Penny Dreadful is back!! Sorta! The Showtime series only lasted for three seasons but in that time it quickly gained a loyal but too-small base of supporters. In the couple of years since it was cancelled the series has developed into a cult favorite, especially for those with a fondness for characters from literature’s most Gothic corners. Well, now the series has returned, but it won’t be as you remembered it.
Showtime has announced the series’ comeback, albeit a brand new version titled Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. As you probably guessed, the location is being moved from London to Los Angeles, and it will be set in a totally different time period, 1938 to be exact, and feature an entire different cast of characters.
Series creator John Logan says there are other changes, as well, that come with the more contemporary setting…
“’Penny Dreadful: City of Angels’ will have a social consciousness and historical awareness that we chose not to explore in the ‘Penny Dreadful’ London storylines. We will now be grappling with specific historical and real world political, religious, social and racial issues. In 1938, Los Angeles was facing some hard questions about its future and its soul. Our characters must do the same. There are no easy answers. There are only powerful questions and arresting moral challenges. As always in the world of ‘Penny Dreadful,’ there are no heroes or villains in this world, only protagonists and antagonists; complicated and conflicted characters living on the fulcrum of moral choice.”
Mexican -American folklore will play a big part this time around, as a conflict erupts between characters related to Santa Muerte and others aligned with the Devil. Sounds pretty cool. Production begins next year and we may see Penny Dreadful: City of Angels arrive in 2020.
Maybe I should catch up on the previous series? [Deadline]
