Penny Dreadful to return for sequel set in Los Angeles
The British horror series is back – with an American twist
Penny Dreadful, the horror drama which made waves for two years as it explored the murky depths of Victorian London – is set for a comeback.
Only this time, the grisly tales of supernatural beings will be set in 1930s Los Angeles, “a time and place deeply infused with Mexican-American folklore and social tension.”
Original creator, writer and executive producer John Logan will return to helm the spin-off, titled Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, which is set to enter production in 2019.
“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," Logan told Variety.
“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.”
More like this
Hinting at the show’s moral ambiguity, Logan added, “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.”
As the show has now swapped locations and eras, it's unlikely we’ll be seeing Reeve Carney, Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, and Josh Hartnett reprise their roles as characters in the murky Victorian underworld.
Instead, the new City of Angels will focus on characters connected to the deity Nuestra Señora de la Santa Muerte (or Our Lady of Holy Death) — a sinister folk figure.
Penny Dreadful ended abruptly in 2016, killing off Green's Vanessa Ives in the gruesome finale.
Logan explaining to Variety at the time, “There was no doubt in my mind [that the show should end]. To continue it past Vanessa’s death would be, for me, an act of bad faith.”
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels heads into production next year
