Katie Parker Confirms Who She's Playing in Mike Flanagan's 'The Fall of the House of Usher'

The series is the last Flanagan project for Netflix.

Katie Parker has confirmed she will play Annabel Lee in Mike Flanagan's upcoming series The Fall of the House of Usher. In an exclusive interview with Collider's own Maggie Lovitt on Next Exit Home Edition, Parker also told us that the upcoming series will be unlike anything Flanagan has done before.

Although Parker had mentioned last year that she would play Annabel Lee, Netflix and Flanagan have so far remained silent on The Fall of the House of Usher. We knew from the start that the series would be adapting the Gothic King Edgar Allan Poe's short story of the same name. We also know that Flanagan will draw on the author's multiple short stories and poems for his series. Still, we don't know how all these different moving parts will fit together, and confirmation that Parker is playing Annabelle Lee only adds to the mystery.

Annabel Lee is part of one of Poe's most famous poems, a poem that tells a love story so pure that even angels are jealous of it. As a result, Annabel Lee lost her soul the night the cold wind hit separate her from her lover. Of course, this is a touching story as well as a beautiful poem. Still, we wonder how Flanagan managed to mix together so many of Poe's original texts and craft a coherent series that properly pays homage to the author. To make matters even more mysterious, Parker promised that the fall of the House of Usher will be "completely different" from his previous TV appearances. As the star puts it:

“I mean, the wonderful thing about Mike is that he has given me so many different women to play and all like complete caricatures, I feel like. I mean, I play Annabel Lee, that famous poem that, yeah, Edgar Allan Poe wrote about his long-lost love, Annabel Lee. I think that's all I can say about it. Yeah, but I can say that that show, it's going to be really awesome. I think people are going to be like, ‘Whoa, I was not expecting this from Mike Flanagan.’”

Flanagan's previous series have featured his unique ability to turn classic horror stories into something extraordinary, which has us excited for this adaptation. For example, The Haunting of Bly Manor is a loose adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, and The Haunted House uses Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name to create an entirely original story. As for Midnight Club, Flanagan made his first ongoing series using Christopher Peck's writing, which was unfortunately canceled before season 2. As such, we believe The Fall of the House of Usher will also be a frightening and deeply emotional television experience.

Who Is Involved in The Fall of the House of Usher?

"The Fall of the House of Usher" cast will include newcomer Malcolm Goodwin and heavyweights such as Mark Hamill, Carla Gugino, Carl Lumbly and Mary McDonnell. Flanagan also brings back other regular collaborators for The Fall of the House of Usher, including scene-stealer T'Nia Miller and Midnight Mass cast members Rahul Kohli, Kate Siegel, Robert Longstreet, Henry Thomas, Samantha Sloyan, Crystal Balint, Michael Trucco, Zach Gilford and Sauriyan Sapkota. Frank Langella was originally scheduled to play Roderick Arthur, but was replaced by Bruce Greenwood after misconduct allegations.

The Fall of the House of Usher was the last project Flanagan worked on under his Netflix master contract. After that, Flanagan and Trevor Macy will move production from their Intrepid Pictures label to Prime Video as they sign a multi-year deal with Amazon Studios. The Fall of the House of Usher still doesn't have a release date, but Flanagan and Macy have previously told us the series should hit theaters sometime in the spring or fall of 2023.

Check out our interview with co-creator, director, writer, and executive producer Flanagan, executive producer Macy, and co-creator and executive producer Leah Fong about their tentative plans for Midnight Club Season 2.