When a viewer watches a TV series and he can hardly wait to get to the end because of overbearing dialogues from some of the characters in most episodes without really progressing the plotline, the show has become a bore.
That is actually what happened to the third season of the British-American horror drama series “Penny Dreadful” that its viewership and ratings significant declined, prompting Showtime network to air its last two episodes back-to-back and no longer renewing it for a fourth season.
While “Penny Dreadful” Season 3 only had nine episodes, it became a bit of a drag rather early that some viewers felt that there were more than mere nine episodes.
John Logan is one of the great writers of the current generation but he seemed to have trolled mightily and heavily in Season 3 that some critics felt that he does not know how to intermingle all the plots and characters that he himself put on the table.
One other thing that frustrated fans about “Penny Dreadful” Season 3 is the fact that only in the last few minutes of the series finale had Vanessa Ives, played by Eva Green, and Ethan Chandler, played by Josh Hartnett, having a scene together.
Their brewing romance in Season 1 helped “Penny Dreadful” gain good traction among viewers and their romance in Season 2 keep the show’s ratings at bay. Unfortunately, Logan did not think that it is important so when it happened towards the end only, it was no longer possible to undo what has already been done.
So even if Showtime CEO David Nevins was saying that it considered renewing the show for a Season 4, its action said otherwise. It seems that Nevins is just trying to be politically-correct in his ways and does not want to say bad things about John Logans or the many fans of “Penny Dreadful.”
Remaining true to his stand
John Logan has also remained true to his stand that “Penny Dreadful” had an arc that is only good for three seasons since its premiere episode debuted on Showtime, notes Chatt Sports Nett.
The statement seems to be more of a graceful exit or a ruse allowed by Showtime to give Logan the dignity and pride that he deserves because it would have been awful if the reports said that the show was axed instead of concluded.
Nevins explained the process behind the decision to end “Penny Dreadful” with the death of Eva Green’s beloved character, Vanessa, because the series no longer has a life after her.
Though many thought that “Penny Dreadful’s” finale was a little abrupt, Showtime thinks that it was a bold and necessary move on Logan’s part. Nevins explained that the series would just lose its authenticity if Logan chooses to continue. He added that it was a moving target, which is partly why they chose to end it that way.
Picking up the pace
It was during the last two episodes of “Penny Dreadful” Season 3 that the TV series decided to pick up the pace, which comes off to some as that John Logan already knew by then that the show is going to be axed after its third season, which is why he decided to wrap up the storylines really fast.
It seems that there are still hardcore fans of “Penny Dreadful” on Showtime out there who are still hoping that the show might be rescued from its cancellation and make a go for a possible fourth and last season.
Rumors have it that the revival hopes for “Penny Dreadful” has been buoyed up by the ongoing online petition at Change.org which is now almost near its 15,000 target.