‘Penny Dreadful’ season 3, ‘Homeland’ season 5 far from the end, says Showtime boss

There were a variety of different subjects discussed by Showtime during the network’s TCA Summer Press Tour panel today, but let’s focus this article on one simple fact here: The long-term future for a pair of our favorites in “Penny Dreadful” and “Homeland.”

So why are we even talking about the longevity of the former, given that it is only entering its third season as of this writing? The answer to that is actually pretty simple: Because it is not an ordinary series. Shows that tend to be written entirely by a single person tend to have shorter shelf-lives than ones with a writers room. “Downton Abbey” made it to six seasons with just Julian Fellowes, and that is considered to be a marvel.

Today, David Nevins (otherwise known as Showtime’s programming head) told reporters that this is “just the beginning” of “Penny Dreadful,” and also further hyped up the future of “Homeland.” There are no immediate plans for it to end after its upcoming fifth season, which is being filmed entirely in Germany and will tackle everything from Russia to ISIS moving into some of the upcoming episodes. For that show, the real priority is going to have to be continuing to come up with good stories and then rounding out the cast. As long as you have Claire Danes, the show may be able to find a way to move forward (though personally, we also don’t want to see it without Mandy Patinkin or Rupert Friend).

The new season of “Homeland” premieres on October 4.