# The Fall of the House of Usher (miniseries)
**The Fall of the House of Usher** is an American horror drama limited series created by Mike Flanagan for Netflix, based on multiple works by [Edgar Allan Poe](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-allan-poe) and centered on the 1839 short story of the same name. It premiered on October 12, 2023, as an eight-episode limited series rated TV-MA.[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81414665) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/title/81414665)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Limited series, 8 episodes, TV-MA horror drama, released October 12, 2023[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81414665) • [2](https://www.netflix.com/title/81414665) |
| Creator | Mike Flanagan, under his Intrepid Pictures overall deal with Netflix; his fifth Netflix series[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-and-intrepid-pictures-announce-new-limited-series-the-fall-of-the) |
| Directors | Mike Flanagan and Michael Fimognari, four episodes each[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-and-intrepid-pictures-announce-new-limited-series-the-fall-of-the) |
| Premise | Siblings Roderick and Madeline Usher have built Fortunato Pharmaceuticals into an empire; the heirs to the dynasty begin dying at the hands of a mysterious woman from their youth[1](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81414665) |
| Lead cast | Carla Gugino (Verna), Bruce Greenwood (Roderick Usher), Mary McDonnell (Madeline Usher), Mark Hamill (Arthur Pym), Carl Lumbly (C. Auguste Dupin)[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/) |
| Reception | Metascore 73 from 34 critic reviews; 91% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 114 reviews and 81% from audiences[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_fall_of_the_house_of_usher/s01) |
| Production period | Announced October 6, 2021; filming wrapped in summer 2022 in Vancouver[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-and-intrepid-pictures-announce-new-limited-series-the-fall-of-the) • [6](https://www.darkhorizons.com/fall-of-the-house-of-usher-wraps-shoot/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and structure
The series follows Roderick Usher ([Bruce Greenwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-greenwood)), the CEO of the pharmaceutical company Fortunato, and his twin sister Madeline ([Mary McDonnell](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-mcdonnell)), who built the family business into an empire of wealth and power. When Roderick's six adult children begin dying in violent and mysterious ways, he must confront his past, including a deal made decades earlier.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/) • [7](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-cast-netflix?inapp=true)
The story is told largely through flashbacks framed by a present-day criminal investigation, in which Roderick recounts his history to the attorney general [C. Auguste Dupin](https://www.edgepedia.org/c-auguste-dupin) ([Carl Lumbly](https://www.edgepedia.org/carl-lumbly)), a character Poe used in his detective stories.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-2023-tv-review) The finale reveals that the deaths are not accidents: on [New Year's Eve](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-years-eve) 1979, after murdering Fortunato executive Rufus Griswold, the young siblings (Zach Gilford and Willa Fitzgerald) met a bartender named Verna (Carla Gugino), who promised they would never be convicted in exchange for a bargain under which their entire bloodline would die just before their own deaths.[9](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-ending-explained)
## Adaptation of Poe
The series uses the 1839 title story as its framework and attaches material from other Poe works to it. Each of the eight episodes is named for a Poe tale or poem: "A Midnight Dreary," "The Masque of the Red Death," "Murder in the Rue Morgue," "[The Black Cat](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-black-cat-short-story)," "The Tell-Tale Heart," "Goldbug," "The Pit and the Pendulum," and "The Raven."[2](https://www.netflix.com/title/81414665) • [8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-2023-tv-review) Critics noted that the show puts Poe's actual words, especially his poetry, front and center, with characters reciting verse within the story.[10](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-reviews/)
The setting moves from Poe's gothic mansion to the modern corporate world. Reviewers described the result as a corporate immorality tale in which the Ushers are a venal pharmaceutical dynasty facing karmic justice, with comparisons to *Succession* and to the opioid epidemic.[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/1107252/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-mike-flanagan-review/) • [12](https://ffbciowa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FFBC-Newsletter-December-2023.pdf) Flanagan himself distinguished the show from his earlier *Haunting* anthology, saying that Poe's story is not about ghosts, so it could not be called "The Haunting of the House of Usher."[13](https://www.thewrap.com/fall-of-the-house-of-usher-haunting-hill-house-mike-flanagan/)
## Production
Netflix and Intrepid Pictures announced the series on October 6, 2021, as an eight-episode limited series created by Flanagan, with Flanagan and Michael Fimognari each directing four episodes and Trevor Macy, Emmy Grinwis, and Fimognari executive producing.[3](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-and-intrepid-pictures-announce-new-limited-series-the-fall-of-the) Flanagan described the series before release as "blood-soaked" and "the closest I will get to giallo," referring to the Italian murder-mystery genre.[14](https://www.thewrap.com/mike-flanagan-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-netflix-series-giallo/)
