Penny Dreadful: City of Angels canceled at Showtime; no season 2 coming
“Showtime has decided not to move forward with another season of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels … We would like to thank executive producers John Logan, Michael Aguilar and the entire cast and crew for their outstanding work on this project.”
Ratings-wise, we can’t say that we are particularly shocked by this news. Ratings for City of Angels were down in live viewership versus what the original series drew, and clearly it wasn’t picking up too much steam in terms of streaming/app viewership. The Natalie Dormer series also failed to capture much in the way of media attention or considerable awards buzz — the sort of stuff that could have allowed it to have some sort of momentum moving forward.
We do think that ratings aside, the global health crisis may be a factor here, as well. A potential season 2 would’ve aired a considerable amount of time after season 1, and we’re probably going to see more cancellations than usual because of this across the board. Viewers for new shows often have short attention spans, and lengthy hiatuses mean that people can often drift over to other things.
As for whether or not Penny Dreadful: City of Angels could be picked up somewhere else, the short answer is that it feels doubtful. There’s just not that much of a reason ratings-wise to make something like this happen elsewhere, and with all of its effects, it’s also probably not a particularly cheap series to make. Because of a lot of its monsters were rooted more in North American folklore, we’re not as sure of its international success as we were the original.
What do you think about Penny Dreadful: City of Angels being canceled at Showtime?
Be sure to share right now in the attached comments! Meanwhile, remember to stick around for some other news when it comes to the series. (Photo: Showtime.)
This article was written by Jessica Carter. Be sure to follow her on Twitter.