All eight episodes were released on Netflix on October 12, , each directed by either Flanagan or Michael Fimognari , with the latter also acting as cinematographer for the entire series. Loosely based on various works by 19th-century author Edgar Allan Poe most prominently the eponymous short story , the series adapts otherwise unrelated stories and characters by Poe into a single nonlinear narrative set from to The first two episodes of The Fall of the House of Usher premiered at Fantastic Fest in September before the Netflix release the following month, and the miniseries counted more than 13 million views in its first two weeks.
It was met with positive reviews, with critics praising its production values, directing, and performances in particular from Gugino, Greenwood, and Mark Hamill , although they were divided on its narrative, notably in relation to the source materials.
The evening after the final funeral, Roderick invites C. Auguste Dupin , an Assistant United States Attorney who dedicated his career to exposing Fortunato's corruption, to his childhood home, where he tells the true story of his family and unveils the Ushers' darkest secrets. The series follows two timelines in addition to the conversation between Roderick and Dupin, depicted onscreen when told by Roderick : the first, taking place from to , recounts Roderick and his twin sister Madeline's youth and subsequent rise to power, while the second follows all of the Ushers during the two weeks leading up to the discussion, revealing the truth behind the deaths of Roderick's children.
While the first episode's title consists of a phrase from the first line of Poe's poem " The Raven ", the last episode bears the poem's title. In April , Langella was fired from the series after a misconduct investigation, with his role set to be recast. Filming began on January 31, , in Vancouver, Canada , and wrapped on July 9, The first two episodes debuted at Fantastic Fest in September , [ 15 ] [ 16 ] as well as a pre-screening at Flanagan's alma mater, Towson University.
The series was released on Netflix on October 12, The Fall of the House of Usher was viewed 6 million times on its debut week, making it the most-watched English-language fiction program on Netflix that week, and third most-watched overall after the French-language series Lupin and the documentary series Beckham.
