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Penny Dreadful (TV series)

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Template:Infobox television Penny Dreadful is a horror drama television series created for Showtime and Sky by John Logan, who also acts as executive producer alongside Sam Mendes. The show was originally pitched to several American and British channels, and eventually landed with Showtime,[1] with Sky Atlantic as co-producer.[2] It premiered at the South by Southwest film festival on March 9 and began airing on television on April 28, 2014, on Showtime on Demand.[3][4] The series premiered on Showtime in the United States on May 11, 2014, and on Sky Atlantic in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2014.[5][6][7] After the third-season finale on June 19, 2016, series creator John Logan announced that Penny Dreadful had ended as the main story had reached its conclusion.[8][9]

The title refers to the penny dreadfuls, a type of 19th-century British fiction publication with lurid and sensational subject matter. The series draws upon many public domain characters from 19th-century Victorian Gothic fiction, including Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray; Mina Harker, Abraham Van Helsing, John Seward, Renfield, and Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's Dracula; Victor Frankenstein and his monster from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; and Henry Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, showing their origin stories as an explorer searches for his daughter. Justine from Justine, or The Misfortunes of Virtue by the Marquis de Sade also appears.

A spin-off series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, aired from April 26 to June 28, 2020.

Plot

The first season begins in London, 1891. Ethan Chandler, an American gunman and roadshow artist, is hired by the adventurer-explorer Malcolm Murray and the mysterious Vanessa Ives to help rescue Murray's daughter from a mysterious creature. They receive help from a young doctor named Victor Frankenstein who soon is stalked by an undead creature he once reanimated and abandoned. Ives becomes romantically involved with the handsome, artistic Dorian Gray but also finds herself haunted by Lucifer, who wishes to make her his bride and queen.

In the second season, Ives is hunted by a coven of witches led by the charismatic Evelyn Poole, who wants to deliver Ives to Lucifer. Frankenstein is forced to make his creature a bride, and an inspector investigates a grisly murder that Chandler committed in a London inn.

In the third season, the main characters find themselves scattered across the world – Ives is in London, consulting the alienist Florence Seward, Ethan is being extradited to the United States, and Murray is in Zanzibar. Count Dracula soon appears in London, setting the stage for the final battle for Ives' soul.

Episodes

List of Penny Dreadful episodes

Cast and characters

Main cast

Supporting cast

Introduced in season 1

  • Olivia Llewellyn as Mina Harker (seasons 1–2), Malcolm's daughter and Vanessa's childhood friend who has been abducted
  • Alex Price as Proteus (seasons 1–2), a new creation of Dr. Frankenstein's, named after the literary character of the same name, who was killed by the Creature
  • Lorcan Cranitch as Inspector Goldsworthy (season 1), of the London police
  • Robert Nairne as the Vampire (season 1), an evil creature who leads a cabal of undead and who abducted Mina Harker
  • Olly Alexander as Fenton (season 1), a vampire minion
  • Graham Butler as Peter Murray (seasons 1–2), Malcolm's son, who died accompanying his father on one of his expeditions
  • Noni Stapleton as Gladys Murray (seasons 1–2), Malcolm's estranged wife and mother of Mina and Peter
  • Alun Armstrong as Vincent Brand (season 1), the leader of a troupe of actors in residence at the Grand Guignol[13]
  • Hannah Tointon as Maud Gunneson (season 1), an actress at the Grand Guignol, and object of the Creature's affection
  • Gavin Fowler as Simon (season 1), Maud's partner who mistreats the Creature
  • David Warner as Abraham Van Helsing (season 1), a haematologist and colleague of Frankenstein
  • Stephen Lord as Warren Roper (seasons 1–2), a Pinkerton agent hired to bring Ethan back to the United States

Introduced in season 2

  • Sarah Greene as Hecate Poole (seasons 2–3), Evelyn's eldest daughter
  • Nicole O'Neill, Olivia Chenery and Charlotte Beckett as minor witches of Evelyn's coven (season 2)
  • Douglas Hodge as Bartholomew Rusk (seasons 2–3), a Scotland Yard police inspector investigating the grisly Mariner's Inn Massacre
  • Jack Hickey as the junior inspector working with Rusk (seasons 2–3)
  • Jonny Beauchamp as Angelique (season 2), a mysterious transgender woman who gains Dorian's attention
  • David Haig as Oscar Putney (season 2), the owner of a struggling wax museum who employs the Creature for his own nefarious reasons
  • Ruth Gemmell as Octavia Putney (season 2), Oscar's wife who is uneasy about the Creature and treats him cruelly
  • Tamsin Topolski as Lavinia Putney (season 2), the blind daughter of the Creature's new employers, with whom he develops a friendship
  • Ronan Vibert as Geoffrey Hawkes (season 2), a rich landowner who fell under Evelyn's sway

Introduced in season 3

  • Shazad Latif as Henry Jekyll / Hyde, a chemist and college friend of Victor Frankenstein[17]
  • Christian Camargo as Dracula, the brother of Lucifer who fell to Earth to feed on the blood of the living as the first vampire. In London, he takes the guise of kindly zoologist Alexander Sweet to captivate Vanessa[17]
  • Samuel Barnett as Renfield, Florence Seward's secretary who becomes involved with Dracula[17]
  • Sebastian Croft and Jack Greenlees as minor vampires serving Dracula
  • Casper Allpress and Pandora Colin as Jack and Marjorie, the Creature's son and wife from when he was still alive
  • Cokey Falkow as Scarman, a gunman in the service of Ethan's father
  • Jessica Barden as Justine, a homeless, brutalized young prostitute who becomes an acolyte to Lily[17]
  • Sean Gilder as Franklin Ostow, a marshal in the American West aiding Rusk in the hunt for Ethan
  • Brian Cox as Jared Talbot, a ruthless, powerful American rancher and the estranged father of Ethan[19]
  • Perdita Weeks as Catriona Hartdegen, a thanatologist scholar with expert knowledge of the supernatural

Notable non-recurring cast include Mary Stockley as Victor Frankenstein's mother Caroline, Anna Chancellor as Vanessa's mother Claire, and Frank McCusker as Christopher Banning, a doctor overseeing Vanessa's treatment while institutionalized, all appearing in flashbacks during the first season, as well as Oliver Cotton as Father Matthew, having been requested to perform an exorcism on Vanessa in the first season's penultimate episode.

Production and development

In January 2013, it was announced that Showtime had made a series commitment for the project. Logan and Mendes previously wrote and directed Skyfall, respectively. Production began in London in the second half of 2013. Showtime president David Nevins stated that the tone of the ensemble series will be "very realistic and very grounded, not Bela Lugosi. All exist in human form in turn-of-century London." This was also reflected during production of the sound for the show, where Logan often pulled things back towards more realism.[20] Logan, a lifelong fan of literary monsters, wrote the project on spec and scripts the majority of episodes of the series. It was intended that Mendes would direct episodes, but scheduling prevented this.[21]

Juan Antonio Bayona was announced as director for the first two episodes.[22] The remaining episodes of the first season were directed by Dearbhla Walsh, Coky Giedroyc, and James Hawes.

In March 2013, it was announced that the series would be filmed in the United Kingdom to take advantage of the new UK tax credit for high-end TV productions that offered a 25% rebate.[23] However, it was reported in August that production would instead take place in Bray's Ardmore Studios and other locations around Dublin, Ireland, because of the country's section 481 tax incentives. Filming began on October 7 and lasted 5 months.[24] Reports indicated that the change was made as no stage space of a sufficient caliber was available due to the filming of major motion pictures in London.[25]

In December 2013, Showtime announced its first production blog for a series with the launch of The Penny Dreadful Production Blog. The venue gave viewers an online, behind-the-scenes look at the series' production from its early stages of filming in Ireland through the end of the first season, featuring interviews with cast and crew.[26] In February 2014, Showtime released a full-length trailer for the series.[27]

