Penny Dreadful: City of Angels cursed with cancellation after one season

It's a sad day for Penny Dreadful: City of Angels fans, as Showtime has cancelled the supernatural series after its first and only season, despite the show garnering some good reviews.

"Showtime has decided not to move forward with another season of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels," said Showtime in a statement to Variety. "We would like to thank executive producers John Logan, Michael Aguilar and the entire cast and crew for their outstanding work on this project." 

This isn't the first time fans of the Penny Dreadful universe have been dealt a sudden disappointment. The original show — which took place 50 years before this one — also came to an early demise after creator, writer, and executive producer John Logan decided to end the series after the third season. (The characters' stories continued in the Penny Dreadful comic books, written by Chris King, one of the show's executive producers.) 

The first season of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels takes place in 1938, and is set in Los Angeles. It follows detective partners Tiago Vega (Daniel Zovatto) and Lewis Michener (Nathan Lane) as they investigate a terrible murder — while also dealing with the racial tensions caused by the building of L.A.'s first-ever freeway, the growing popularity of radio evangelism, and the undercover machinations of the Third Reich. However, as viewers quickly learn, there are darker powers at play, threatening to tear Tiago and his family apart. 

Whereas the first series was inspired by Victorian gothic literature, bringing to life such beloved characters like Dr. Frankenstein, his "monster," and Dorian Gray, this most recent series showcased Mexican-American folklore, more specifically, a conflict between the shape-shifting demon Magda (Game of Thrones' Natalie Dormer) and her sister, the deity Santa Muerte (Laurenza Izzo), with Magda intent on proving that humankind is innately evil. 

Michael Aguilar (Penny Dreadful) served as executive producer on the series, alongside Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris.