins Roderick (Bruce Greenwood) and Madeline Usher (Mary McDonnell) who have built up Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into mega powerful empire. But past secrets come to light when the heirs to the Usher dynasty start dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth.
The story unfolds between different timelines when Roderick invites the Assistant US Attorney and long-term adversary, C. Auguste Dupin (Carl Lumbly), to his childhood home with the promise of fully disclosing the series of unfortunate events that led to his children’s deaths.
The Fall of the House of Usher main cast
Bruce Greenwood (The Resident) leads the cast as Roderick Usher, described as "the towering patriarch of the Usher dynasty". Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) had previously been cast as Roderick but left the show in April.
Mary McDonnell (Battlestar Galactica, Dances With Wolves), who plays Roderick’s twin sister Madeline
Carl Lumbly (Cagney and Lacey, Supergirl) is investigator C. Auguste Dupin, who was featured in multiple works by Poe.
E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial star Henry Thomas, Foundation actress T’Nia Miller, Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco, and Paola Nunez will also star.
The Fall Of The House of Usher star Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill, best known for playing Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars film franchise, plays the Ushers' attorney and enforcer Arthur Pym in The Fall Of The House of Usher, who’s described as being surprisingly at home in the shadows.
"There’s a horrific catastrophe and my character is there to collect up the evidence while trying to figure out what’s going on and also protect the family if there’s anything incriminating," says Mark Hamill, now 72, speaking begore the US writers's strike. ‘There’s nothing I love better than a big ensemble cast of such talented actors. They up your game."
As well as Star Wars movies and TV spin-offs such as The Mandalorian, Mark Hamill has also appeared on TV in British comedy Man Down, The Big Bang Theory and What We Do In The Shadows.
Who else is starring in The Fall of the House Of Usher
The remaining cast of The Fall of the House Of Usher sees familiar faces from The Haunting of Hill House, Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass, including Carla Gugino as Verna.
"It’s bats*t crazy in the best possible way. It has quite a lot of very dark humor, but also really touches the soul," Carla Gugino said in a pre-SAG-AFTRA strike statement (via Variety). "There is a fantastical supernatural element to the story, and [Verna] is the manifestation of that. You could say she’s the executor of fate or the executor of karma."
Kate Siegel (Mike Flanagan's wife) plays the family's head of PR, Camile Espanye (see pictured below), while ET legend Henry Thomas plays Roderick's insecure eldest son Frederick Usher. Samantha Sloyan stars as Tamerlane Usher, a more suitable choice to take over after forging her own path in the health and wellness world.
Rahul Kohli plays video game influencer Napoleon ‘Leo’ Usher, and T’Nia Miller is Victorine Lafourcade, who’s working on a revolutionary new heart mesh to gain her father’s approval. Sauriyan Sapkota plays Prospero ‘Perry’ Usher, the party-loving youngest of the brood.
Other cast includes Michael Trucco, Paola Nu?ez, Kyleigh Curran Sauriyan Sapkota, Zach Gilford, Willa Fitzgerald, Katie Parker, Malcolm Goodwin, Crystal Balint, Aya Furukawa, Daniel Jun, Matt Biedel, Ruth Codd, Annabeth Gish, Igby Rigney, and Robert Longstreet.
The Fall of the House of Usher episode guide and recaps
Click on the links below for our episode guide to The Fall of the House of Usher, which we'll be adding to. Avoid clicking them if you don't want spoilers...
The Fall of the House of Usher episode 1 recap: Meet the family
The Fall of the House of Usher episode 2 recap: What happened to Perry?
The Fall of the House of Usher episode 3 recap: What happened to Camille?
The Fall of the House of Usher episode 4 recap: How did Leo die?
The Fall of the House of Usher episode 5 recap: What does Roderick know?
The Fall of the House of Usher episode 6 recap: What is Frederick doing to his wife?
The Fall of the House of Usher and its author Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe wrote the original The Fall of the House of Usher as a supernatural short story, which was first published in 1839. It follows Roderick Usher and his twin sister Madeline, who live in a mansion that Roderick believes is alive and exercises some degree of control over its inhabitants. Madeline suffers from strange, deathlike trances and Roderick is experiencing worsening mental illness and hysteria. The story charts a family falling into madness and isolation, while the new Netflix series is described as a modern-day interpretation that draws from various Poe tales in an epic tale of greed, horror and tragedy.
Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1809 and his tale The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) initiated the modern detective story, while The Raven, penned in 1845, remains one of the best-known poems in American literature. Poe died in 1949 in mysterious circumstances, having been found delirious on the streets of Baltimore.