Filming wrapped in summer 2022 in Vancouver. Flanagan marked the wrap as the end of an era: he had worked in Vancouver almost continuously since *[The Haunting](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-haunting-tv-series) of Bly Manor* in 2019, producing four series and thirty-four episodes of television in three years.[6](https://www.darkhorizons.com/fall-of-the-house-of-usher-wraps-shoot/) The show was his fifth and final Netflix series under the Intrepid deal; his subsequent projects moved to other outlets.[15](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/the-haunting-of-hill-house-creator-mike-flanagan-calls-his-new-tv-adaptation-of-stephen-kings-carrie-one-of-my-favorite-projects-ever-as-filming-wraps/)
The cast drew heavily on Flanagan's regular ensemble, including [Carla Gugino](https://www.edgepedia.org/carla-gugino), Henry Thomas, Kate Siegel, Rahul Kohli, Samantha Sloyan, Zach Gilford, and Katie Parker, alongside newcomers to his productions such as [Mark Hamill](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-hamill) and [T'Nia Miller](https://www.edgepedia.org/tnia-miller).[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/) • [7](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-cast-netflix?inapp=true)
## Reception
The series received generally favorable reviews. On Metacritic it scored 73 based on 34 critic reviews, with 29 positive, 5 mixed, and none negative; its user score was 6.5.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/) On Rotten Tomatoes it holds 91% from critics and 81% from audiences, with the critics' consensus calling it vintage Poe filtered through Flanagan's "deliciously dark lens."[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_fall_of_the_house_of_usher/s01)
Critics praised the gore and the weaving of Poe references. The *Mercury News* called it "one of the best series Netflix has ever produced," while *Vanity Fair* found the eight-episode run "sometimes an exhausting sit" yet engrossing.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/) Detractors were fewer but pointed: *The Independent* called it a "trashy mess" whose many remixed Poe tales added up to a muddled whole.[16](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/fall-house-usher-netflix-edgar-allan-poe-b2430532.html) Reviewers frequently compared it with Flanagan's earlier Netflix series, with several ranking it below *The Haunting of Hill House* and *[Midnight Mass](https://www.edgepedia.org/midnight-mass-miniseries)*.[10](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-reviews/)
The series found a later wave of attention in August 2025, when [Stephen King](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-king), who had missed its release, praised it on X as "scary, involving, with writing that's witty and moves the plot," adding that "there's a case to be made for Mike Flanagan being the Quentin Tarantino of horror."[17](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/stephen-king-says-theres-a-case-to-be-made-for-mike-flanagan-being-the-quentin-tarantino-of-horror-after-finally-watching-the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/)
## References
1. [The Fall of the House of Usher, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81414665)
2. [The Fall of the House of Usher, Netflix official site](https://www.netflix.com/title/81414665)
3. [Netflix and Intrepid Pictures Announce New Limited Series 'The Fall of the House of Usher', About Netflix (October 6, 2021)](https://about.netflix.com/en/news/netflix-and-intrepid-pictures-announce-new-limited-series-the-fall-of-the)
4. [The Fall of the House of Usher Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/)
5. [The Fall of the House of Usher: Limited Series, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_fall_of_the_house_of_usher/s01)
6. ["Fall of the House of Usher" Wraps Shoot, Dark Horizons](https://www.darkhorizons.com/fall-of-the-house-of-usher-wraps-shoot/)
7. [The Fall of the House of Usher Cast & Characters, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-cast-netflix?inapp=true)
8. [The Fall of the House of Usher movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-2023-tv-review)
9. ['The Fall of the House of Usher' Ending Explained, Netflix Tudum](https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-ending-explained)
10. [The Fall of the House of Usher Reviews: 'Deliciously Macabre' and 'Triumphant,' Critics Say, Rotten Tomatoes editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-reviews/)
11. [Roush Review: 'Fall of the House of Usher' Transforms Poe Into a Corporate Immorality Tale of Karmic Justice, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1107252/the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-mike-flanagan-review/)
12. [The Fall of the House of Usher, FFBC Newsletter, December 2023](https://ffbciowa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/FFBC-Newsletter-December-2023.pdf)
13. ['Hill House' Creator Explains Why New Series 'Fall of the House of Usher' Isn't 'Haunting of the House of Usher', TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/fall-of-the-house-of-usher-haunting-hill-house-mike-flanagan/)
14. [Mike Flanagan Says 'Fall of the House of Usher' Series Is 'Blood-Soaked', TheWrap](https://www.thewrap.com/mike-flanagan-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-netflix-series-giallo/)
15. [Mike Flanagan calls his new TV adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie "one of my favorite projects ever", GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/the-haunting-of-hill-house-creator-mike-flanagan-calls-his-new-tv-adaptation-of-stephen-kings-carrie-one-of-my-favorite-projects-ever-as-filming-wraps/)
16. [Shock, horror! Netflix's The Fall of the House of Usher is a trashy mess of a literary reboot, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/fall-house-usher-netflix-edgar-allan-poe-b2430532.html)
17. [Stephen King says "there's a case to be made for Mike Flanagan being the Quentin Tarantino of horror", GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/horror-shows/stephen-king-says-theres-a-case-to-be-made-for-mike-flanagan-being-the-quentin-tarantino-of-horror-after-finally-watching-the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Genre and subject-scripted series › Fantasy, supernatural, and horror series › Horror drama and thriller series › Supernatural and occult dramas › Titles symbols to L*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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