Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Announces Production Start With First-Look Photo

A new era has officially begun for the Penny Dreadful franchise. On Thursday, Showtime announced that their upcoming spinoff series, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels, has officially begun production. The announcement was accompanied by a photo of series stars Daniel Zovatto and Nathan Lane in costume.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels will serve as a “spiritual descendant” to the fan-favorite Penny Dreadful, and will trade a Victorian-era London locale for 1930s Los Angeles. When a grisly murder shocks the city, Detective Tiago Vega is embroiled in an epic story that reflects the rich history of Los Angeles: from the building of the city’s first freeways and its deep traditions of Mexican-American folklore, to the dangerous espionage actions of the Third Reich and the rise of radio evangelism. Before long, Tiago and his family are grappling with powerful forces that threaten to tear them apart.

The series will also star Natalie Dormer, Piper Perabo, Ethan Peck, Brent Spiner, Rory Kinnear, Amy Madigan, Lin Shaye, Kerry Bishe, Jessica Garza, and Johnathan Nieves. The series is being created, written, and executive produced by John Logan, who brought Penny Dreadful to life.

“We were so thrilled when John Logan came to us with this wildly original take on the Penny Dreadful mythology that explores both the human spirit and the spirit world here in California,” Showtime programming president Gary Levine said in a statement when the series was announced. “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels promises to be an extraordinary saga of familial love set against the terrifying monsters that are around us and within us.”

“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 explained. “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.”

What do you think of the first look at Penny Dreadful: City of Angels? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!