Spoilers ahead for season three finale…
If you were watching the Penny Dreadful season3 finale on Sunday night, you probably couldn’t help but notice the words “The End” appearing at the finale’s close. As it turns out, the show won’t be coming back.
Variety, via our good friends over at Squareeyed, spoke to Showtime president David Nevins and Penny Dreadful creator John Logan, with the pair explaining their decision to pull the plug after the 27th episode, which saw the death of Vanessa Ives
“I was just joking that Flaubert said ‘Bovary, c’est moi.’ And I say, “Vanessa Ives, c’est moi,” added Logan. “It gives closure to Vanessa Ives, and without Vanessa Ives, the show shouldn’t go on.”
“This is a show about Vanessa Ives and her struggle with faith — how one woman grapples with God and the devil. Midway through the second season, when we were filming it —so about two years ago— I realized where we were heading. A woman who loses her faith in the second season, she has to grasp her way back. What that would take? To me, that was an apotheosis — she would find peace finally with God. I realized that’s where the show was heading, and so I talked to Eva about it and then I talked to David.”
“We deliberately made the decision not to announce going into season three this was the final season, because given where we knew the season was ending, that would have been a massive spoiler. It would not have felt like the right way to handle this show. If it had been a more conventional show, I think I would have given a little more warning to the audience. But it felt like, in this case, that was the obvious move, but not the bold move.”
Irwin Fletcher
I'm an LA journalist who really lives for his profession. I have also published work as Jane Doe in various mags and newspapers across the globe. I normally write articles that can cause trouble but now I write for FTN because Nerds are never angry, so I feel safe.
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