Showtime Cancels Horror Drama ‘Penny Dreadful’

Showtime has opted against a fourth season of “Penny Dreadful.” The now final episode this past Sunday, titled “The Blessed Dark” and signing off with a title card reading, “The End,” saw Vanessa (Eva Green) voluntarily dying at Ethan’s (Josh Hartnett) hand in order to save the world. The plan all along, according to series creator John Logan, was to run for three seasons.

Debuting on May 11, 2014, the Victorian England-set “Penny Dreadful” drew 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,” Victor Frankenstein and his monster from Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” and Dr. Henry Jekyll from Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” A total of 27 episodes were produced.