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I don’t really need a revival of this show specifically but I’d love for there to be something else like it. The Victorian London setting is something I always love and in particular I enjoy the gothic horror aspects.
The Nevers filled this spot for me until hbo unceremoniously cancelled it after s2 :(
I couldn't get into this show. Seemed like it had all the right formulaic stuff but somehow didn't quite hit for me
I thought it was really boring until they did the future episode.
Most Whedon shows are a slow burn. They always take a while to get going, but they always end up worth it.
I felt the opposite, i disliked the future thing
Same, Penny Dreadful is just a drug that is hard to be matched.
Did they ever release season 2??
Oh shit you’re right! It was just one season!
They aired the last episodes, (SE 02), on Tubi back in December (nope February), I believe. I watched them but I don’t know if they’re still there.
Edit: https://tvline.com/lists/the-nevers-release-date-season-1-new-episodes-tubi/
thank you for that. I wanted to see more episodes. Technically it is still the first season part 2.
Oh man what a disappointment that was
I felt the same way but I never realized it got more episodes until I read your comment so thanks, I'll go watch the rest now
Taboo was dope but hardy is way too famous for that
Carnival Row on Prime was about as close as I’ve seen since Penny ended.
That show was dogshit.
The first season was fine. Good even. The second season was shit.
It had some nice world building.
Second season felt like two different shows, the first half was pretty good, then you felt where covid hit and the whole show was rewritten, plot points got completely dropped, and the show was suddenly completely changed to wrap up.
Agreed. I made it to ep 6 of S2. The drop in quality was considerable. S1 was decent enough.
You’re not entirely wrong. But it’s the only thing I can think of that is close to the niche.
I really wanted to like it.
Agreed. I think PD ran its course, and so you'd have to do it with different characters and at that point you might as well just make a different show.
Same. Shape of Water is probably the film that's come the closest to it.
Still pissed off about season three, no other show I liked has ever shit the bed as badly.
Shardlake is Tudor and grounded in reality but it is something.
Carnival Row did the time period great too!
There is an excellent podcast called Victoriocity set in Even Greater London which has a similar vibe but steampunk style.
https://www.victoriocity.com/
If you liked Penny Dreadful, you'll like Victoriocity.
Fictional or more like Lore?
Very much fictional. Even Greater London covers huge swathes of England. Queen Victoria, or rather what's left of her after mechanical alterations to survive numerous assassination attempts, rules the Empire and gives speeches via a public address system.
Carnival Row.
Didn’t they already try once with Nathan Lane and Natalie Dormer and it died?
That would've had a better shot IMO had they not used the Penny Dreadful name, it was setting up the entire fanbase of the original for disappointment and keeping away people who didn't like PD but might have been interested in City of Angels.
I thought it had promise, even if it was too slow. But at the same time was not what I am looking for when I watch something called Penny Dreadful so it was an odd viewing experience.
Agreed. I liked both it and Penny Dreadful, but I can certainly understand why fans of PD didn't stick with it. When it came down to it, they really didn't have a ton in common. Different setting, different cast, different time period, different types of monsters, etc. It easily could've been its own show, and I don't think anyone would've mistaken it as having to do with PD.
Plus, I think "penny dreadful" refers to a particular type of horror and time period that City of Angel lacked.
Penny Dreadful is just what they called dime novels/pulp magazine in 19th century UK. Being an anthology would made sense but yeah, going to interwar period LA was weird. Should've a name change to Pulp Magazine then.
I didn’t see this other show, but a penny dreadful was a cheap pamphlet story in the early horror genre during the enlightenment period, particularly London
They should've call City of Angels, Pulp instead.
They could have had Ethan Chandler in that one. He’s a werewolf so that makes him immortal, would have been a fun way to join the two series
That was a weird spinoff that did nothing right.
I loved it. I like anything that folds in classic LA Noir. I’m bummed everyone hated it so much!
I’d like to see some LA noir, can you name anything other than Chinatown for me to check out
It's definitely neo-noir so I'm not sure if exactly it fits what you're looking for, but L.A. Confidential is a classic for a reason.
Double Indemnity definitely fits the bill though.
Perry Mason reboot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnzgpLaatr0
Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaption of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice is a neat, modern—2014–LA Noir-Comedy(ish)
A slightly older ‘modern’ LA Noir film is Rian Johnson’s Brick; it’s not explicitly set in LA, but all the necessary genre elements are present. Oh, and it takes place in a 2000s-era high school…it’s incredible
Sugar on AppleTV is in that vein. Very creative. Very LA noir.
Sugar on Apple. Noir set in modern LA staring Colin Farrell as the mysterious detective searching for the missing daughter of a powerful Hollywood movie executive. Impeccably shot and great use of colors and shadows like a noir should be. You can thank me later.
I think expectations versus what it was is the thing. Like maybe if this shoe is anything but Penny Dreadful then it’s better received.
You should watch Brick! It’s a classic noir movie dialogue and plot but the setting is a modern high school. I think it was one of Rian Johnson’s first films.
i actually liked LA better than Season1
I'd never heard of it before today but loved PD. Few hours later and halfway through S1 and I love it!!! What's not to love? Honestly any day with Nathan Lane in it is a good day.
Was that the LA one that was awful? They murdered a great show and ended it terribly. But I still watch it for the first two seasons it was pure gold
What happened with PD was strange. It felt like they were setting up S4 with an Egyptian/Mummy theme and then it just ended. The showrunner said it was cos Green was tired of living/shooting in Ireland and wanted out. But I think ratings wise, it wasn't exactly the massive hit Showtime probably expected.
