American creator Mike Flanagan developed The Fall of the House of Usher, an eight-episode gothic horror miniseries currently streaming on Netflix.
The drama tells the story of a taciturn billionaire owner of a corrupt pharmaceutical empire who faces his questionable past when his children start dying in macabre and twisted ways. The plot is based on the short story of the same name and other works by author and poet Edgar Allan Poe. The story builds on three key pillars: a rich family, dark secrets, and brutal deaths. Each episode runs for approximately one hour, giving the full miniseries a total run time of about eight hours.
Cast of The Fall of the House of Usher
Bruce Greenwood and Zach Gilford play Roderick Usher, the corrupt chief executive officer of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. Mary McDonnell and Willa Fitzgerald portray Madeline Usher, Roderick's twin sister and the ambitious chief operating officer of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. Carla Gugino plays Verna, a mysterious stranger from the twins' past who targets the family's heirs.
Henry Thomas plays Frederick Usher, Roderick's oldest son and heir to Fortunato, who is married to Morella and is the father of Lenore. Samantha Sloyan plays Tamerlane Usher, Roderick's oldest daughter and aspiring entrepreneur. Kate Siegel portrays Camille L'Espanaye, one of Roderick's illegitimate daughters and the sharp-tongued head of public relations for Fortunato.
Rahul Kohli plays Napoleon "Leo" Usher, another of Roderick's illegitimate sons and a prominent video game editor with a drug addiction. T'Nia Miller plays Victorine "Vic" LaFourcade, the oldest of Roderick's illegitimate children and a talented surgeon. Sauriyan Sapkota plays Prospero "Perry" Usher, the youngest of Roderick's illegitimate sons who leads a hedonistic lifestyle.
Katie Parker plays Annabel Lee, Roderick's first wife and mother of Frederick and Tamerlane. Crystal Balint portrays Morella Usher, a former model and actress married to Frederick. Kyliegh Curran plays Lenore Usher, the daughter of Frederick and Morella.
Audience reviews and rating scores
Following its release in October 2023, The Fall of the House of Usher received positive ratings across four major review websites. Rotten Tomatoes reports an 81 percent favorable rating for the show. Metacritic holds an average score of 6.5 out of 10, FilmAffinity shows a rating of 6.7 out of 10, and IMDb registers a 7.9 out of 10 score.
Other horror series on Netflix
Mike Flanagan, an American director, screenwriter, and producer, also created other horror series available on Netflix, including The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor. Netflix also streams other horror series, including Midnight Mass, The Midnight Club, Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities, Marianne, Archive 81, and All of Us Are Dead.