Logan revealed at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con panel that one of the texts he thought about while planning the series that he would like to use in a future season is The Island of Doctor Moreau.[28] In an interview with Entertainment Weekly prior to the premiere of the third season, Logan stated that the addition of Dr. Henry Jekyll was implemented because the rights to Doctor Moreau were not available.[18]

Showtime had announced season renewals shortly before the ends of the first and second seasons;[29][30][31][32] however, Logan had decided during the middle of the second season that the third season should be the last, and he pitched the third season to Showtime president David Nevins accordingly. They did not release this information until after the final season had completed, as Nevins stated, "given what I knew the ending of Penny Dreadful was going to be felt like a massive spoiler and it felt disrespectful to the experience that people were having with the show." Logan said regarding not releasing the information, "That's what the ending of this series is, it is meant to be a strong, bold, theatrical ending because I think that's what our fans like and to water that down with an announcement or having them know I think would be an act of bad faith."[8]

Reception

Critical reception

Template:Television critical response

The first season of Penny Dreadful received positive reviews from critics, with a Metacritic rating of 70 out of 100 based on 37 reviews.[33] It holds an 81 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 7.4 out of 10, based on 62 reviews, with the site's consensuses stating, "Skillfully shot and superbly acted, Penny Dreadful is perplexing in a good way – even if it's a bit silly at times."[34] The first season was described "as riotous as it is ridiculous, taking the macabre to new heights (or depths)" by The Guardian reviewer Ben Hewitt.[35]

The second season also received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, it has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 14 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[36] On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 100 percent rating with an average score of 7.7 out of 10 based on 21 reviews, with the site's consensus stating, "Penny DreadfulTemplate:'s second season maintains the show's intense, bloody drama, utilizing a vast array of fascinating characters and locales to tell a unique story."[37]

The third season received critical acclaim. On Metacritic, it has a score of 83 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[38] On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 93 percent rating with an average score of 8.1 out of 10 based on 15 reviews, with the site's consensuses stating, "Penny Dreadful is back for a beautifully bloody third season of ever-expanding mysteries and Gothic horrors."[39] Ben Travers of Indiewire gave it a B+ grade and wrote, "Season 3's American-set storyline breaks things up nicely with some classic western elements mixed in with the show's established creature horrors, and the aesthetics of the production have never looked better."[40]

Ratings

The series debuted to 872,000 viewers (1.44Template:Nbspmillion including re-runs). This number does not include the 900,000 viewers who previewed the series on Showtime on Demand and the Showtime app.[41]

