Despite the rumors about the possible revival of the British-American horror drama TV series, “Penny Dreadful,” for Season 4 on Showtime or perhaps a spinoff series on the same network, creator and showrunner John Logan has said that he is no longer up to it.
In a recent interview, John Logan said that he is already determined to keep Vanessa Ives, the character played in the show by Eva Green, dead so even if a Season 4 or a spinoff series is pushed through for some reason, there would no longer be any female protagonist.
Every fan and critic of the show know that Vanessa Ives is the central figure of “Penny Dreadful” so continuing without her character is like stepping into the dark with no idea where it is headed into.
Logan said that as much as he loves the other characters and the other actors and also running “Penny Dreadful,” the central ticking clock of the TV series was always Vanessa Ives, notes Game & Guide.
With such statement, it seems clear that a resurrection of Vanessa Ives is unlikely to happen soon and thus confirming that there would no longer be a Season 4 nor a spinoff series of “Penny Dreadful.”
Reconsidering his decision
Showtime CEO David Nevins tried to convince John Logan to reconsider his decision and continue on with “Penny Dreadful,” but the showrunner apparently had only set his sights on a three-season storyline for the character of Vanessa Ives.
Nevins would have wanted to continue with the TV series but it eventually became clear to him that moving on without John Logan on it would have been like stepping into the unknown, notes the Vine Report.
Fans of the TV series were surprised and shocked by the show’s seemingly sudden ending and even the stars of the show were actually caught off-guard with the decision.
Although they were disappointed with the decision to abruptly end the show, they have come to realize that the ending during the Season 3 finale of “Penny Dreadful” shown in June did make sense and in fact, tied up all loose ends.
The first episode of “Penny Dreadful” premiered in May 2014 and during the course of its two-year stint on Showtime, it featured classic horror icons including the Frankenstein’s monster, Dorian Gray, and even Dracula himself.
The revival rumors of “Penny Dreadful” following its Season 3 finale came after it received favorable reviews from critics and viewers alike. Thus, speculations started swirling that there is hope that the network could revive the show for another season or perhaps start a spinoff TV series.
A mutual decision
Gary Levine, President for Programming at Showtime, disclosed during the recent Television Critics Association press tour that John Logan had always planned for “Penny Dreadful” to end with the death of Vanessa Ives.
He explained that he and John Logan came to the mutual decision to give the series its early passing and eventually unveiling it at the close of Season 3 despite the show’s daring moves in all aspects of TV viewing.
Some are arguing that “Penny Dreadful” is bringing a lot of viewers so it is quite surprising that Showtime decided to cancel a top-rating show.
However, the figures would indicate that the first season of “Penny Dreadful” was lording the ratings alright. But since the middle of the second season, it has been downhill from there. Thus, some critics also believe that the reason why the TV series was abruptly canceled was because of its poor ratings.
Some fans are arguing that “Penny Dreadful” may live on for more seasons even without Vanessa Ives in the story.
As a matter of fact, there are now reports saying that a spinoff series would be developed to sort of continue the storyline of “Penny Dreadful” following the interview with Showtime president David Nevins.
The same rumors are saying that the spinoff may take place on Netflix since the streaming service has been known for picking up canceled shows from other networks.