‘Penny Dreadful: City of Angels’ Canceled at Showtime After 1 Season

The spin-off, sequel to Showtime‘s Penny Dreadful, is no more. The network has canceled Penny Dreadful: City of Angels after only one season, cutting short the tale starring Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer in her follow-up to the HBO fantasy series.

The series was a follow-up to the original Penny Dreadful, a horror drama that borrows characters from many public domain horror and supernatural characters. This includes Dorian Gray, Mina Harker, Count Dracula, Victor Frankenstein, Henry Jekyll and more. City of Angels follows a similar path but focused more on the mythology of Los Angeles, both from the 1930s Golden Age of Hollywood and the Latin influence in the city’s past. Showtime released a statement confirming the cancellation.

“Showtime has decided not to move forward with another season of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels,” the network’s statement says. “We would like to thank executive producers John Logan, Michael Aguilar and the entire cast and crew for their outstanding work on this project.”

According to Variety, the series received excellent reviews when it premiered and earned praise for its different take on what the original series laid out, mixing it with the “real-life inhumanity” we’ve experienced in history, combined with the horror that we’ve seen over the years.

Los Angeles is just as much of a character as others in the series, revealing its history as the season continued and how it grew from Mexican territory to the city we’ve been entertained by for years. Det. Tiago Vega, played by Daniel Zovatto, and partner Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane), are the central guides for the audience through the story and their murder case. All while the Mexican deity Santa Muerte is locked in battle with demon sister Magda (Dormer).

The original series featured an all-star cast including Casino Royale actress Eva Green, Timothy Dalton and Josh Hartnett rounding out the main cast. It ran from 2014 through 2016 for 27 episodes, with creator John Logan ending the series in its third season after finding a story point mid-season two. Logan was also writer and creator on the sequel series

Fans took to social media to share their thoughts on the cancellation. One fan wrote that the cancellation was unbelievable. “This show was absolutely beautiful. Someone made a Very wrong decision. It was the channel [Game of Thrones.]”

“That’s a shame. ‘City of Angels’ was an exciting show with a lot to say about a multi-cultural America,” another added, noting the melting pot nature of the story setting. Some felt it lacked some of the magic of the original series, though, and weren’t surprised by the cancellation.

If you missed the series, you can check out the series on Showtime’s app along with the original series.