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Penny Dreadful:
by Jay Patterson CAS
Magda (Natalie Dormer) in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.
"Santa Muerte." Photo by Justin Lubin/SHOWTIME.
C
ITY OF ANGEL
S
According to Wikipedia, a penny dreadful was "cheap popular serial literature produced during
the nineteenth century in the United Kingdom," and, "typically sensational, focusing on the
exploits of detectives, criminals, or supernatural entities." The character Sweeney Todd was first
introduced in a penny dreadful. Eight or so pages of exciting escapism, all for a penny.
The series Penny Dreadful is the creation of John Logan, the
very talented writer that brought us Any Given Sunday, Rango,
Sweeney Todd, Gladiator, Aviator, The Last Samurai, Hugo, and
the Bond fi lms, Skyfall and Spectre. He kills it on Broadway,
and his most recent musical, The Last Ship, starring Sting, is
currently touring with rave reviews. For his fi rst iteration of a
penny dreadful for the screen, Logan created a three-season
period piece set in nineteenth-century London. A tale populated
with some of the most colorful and horrible characters of the
time, from history and fi ction. Characterized by compelling
writing, a spectacular cast, lush production design, and the
superb photography of John Conroy ISC, its fans were saddened
when the series ended in 2016.
