Featurette looks behind the scenes of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

I enjoyed the first two seasons of the John Logan-created Showtime series Penny Dreadful for the most part, although the low-key, slow-burn nature of the show would sometimes get frustrating to me. I still haven't gotten around to watching the show's third and final season, and while I've been dragging my heels on that Logan and Showtime have moved forward on the production of a "spiritual descendant" called Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.

The first Penny Dreadful was set in Victorian-era London. City of Angels moves the setting to 

1938 Los Angeles; a time and place deeply infused with social and political tension. When a grisly murder shocks the city, Detective Tiago Vega is embroiled in an epic story that reflects the rich history of Los Angeles: from the building of the city’s first freeways and its deep traditions of Mexican-American folklore, to the dangerous espionage actions of the Third Reich and the rise of radio evangelism. Before long, Tiago and his family are grappling with powerful forces that threaten to tear them apart.

The series stars Daniel Zovatto as Detective Tiago Vega; Rory Kinnear as Dr. Peter Craft, head of the isolationist German-American Bund; Piper Perabo as Craft's disappointed wife Linda; Hudson West and Julian Hilliard as the Craft children; Johnathan Nieves as Tiago's volatile younger brother Mateo; Adam Rodriguez as the eldest son of the Vega family; Jessica Garza as their sister Josefina, who "plays the part of the quiet and overlooked younger sister but possesses a powerful spirit waiting to be unleashed"; Adriana Barraza as Maria Vega, the powerful matriarch of the Vega family who will go to any lengths to protect her children from the supernatural forces invading their lives; Nathan Lane as veteran LAPD officer Lewis Michener; Lin Shaye as Michener's friend and ally Dottie Minter, "an invaluable operative in the battle against Third Reich espionage in Los Angeles"; Kerry Bishé as charismatic radio evangelist Sister Molly; Amy Madigan as Sister Molly's mother Miss Adelaide Finnister, who manages the church's finances; Michael Gladis as Councilman Charlton Townsend, head of the L.A. City Council's Transportation Committee; Thomas Kretschmann as aristocratic and mysterious German architect Richard Goss; Dominic Sherwood as Goss's chauffeur and bodyguard Kurt; Ethan Peck as Herman Ackermann, second-in-command at the German-American Bund; Brent Spiner as Captain Ned Vanderhoff, the Precinct Captain at the Hollenbeck police station in Boyle Heights; Natalie Dormer as the demon Magda, "who can take the appearance of anyone she chooses and manifests in a number of guises throughout the story. Charismatic, clever and chameleonic, Magda is a dangerous enemy and an invaluable ally"; and Lorenza Izzo as Magda's sister Santa Muerte, the Angel of Holy Death.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels will be making its Showtime premiere on April 26th, and a few weeks out from that date we've gotten our hands on a behind-the-scenes featurette in which Zovatto, Dormer, Lane, and Kinnear discuss the new show. That featurette is embedded below.

City of Angels looks interesting to me, there are some cool visuals on display in the footage shown in the featurette and I'm very intrigued to see Dormer's demonic character in action. I don't think whether or not viewers have seen the original Penny Dreadful will matter much when watching this one, but I might have to catch up on season 3 before April 26th anyway.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels is executive produced by John Logan, Michael Aguilar, Sam Mendes, and Pippa Harris. James Bagley is co-executive producer. The show is produced by Logan's Desert Wolf Productions. Paco Cabezas directed multiple episodes.