Last Updated: August 26, 2020
SPOILERS for Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels season 1
John Logan's spin-off series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, steered the show in a different, more historically-focused direction, but will it be renewed for season 2?
After many productions have delayed or been rescheduled both in film and television due to the spread of COVID-19, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels provided new content for audiences at home from Showtime. However, despite the series being something new for audiences to sink their teeth into, reviews have been mixed and overall, the show is less popular than Logan's original series, which also ran on Showtime for three seasons from 2014-2016. The controversial series finale of Penny Dreadful wasn't the ending that fans had hoped for, but anticipation for the new series - which was entirely disconnected from the Gothic horror of Victorian-era London - built steadily before City of Angels premiered in the spring of 2020.
City of Angels explores the Golden Age of Hollywood in 1938 Los Angeles when the city was in the midst of racial tensions, particularly between members of the Los Angeles Police Department and Latino communities. While socially relevant, the choice to focus more on historical elements rather than the underlying supernatural presence in the show - which the original show put front and center - was an oft-criticized aspect of the spin-off. Other reviews have stated that the concurrent storylines, which circle back to and revolve around the Vega family with a few outliers, made the overall narrative too murky. Here's everything we know so far about Penny Dreadful: City of Angels season 2.
Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels Season 2 Isn't Happening
Sadly, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels was officially canceled by Showtime on August 21, meaning season 2 won't be happening. That's not entirely surprising, given the aforementioned criticisms and somewhat muted overall fan response. Surely Showtime hoped City of Angels would last as least as long as its progenitor, but that's not the case. No reason has been given for the cancellation, so it's unclear if Coronavirus belt-tightening was a factor.
Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels Season 2 Cast
While the season finale of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels did feature some major character deaths, most of the principal cast would've been likely to return, as their story arcs weren't yet finished. Main cast members who would've probably returned for season 2 if City of Angels had been ultimately renewed, include Natalie Dormer, Nathan Lane, Daniel Zovatto, Adriana Barraza, Michael Gladis, Jessica Garza, Adam Rodriguez, Johnathan Nieves, and Rory Kinnear.
Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels Season 2 Story Details
After the season finale, episode 10, "Day of the Dead", there were numerous plots that still needed to be resolved. Magda's (Dormer) three forms - Alex, Rio, and Elsa - were becoming more integral in their various avenues. Elsa had moved in with Dr. Craft (Kinnear), and had manipulated him to consider a more hardline stance to support the Nazi Party members within the city of Los Angeles. After murdering Fly Rico, Rio had helped Mateo (Nieves) become the leader of the pachucos, and seemed interested in perpetuating a race war and other violent uprisings. Alex continueed to work inside city government through her relationship with Charlton Townsend (Gladis).
Beyond that, the Vega family was still at the center of all the conflict, with Magda teasing Tiago (Zovatto) in the ending about a prophecy that was originally mentioned in episode 1, "Santa Muerte". As Tiago was marked by Santa Muerte (Izzo) as a boy, it's possible he would've been central to Magda's defeat once the prophecy started to come into play. In many ways, season 1 of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels felt like it was laying the groundwork for future seasons, but unfortunately for fans, this story ended too soon.