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| language = English
| language = English
| num_seasons = 2
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| num_episodes = 8
| num_episodes = 8
| list_episodes = List of Penny Dreadful episodes
| list_episodes = List of Penny Dreadful episodes

Revision as of 13:09, 28 April 2015

Penny Dreadful
Genre
Created byJohn Logan
Written byJohn Logan
Directed by
Starring
ComposerAbel Korzeniowski
Country of origin
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
ProducersJames Flynn
Morgan O'Sullivan
Production locationsDublin, Ireland
CinematographyXavi Giménez
EditorsBernat Vilaplana
Jaume Martí
Running time47–59 minutes
Production companies
  • Desert Wolf Productions
  • Neal Street Productions
Original release
NetworkShowtime
ReleaseMay 11, 2014 (2014-05-11) –
present

Penny Dreadful is a British-American horror TV 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 US and UK 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 show premiered on Showtime on May 11, 2014.[5]

The title refers to the penny dreadfuls, a type of 19th-century cheap British fiction publication with lurid and sensational subject matter. The series draws upon many characters from 19th-century Irish and British fiction, including Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, Mina Harker and Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's Dracula, and Victor Frankenstein and his monster from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

On June 4, 2014, Showtime renewed Penny Dreadful for a ten-episode second season to premiere on May 3, 2015.[6][7] The season two premiere was made available on April 19, 2015, via Showtime on Demand and YouTube.[8][9]

Cast and characters

Main cast

  • Reeve Carney as Dorian Gray, a confident, entrancing, yet lonely, self-isolating man who cannot die.[10]
  • Timothy Dalton as Sir Malcolm Murray,[11] a hardened explorer of the African continent, on a deeply personal quest to find his kidnapped daughter Mina.
  • Eva Green as Vanessa Ives, an enigmatic, composed, driven heroine who ignores zeitgeist and proves herself a force to be reckoned with.[12]
  • Josh Hartnett as Ethan Chandler, a charming, brash, daring American man of action with uncanny marksmanship, who detests violence and is more complicated than he likes to admit.[12]
  • Rory Kinnear as Caliban, a reanimated corpse brought to life and abandoned by Frankenstein who tracks down his creator and demands that Frankenstein create a mate for him.[13]
  • Billie Piper as Brona Croft, an Irish immigrant seeking to escape her brutal past.[14]
  • Danny Sapani as Sembene, a long-time ally of Sir Malcolm with a mysterious persona.[15]
  • Harry Treadaway as Victor Frankenstein,[16] an arrogant young man whose whole life revolves around his research.
  • Helen McCrory as Madame Kali, a spiritualist. (season 2, recurring season 1)[15]
  • Simon Russell Beale as Ferdinand Lyle, an eccentric Egyptologist. (season 2, recurring season 1)[15]

Recurring cast

  • Olivia Llewellyn as Mina Harker, Sir Malcolm's daughter and Vanessa's childhood friend who has been abducted.
  • Fern Deacon as the young Mina Harker, Sir Malcolm's daughter and Vanessa's childhood friend who has been abducted
  • Hannah Tointon as Maud Gunneson, an actress and the object of Caliban's affection.
  • Gavin Fowler as Simon, Maud's partner who mistreats Caliban.
  • Olly Alexander as Fenton, a minion of vampires.
  • Alun Armstrong as Vincent Brand, the leader of a troupe of actors in residence at the Grand Guignol.[13]
  • Alex Price as Proteus, a second creation of Frankenstein's.
  • David Warner as Abraham Van Helsing, a doctor and a colleague of Frankenstein.
  • Robert Nairne as The Vampire, an ancient, deadly and unfathomably evil creature who leads a cabal of lesser undead and has abducted Mina Harker.