Accolades

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result
2014 Critics' Choice Television Awards[42] Most Exciting New Series Penny Dreadful Template:Won
2015 BAFTA Television Craft Awards[43] Best Costume Design Gabriella Pescucci Template:Nominated
Best Make Up and Hair Design Enzo Mastrantonio, Nick Dudman, Stefano Ceccarelli Template:Won
Best Original Television Music Abel Korzeniowski Template:Won
Best Production Design Jonathan McKinstry, Philip Murphy Template:Won
Best Titles Erik Friedman, Rudy Jaimes, Ray Burris Template:Nominated
British Society of Cinematographers Awards[44] Best Cinematography in a Television Drama PJ Dillon Template:Small Template:Nominated
Canadian Cinema Editors Awards[45] Best Editing in Long Form Television Series Christopher Donaldson (for: "Closer than Sisters") Template:Won
Critics' Choice Television Awards[46] Best Actress in a Drama Series Eva Green Template:Nominated
Dorian Awards[45] Campy TV Show of the Year Penny Dreadful Template:Nominated
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards[45] Best TV Actor Josh Hartnett Template:Nominated
Best TV Actress Eva Green Template:Won
Best TV Makeup/Creature FX Nick Dudman Template:Nominated
Best TV Series Penny Dreadful Template:Nominated
Best TV Supporting Actor Rory Kinnear Template:Nominated
Best TV Supporting Actress Billie Piper Template:Won
IGN Awards[47] Best TV Actress Eva Green Template:Won
International Film Music Critics Awards[45] Best Original Score for a Television Series Abel Korzeniowski Template:Nominated
Irish Film & Television Awards[45] Best Director – Drama Dearbhla Walsh Template:Nominated
MPSE Golden Reel Awards[45] Best Sound Editing – Dialogue and ADR for Short Form Television Jane Tattersall, David McCallum, Dale Sheldrake (for: "Séance") Template:Nominated
Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects and Foley for Short Form Television Jane Tattersall, Oriol Tarragó, Andy Malcolm, Goro Koyama, David Rose, Marc Bech (for: "Night Work") Template:Nominated
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards[48] Outstanding Main Title Theme Music Abel Korzeniowski Template:Nominated
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) Abel Korzeniowski (for: "Closer than Sisters") Template:Nominated
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie, or a Special Nick Dudman, Sarita Allison, Barney Nikolic (for: "Grand Guignol") Template:Nominated
Satellite Awards[49] Best Actress – Television Series Drama Eva Green Template:Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Rory Kinnear Template:Won
Best Television Series – Genre Penny Dreadful Template:Won
VES Awards[45] Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial, Broadcast Program or Video Game Matthew Borrett, Lorne Kqechansky, Graham Day, Jason Gougeon (for: "Séance") Template:Nominated
Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Broadcast Program James Cooper, Bill Halliday, Sarah McMurdo, Lorne Kwechansky (for: "Séance") Template:Nominated
2016 BAFTA Television Craft Awards[50] Best Make Up and Hair Enzo Mastrantonio, Nick Dudman, Ferdinando Merolla Template:Nominated
Costume Designers Guild Awards[51] Outstanding Period Television Series Gabriella Pescucci Template:Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Awards[52] Best Actress in a Drama Series Eva Green Template:Nom
Best Drama Series Penny Dreadful Template:Nom
Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series Patti LuPone Template:Nom
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Helen McCrory Template:Nom
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards[53] Best TV Actor Josh Hartnett Template:Nominated
Best TV Actress Eva Green Template:Won
Best TV Series Penny Dreadful Template:Nominated
Best TV Supporting Actor Rory Kinnear Template:Nominated
Best TV Supporting Actress Billie Piper Template:Nominated
Golden Globe Awards[54] Best Actress – Television Series Drama Eva Green Template:Nom
IGN Awards[55] Best Horror Series Penny Dreadful Template:Nominated
Irish Film & Television Awards[56] Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Drama Sarah Greene Template:Won
Best Director – Drama Brian Kirk Template:Nominated
Best Drama Penny Dreadful Template:Nominated
Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards[57] Television and New Media – Best Period and/or Character Make-Up Enzo Mastrantonio, Clare Lambe Template:Nominated
Television and New Media Series – Best Special Make-Up Effects Nick Dudman, Sarita Allison Template:Nominated
Satellite Awards[58] Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Helen McCrory Template:Nom
Best Television Series – Genre Penny Dreadful Template:Nom
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards[48] Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series Ferdinando Merolla, Sevlene Roddy, Giuliano Mariano, Orla Carroll (for: "Glorious Horrors") Template:Nominated
Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) Enzo Mastrantanio, Clare Lambe, Caterina Sisto, Lorraine McCrann, Morna Ferguson (for: "Glorious Horrors") Template:Nominated
Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) Abel Korzeniowski (for: "And They Were Enemies") Template:Nominated
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) Jonathan McKinstry, Jo Riddel, Philip Murphy (for: "Fresh Hell", "Evil Spirits in Heavenly Places", "And Hell Itself My Only Foe") Template:Nominated
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie, or a Special Nick Dudman, Sarita Allison, Barney Nikolic, Paul Spateri, Dennis Penkov (for: "And Hell Itself My Only Foe") Template:Nominated
Outstanding Special Visual Effects James Cooper, Bill Halliday, Sarah McMurdo, Mai-Ling Lee, Greg Astles, Ricardo Gomez, Matt Ralph, Alexandre Scott, Kyle Yoneda (for: "And They Were Enemies") Template:Nominated
Visual Effects Society Awards[59] Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode James Cooper, Bill Halliday, Sarah McMurdo, Mai-Ling Lee (for: "And They Were Enemies") Template:Nominated
2017 Bram Stoker Awards[60] Superior Achievement in a Screenplay John Logan (for: "A Blade of Grass") Template:Nom
Canadian Cinema Editors Awards[61] Best Editing in 1 Hour Scripted Aaron Marshall (for: "A Blade of Grass") Template:Won
Costume Designers Guild Awards[62] Outstanding Period Television Series Gabriella Pescucci Template:Nom
Directors Guild of Canada Awards[63] Best Picture Editing – Television Series Geoff Ashenhurst (for: "The Blessed Dark") Template:Nom
Best Picture Editing – Television Series Christopher Donaldson (for: "The Day Tennyson Died") Template:Nom
Edgar Awards[64] TV Episode Teleplay John Logan (for: "A Blade of Grass") Template:Won
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards[65] Best TV Actor Josh Hartnett Template:Nom
Best TV Actress Eva Green Template:Nom
Golden Reel Awards[66] Best Sound Editing: TV Short Form – Dialogue/ADR David McCallum (for: "Ebb Tide") Template:Won
Make-Up Artists & Hair Stylists Guild Awards[67] TV and New Media Series – Best Period/Character Make-Up Enzo Mastrantonio, Clare Lambe Template:Nom
TV and New Media Series – Best Period/Character Hair Styling Luca Vannella, Alexis Continente Template:Nom
Television and New Media Series – Best Special Make-Up Effects Nick Dudman, Sarita Allison Template:Nom
Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards[48] Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series Luca Vannella, Alexis Continente, Sevlene Roddy, Joseph Whelan, Orla Carrol (for: "Ebb Tide") Template:Nom
Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) Enzo Mastrantonio, Clare Lambe, Caterina Sisto, Lorraine McCrann, Morna Ferguson (for: "Perpetual Night") Template:Nom
Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie, or Special Nick Dudman, Sarita Allison, Barney Nikolic, Dennis Penkov (for: "No Beast So Fierce") Template:Nom
Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) Jonathan McKinstry, Jo Riddell, Philip Murphy (for: "Perpetual Night" / "The Blessed Dark") Template:Nom
Visual Effects Society Awards[68] Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode James Cooper, Bill Halliday, Sarah McMurdo, Mai-Ling Lee (for: "The Day Tennyson Died") Template:Nom

Related media

Comics

In 2015, Titan Books announced a comic book series based on Penny Dreadful, written by co-executive producer Chris King and writers Krysty Wilson-Cairns and Andrew Hinderaker.[69] The first issue was released on May 11, 2016.[70] In October 2016, Showtime announced that a new series would be released in 2017, set six months after the finale of the TV series. The project will be written by King, illustrated by Jesús Hervás, and published by Titan Books.[71]

Spin-off series

In November 2018, a spin-off series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels was announced by Showtime. It is set in 1938 and centers on Mexican-American folklore and social tension of the era in Los Angeles, California.[72] The series started production in August 2019[73] and stars Daniel Zovatto, Nathan Lane, Natalie Dormer, Kerry Bishé, Rory Kinnear, Adriana Barraza, Michael Gladis, Jessica Garza and Johnathan Nieves. It premiered on April 26, 2020.[74] On August 21, 2020, the series was cancelled after one season.[75]

See also

References

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:John Logan Template:Frankenstein Template:Dracula Template:The Picture of Dorian Gray Template:Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Template:Satellite Award Best Genre Television Series Template:Showtime Network programming Template:Sky Atlantic

This article incorporates text from the Wikipedia article "Penny Dreadful (TV series)", available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.Retrieved 2026-03-05.

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