Penny Dreadful: Get a Behind the Scenes Look

Showtime has released a behind the scenes look at Penny Dreadful, its upcoming psychosexual thriller created by John Logan and executive produced by Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris. The first two episodes of the period drama will be helmed by The Impossible director Juan Antonio Bayona.

Penny Dreadful brings together several classic gothic literary characters and throws them into the seedy world of Victorian London while exploring themes of alienation and the darkness that resides in us all. The series will focus on three characters: Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett), an American marksman who gets exposed to the darker aspects of London; Vanessa Ives (Eva Green), an enigmatic heroine with a deep connection to other worlds; and vaunted African explorer Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton), drawn to London on a quest for his missing daughter.

In addition to Hartnett, Green, and Dalton, Penny Dreadful stars the likes of Billie Piper (Secret Diary of a Call Girl) as Brona Croft, an Irish immigrant looking to escape a troubled past; Harry Treadway (Cape Wrath) as Victor Frankenstein; Reeve Carney (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) as Dorian Gray, an isolated yet mesmerizing beauty; Helen McCrory (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1) as spiritualist Madame Kali; and Rory Kinnear (Quantum of Solace) as Frankenstein’s monster.

The series premiere of Penny Dreadful airs Sunday, May 11th at 10:00 on Showtime. You can check out teasers for the show here and here, as well as trailers here and here.

Will you be watching Penny Dreadful? Do you think a series like this can work on Showtime? Are you relieved to be getting slightly more in the way of plot from the show’s promotional material?