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 would often pull things back towards more realism.[17] Logan, a lifelong fan of literary monsters, wrote the project on spec and will script every episode of the series. It was intended that Mendes would direct episodes, but scheduling prevented this.[18]

Juan Antonio Bayona was announced as director for the first two episodes.[19] 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; eying the new UK tax credit for high-end TV productions that offers a 25% rebate.[20] 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.[21] Reports indicate 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.[22]

In December 2013, Showtime announced its first-ever production blog for a series with the launch of The Penny Dreadful Production Blog. The venue gives 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.[23]

On February 14, 2014, Showtime released the first official full-length trailer for the series.[24]

Logan revealed at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International 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.[25]

Episodes

Main article: List of Penny Dreadful episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
18May 11, 2014 (2014-05-11)June 29, 2014 (2014-06-29)
210May 3, 2015 (2015-05-03)July 5, 2015 (2015-07-05)
39May 1, 2016 (2016-05-01)June 19, 2016 (2016-06-19)

Reception

Critical reception

Penny Dreadful has received positive reviews from critics, with a Metacritic rating of 70 out of 100 based on 37 reviews.[26] It holds a 78 percent "Certified Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 7.3 out of 10, based on 55 reviews.[27] The first season was described as "as riotous as it is ridiculous, taking the macabre to new heights (or depths)" by The Guardian reviewer Ben Hewitt.[28]

Ratings

The series debuted to 872,000 viewers (1.44 million including re-runs). This number does not include the 900,000 viewers who previewed the series on Showtime on Demand and the Showtime app.[29]

Accolades

The series won a Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series.[30] The website IGN named Eva Green as the Best TV Actress of 2014.[31] At the 19th edition of Satellite Awards, the series won two awards.[32] At the 2015 edition of the BAFTA Television Craft Awards, the series was awarded for its production design, make-up and hair design and the original score.[33]

Year Ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result
2014 4th Critics' Choice Television Awards Most Exciting New Series Penny Dreadful Won
2015 19th Satellite Awards Best Television Series – Genre Won
Best Actress – Television Series Drama Eva Green Nominated
Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Rory Kinnear Won
IGN Awards 2014 Best TV Actress Eva Green Won
13th Annual VES Awards Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Photoreal/Live Action Broadcast Program James Cooper, Bill Halliday, Sarah McMurdo, Lorne Kwechansky (for: "Séance") Nominated
Outstanding Created Environment in a Commercial, Broadcast Program or Video Game Matthew Borrett, Lorne Kqechansky, Graham Day, Jason Gougeon (for: "Séance") Nominated
62nd MPSE Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing – Dialogue and ADR for Short Form Television Jane Tattersall, David McCallum, Dale Sheldrake (for: "Séance") 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") Nominated
Dorian Awards 2015 Campy TV Show of the Year Penny Dreadful Nominated
11th International Film Music Critics Awards Best Original Score for a Television Series Abel Korzeniowski Nominated
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 2015[34] Best TV Series Penny Dreadful Pending
Best TV Actor Josh Hartnett Pending
Best TV Actress Eva Green Pending
Best TV Supporting Actor Rory Kinnear Pending
Best TV Supporting Actress Billie Piper Pending
Best TV Makeup/Creature FX Nick Dudman Pending
BAFTA Television Craft Awards 2015 Best Costume Design Gabriella Pescucci Nominated
Best Production Design Jonathan Mcknistry, Philip Murphy Won
Best Titles Erik Friedman, Rudy Jaimes, Ray Burris Nominated
Best Make Up and Hair Design Enzo Mastrantonio, Nick Dudman, Stefano Ceccarelli Won
Best Original Television Music Abel Korzeniowski Won

