TV Show review
Review basis: 1 season · through October 12, 2018
October 12, 2018 · TV-MA · Ended
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Haunting of Hill House is a 2018 Netflix horror series created by Mike Flanagan. It loosely adapts Shirley Jackson's novel and follows the Crain family through flashbacks to their time in a haunted mansion and their present-day struggles with trauma, grief, and fractured relationships. A main character, Theodora Crain, is portrayed as a lesbian with on-screen romantic relationships shown as part of her personal story.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Haunting of Hill House.
Woke representation / casting
Visible lesbian portrayal for main character Theodora with romantic storylines shown on screen; family casting fits the story's setting naturally with no forced racial or gender swaps highlighted in coverage.
Woke political dialogue
No explicit political, activist, or ideological dialogue present; focus remains on personal grief and supernatural events.
Identity-driven story themes
Theodora's queer identity receives visible integration and romantic focus as part of her arc, though core themes center on universal family trauma rather than identity politics.
Western institutional / cultural critique
No modern activist framing of patriarchy, systemic issues, or cultural institutions; the haunted house serves as a personal trauma metaphor.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Major shifts from the novel include making characters siblings, reworking Nell's story significantly, and expanding Theodora's queerness from subtext to explicit; changes update the material for contemporary viewing without reported ideological intent.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Minimal online mentions defending gay inclusion against "woke" labels; no major news stories, viewer campaigns, or widespread right-leaning criticism treating the show as identity-driven messaging.
Creator track record context
Mike Flanagan focused on trauma-centered horror at the time of production with limited prior activist signaling; most other writers show genre-focused careers without documented political or identity-driven patterns; recent Flanagan comments suggest later shifts but do not define this 2018 project.
