'Penny Dreadful' season 4 petition urges Netflix to pick up the show; is a spin-off possible?
For a lot of fans, "Penny Dreadful" ended much too soon. But could the show survive in another network?
There's no show quite like "Penny Dreadful." Fans simply adore its reimagining of iconic literary characters, its supernatural bent, dialogue, and Victorian sensibilities. So it was a shock when the season 3 finale ended with the now-infamous "The End" card. Emotions also ran high when Showtime's president David Nevins and "Penny Dreadful" creator John Logan admitted that the series had indeed come to an end.
To say that fans were bewildered is an understatement. "Penny Dreadful" might not be a ratings powerhouse like "Game of Thrones," but it had good numbers and was critically received. But Logan explained that his idea had always been to end the series with Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) finding her way back to God and finally achieving peace in death. The writer also said that to continue the show past Vanessa's death was "an act of bad faith."
It's a sentiment that fans disagree with, especially with "Penny Dreadful's" powerful ensemble. Fans won't mind if Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) and Ethan (Josh Hartnett) took over the reins. There's still stories that can be told about Dorian (Reeve Carney), the Creature (Rory Kinnear), and Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway). Fans also think that Catriona (Perdita Weeks) was an able replacement for Vanessa; the two certainly were kindred spirits.
Viewers also believed the finale was too abrupt and too convenient, which is why they started a campaign to bring "Penny Dreadful" back on air. According to a Change.org petition for the show, the "Dreadfuls," as the fans called themselves, wanted Showtime to save the show or "end the series in a proper manner," either by a standalone film or another season that will wrap up the characters' stories. Another petition asks Netflix to buy the rights to the show and produce more seasons of it.
While Nevins teased to The Hollywood Reporter that a "Penny Dreadful" spin-off is "possible at any time," it won't be happening anytime soon. Netflix also hasn't shown any interest in picking up the show but, if they are, recent reports prove that the series is a profitable venture.