See also

References

  1. ^ "Sam Mendes to direct vampire TV series?". The List. November 7, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  2. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (September 16, 2013). "Sky Atlantic To Co-Produce Showtime's 'Penny Dreadful'; Billie Piper Joins Cast". Deadline.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  3. ^ "Penny Dreadful". South by Southwest. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  4. ^ "Showtime(R) Samples the Premiere of Its Highly-Anticipated Series "Penny Dreadful" on Multiple Platforms Now" (Press release). Showtime. April 28, 2014. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  5. ^ Reiher, Andrea (January 16, 2014). "'Penny Dreadful,' 'Nurse Jackie' and 'Californication' get premiere dates". Zap2it. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  6. ^ Fienberg, Daniel (June 4, 2014). "Showtime renews 'Penny Dreadful' for an expanded second season". HitFix. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference s2 premiere was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Penny Dreadful: On Demand". Showtime. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
  9. ^ Maas, Jennifer (April 20, 2015). "Showtime releases Penny Dreadful, Happyish online before scheduled TV premieres". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  10. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (August 26, 2013). "Spider-Man's Reeve Carney Nabs Key Role in Showtime's Penny Dreadful (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
  11. ^ Marechal, AJ (August 23, 2013). "Timothy Dalton Added to Showtime's 'Penny Dreadful' Cast". Variety. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  12. ^ a b Goldberg, Leslie (July 30, 2013). "Eva Green, Josh Hartnett to Star in Showtime's Penny Dreadful". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  13. ^ a b "Penny Dreadful: A New Narrative". Showtime. March 17, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  14. ^ Rigby, Sam (August 20, 2013). "Billie Piper cast in Showtime's Penny Dreadful". RTE.ie. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  15. ^ a b c Rigby, Sam (September 16, 2013). "Penny Dreadful: Helen McCrory, Simon Russell Beale join cast". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 16, 2013.
  16. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (September 9, 2013). "Showtime Horror Drama Penny Dreadful Casts its Frankenstein". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 9, 2013.
  17. ^ Andersen, Asbjoern (June 30, 2014). "Creating the haunting, sinister sound of 'Penny Dreadful'". A Sound Effect. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (January 12, 2013). "It's Official: Showtime Lands Horror Drama From 'Skyfall's John Logan & Sam Mendes". Deadline.com. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  19. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (June 18, 2013). "Juan Antonio Bayona to Direct Showtime's 'Penny Dreadful'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
  20. ^ Curtis, Chris (March 25, 2013). "Tax breaks to bring Showtime's Penny Dreadful to UK". ScreenDaily. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  21. ^ Cronin, Kevin (August 20, 2013). "Penny Dreadful, Set to Film in Ireland, Adds Billie Piper to Cast". IFTN. Retrieved August 22, 2013.
  22. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (September 30, 2013). "Hollywood Pics Pack UK Soundstages As Space Crunch Starts To Squeeze". Deadline.com. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
  23. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (December 20, 2013). "Showtime Launches 'Penny Dreadful' Production Blog". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  24. ^ Kondolojy, Amanda (February 14, 2014). "Showtime Releases Full-Length Trailer for 'Penny Dreadful' (Video)". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  25. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (July 24, 2014). "Comic-Con: 'Penny Dreadful' to Play Up Helen McCrory's Madame Kali in Season 2". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  26. ^ "Penny Dreadful : Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  27. ^ "Penny Dreadful: Season 1 (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 11, 2014.
  28. ^ Hewitt, Ben (November 7, 2014). "Penny Dreadful box set review – a Victorian horror show that takes the macabre to new heights (or depths)". The Guardian. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  29. ^ Kenneally, Tim (May 12, 2014). "Showtime's 'Penny Dreadful' Premiere Ratings Beat 'Homeland,' 'Masters of Sex' Debuts". TheWrap. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  30. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 9, 2014). "Critics' Choice TV Awards Name Top New Series, Sets Ryan Murphy For Icon Honor". Deadline.com. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  31. ^ "IGN.com: Best of 2014 - Best TV Actress". IGN. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
  32. ^ Pond, Steve (February 16, 2015). "Satellite Awards: Complete Winners List". TheWrap. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
  33. ^ "Television Craft in 2015 - BAFTA Awards". BAFTA. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  34. ^ "Never mind Oscar, here's the 2015 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards nominees ballot!". Fangoria. January 15, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
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