I love Green but it sounds like she's hard to work with, it's probably why she's mostly disappeared despite being a rising star a few years ago.....which is sad because I love her and her potential us limitless.
I don't know. I know there was the case in the UK about her issues with an indie film (from a very small production company) and the fallout from that. She didn't come off well in terms of attitude, but then it sounded like that company was in way over their heads. It hasn't helped that her big Hollywood studio films (The Golden Compass, Dark Shadows, 300 2, and the other 2 Burton flicks she did) were flops/critical disappointments -- plus she's now 40+, and I guess that's when Hollywood stops knocking if you're not a proven A lister with a track record of hits. She was very good in the new French Musketeers movies.
I really wanted to give that one a shot but my enthusiasm got quite dampered by what I read about it.
But yeah, these first two seasons were amazing. At least we got Interview with the Vampire today in terms of gothic horror.
I stopped watching IwtV after a few episodes. It was good just ready to get past the initial tale. It’s how I feel about seeing spider man origin story one more time. I’ve seen lots of variations and I’m ready for the new part of the tell.
Keep going! They pretty quickly start integrating later books, as well as reinterpreting & expanding on the first one.
I really loved Nathan Lane in it. Not much else to say about it.
didnt even bother, these kind of spin off usually are a watered down version of what we already had.
I would watch a whole season of Nathan lane nazi hunter. The rest of the shows was a drag.
Nathan Lane was definitely the best part of it, and it really showcased some of the range he has (since I think people generally picture him as being flamboyant). I'd love to see him in something else in a similar sort of badass role.
It really showed his range. I’ve seen the flamboyant characters for a long time. This was new and just drew me in.
Honestly that one felt like a completely different series that they just slapped the Penny Dreadful name on to get people to watch. It was awful.
Penny Dreadful was my quasi answer to the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen that I certainly needed. I was so sad that it only went 3 seasons.
I love the first 2, but after the third I'm glad they didn't make any more as it was terrible!
The third was certainly my least favorite. I think they were on the verge of being hosed and the show runner was like "gotta wrap this up for the fans." Unfortunately, he said it was a planned ending and I was like... "meh really?"
I’d say it’s one of the best written horror series ever made. And Eva Green became my favorite actor with her performance. She is wickedly talented.
Eva Green made that show for me. She really gave perspective on being "haunted". More than the fear but the exhaustion of it.
Every actor on it is great. Eva Green fleshed out (TV MA) her relationship with possession very well, and I liked how it wasn't all completely negative, there was a line about how being cursed was sort of like being 'touched by the backhand of God', and the perverse sense of uniqueness entailed.
Im thinking about getting into this show. Does it have a actual conclusion or is it a cliffhanger?
It definitely has a conclusion.
It's a complete show, it was always meant to tell a short story.
honestly the end was rushed,but they did what they could under the circumstances.
If they bring it back, in any form, I think it needs a writing room. Penny Dreadful is one of my favorite shows but the pacing and doling out of information is not the best. Logan wrote every episode in the first two seasons and the more I rewatch the more it feels like you can tell he was tired by the end of each season, and he always fell a bit short in making storylines tie together in a truly satisfying way. S3 had two other writers helping, but that season is derailed by the obviously late decision to cancel/end the show.
I do think Logan is a great writer, but I do think his inexperience in television held the show back a bit. I am a big fan of that Gothic vibe though, so I would watch more regardless.
I actually thought S2 had some masterful writing in terms of Green and Hartnett but I get what you're saying in terms of the other storylines.
You could tell from the truncated ending that the show actually had an idea of where to go and it was good, it just didn't have enough time to get there.
Edit: My biggest"will they/won't they" is whether or not Green and Hartnett would have hooked up at least once if the show got a complete run. I liked the platonic friendship but they had serious chemistry & I think it would have added even more weight to the ending
Imo they definitely would’ve became a couple if they weren’t forced to conclude story prematurely. Their separation at the end of s2 felt like one of those temporary setbacks that writers use to give time to characters to get over their insecurities before getting back together. Personally im more dissapointed that we didn’t get lupus dei vs dracula, season 3 hyped them as mortal enemies and yet when ethan got to him instead of an epic fight, dracula just noped out.
Logan actually said that he always planned 3 seasons for the show. The Showtime's CEO wanted more seasons, but Logan insisted that the story had to end on the third season.
The flashback episode with Patti LuPone as the witch who taught Vanessa about her powers was absolutely brilliant. Probably my favorite of the entire series.
"The Nightcomers" was that ep's title, season 2/ep 3. Brilliant use of a guest star in a single appearance.
She’s in all of season 3 too, isn’t she?
You're right. I should have said "introductory", since I really meant the backstory of another character. She played Dr. Seward in addition to Joan Clayton, the witch.
Oh, I see what you mean now. Sorry, my brain is exceptionally slow today.
Man the first season was so good! Rory Kinnear killed it as Caliban.
Truly one of the best parts of
Oh man you weren't watching the show while it was airing, everyone absolutely hated Caliban, even as I hopelessly defend him. People never forgot his murders early in the season.
Yes I did actually and he ended up a great character sooooo
I love the poetry of John Clare so I always had a soft spot (not like Proteus) for him; the way people loved Victor as this sensitive overly clever romantic and decried Caliban was very funny to me, and spoke to Kinnear and Treadaway's ability to stretch their characters into such diametric territory.
I think it was that he was an emo whiner incel but that’s just me. I’ve loved him in everything else tho.
I think people disliked him mostly because he killed the other "monster" who was very likeable.
i really like this show, im still a bit bitter about how it ended tho.