The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan returns to give us one scary sermon…
Horror has been dominating Netflix’s original film slate recently, with hits such as Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead and the Fear Street trilogy offering some summer scares to subscribers.
However, the genre has been notably absent from the streaming service’s many hit 2021 shows – until now.
After revolutionising small screen horror with both The Haunting of Hill House and follow-up The Haunting of Bly Manor, writer-director Mike Flanagan is returning with the mysteriously titled Midnight Mass.
Going by the title alone, it seems unlikely Midnight Mass will have any connections to the Haunting series. But with an isolated island setting, a bewitching priest who claims he can perform miracles and a rather eerie trailer, it is likely to be just as scary as Flanagan’s earlier work.
If you dare, read on for everything you need to know about Midnight Mass – which is unlikely to be as Christmassy as the title suggests.
Midnight Mass release date
Allowing plenty of time for a Halloween binge, all seven episodes of Midnight Mass will be released on Netflix on Friday 24th September 2021.
Production was set to begin in March 2020 but was soon shut down due to the pandemic, eventually resuming in August.
After a socially distant shoot adhering to strict COVID-19 protocols, Midnight Mass finally wrapped in December 2020 – and writer-director Mike Flanagan was certainly happy with how filming went.
That’s a wrap on MIDNIGHT MASS. It has been an extraordinary, unprecedented production, and I cannot be prouder of this amazing cast and crew. In fact – and I do not say this lightly – this has been the best production experience of my career.
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) December 16, 2020
Midnight Mass cast
!["MIDNIGHT]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2021/08/MMASS_106_Unit_01046RC-d958bd5.jpg?quality=90&crop=160px%2C0px%2C3041px%2C2026px&resize=620%2C413" "\"MMASS_106_Unit_01046RC\"")
Joining this scary service is Good Girls star Zach Gilford as disgraced young man Riley Flynn, who returns to the isolated community of Crockett Island at the same time as the charismatic but mysterious priest Father Paul, played by Legion’s Hamish Linklater.
Flanagan has a habit of bringing back actors from his previous projects – and Katie Segel, Rahul Kohli, Henry Thomas, Alex Essoe, Annabeth Gish, Robert Longstreet and Samantha Sloyan have all signed up for more scares after previously appearing in the Haunting series.
Kristin Lehman (Altered Carbon), Igby Rigney (Fast & Furious 9), and Rahul Abburi (Killer Ransom) round out the cast.
Thomas and Lehman appear to be playing Riley’s parents Ed and Annie Flynn, with Rigney as his younger brother Warren. Kohli will be playing Crockett Island’s Sheriff Hassan – who will have more than the odd criminal to contend with – while Abburi stars as his son Ali.
Gish will be playing the island’s doctor Sarah Gunning, who will likely need to give Siegel’s Erin Greene a check-up after she has quite the pregnancy scare in the trailer.
Midnight Mass trailer
It’s only brief, but this teaser showcases some excellent production values and is still suitably scary – who knew the word “why” could be so haunting.
Midnight Mass: is it part of the Haunting series?
Sorry, Hill House and Bly Manor fans – creator Mike Flanagan has repeatedly denied that Midnight Mass is part of the Haunting series.
It’s possible the two are indeed connected somehow and that the reveal is intended as a surprise at the end of the series, but this seems unlikely given that Midnight Mass is a wholly original story and not based on a classic horror novel like the Haunting series.
Not only is Midnight Mass an original project, but it is a deeply personal one for writer, director and executive producer Flanagan, who drew upon his experiences as an altar boy at New York’s Governors Island for the series.
This one is special. Cannot wait for you to see it. pic.twitter.com/z7elBvERSb
— Mike Flanagan (@flanaganfilm) August 9, 2021
Despite no narrative crossover, the Haunting series had a clear mission statement of loosely adapting famous novels following the residents of a haunted house, so linking Midnight Mass seems unnecessary as an original and personal production that looks to instead explore themes of community and religion.
The only connective tissue seems to be the return of select cast members, but recurring actors seems to be a staple across Flanagan’s entire filmography and not necessarily a hint of a link to the Haunting series.
Looking for something else to watch? Check out our lists of the best series on Netflix and the best movies on Netflix, or see what else is on with our TV Guide.