I think that by simply hiring Eva Green to play opposite Natalie Dormer would've COMPLETELY turned this season into a success on every level!!
I imagine the producers approached Eva Green for this series. How could they not? Maybe she didn't want to do it. You'd have to substantially increase the amount of screen time given to the Santa Muerte character (at least so far) if you bothered to have Eva Green in that role. Maybe it would have been interesting to have that character also taking the guise of various humans to combat the strife? So that was Piper Perabo playing the wife of the Rory Kinnear character? I didn't even recognize her.
I've given up on this show. It tries to be too many things to too many viewers and ultimately fails, imo. Dig Nathan and Natalie, though....
I'm enjoying the show. This is a fascinating period of Los Angeles history and I like the alternate take on it. Los Angeles has a lot of historic building and I always like seeing them. And visiting and eating at them back in the day. Too bad they couldn't save the Ambassador it would have been great for a show like this. I went to an EST class there once.
I have come to really like this season. I enjoy the multiple, interconnected storylines. Really good performances from everyone too.
Midway through episode 4. Enjoying it more than I thought I would. This cast had a hard act to follow. Highlight so far has been the dance scene in the 3rd episode. Those cats can move!
Wanted to like it but it plodded along and went virtually nowhere. I kept thinking "it will pick up in the penultimate and the finale" then it just ended. A season 2 to take it somewhere would be nice but I don't that it deserves it. Also, it didn't need "Penny Dreadful" attached to it.
As I posted previously, I came to really enjoy each episode this season, up to & including the penultimate ep which was terrific. But there were too many threads to tie up in the finale, which seemed too quick &, in regard to some plot points, predictable & ultimately unsatisfying. Spoiler I believe the finale was the first time we see two of Magda's (Dormer) alter-egos, Elsa & Rio, in the same scene & shot. I also didn't think Magda could directly kill a human person, rather than influencing/directing people to do her actual bidding, such as in the knifing of Fly Rico in the alley (otherwise why does she need to take on the personas in the first place?) Still, some great performances, & cinematography, imo. My thought is that a second season for "City of Angels" should take place decades later (post WWII) to see Tiago (& the city of LA) in his later years.
Binged watched the whole series over the weekend, oh dear we’ve gone from a dark and atmospheric supernatural fantasy series unlike any other straight into a show riddled with the modern tropes of politics and racial issues as well what appeared to be something akin to a dance film at some points
Nathan Lane (‘Penny Dreadful: City of Angels’) on Showtime series being ‘one of the best experiences of my career’ [Complete Interview Transcript] Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels comes to a sputtering close 'Penny Dreadful: City of Angels' creator on confronting the horrors of our reality with the finale Penny Dreadful: City of Angels Recap: Who Didn’t Survive the Season 1 Finale?
I wanted to like the show, but my biggest beef is they didn't resolve a lot of the plot issues: the epic battle between good and evil, what's going to happen with the Nazi doctor, what happens with the religious Mexican maid, what the story is on the strange blonde German woman (with the Bad Seed son), and so on. They did wrap up a few storylines, but a lot of the last few episodes felt padded to me. I also felt like they tiptoed up to a certain point with the horror and then stopped, which felt like a letdown. I did think Nathan Lane was a standout and he did a remarkable job, and the late-1930s sets and cars and so on were spectacular. Funny side-story: about 8-9 months ago, I was driving down June Street in Hancock Park on my way into work, and much to my surprise there were about two dozen 1930s and 1940s cars parked on either side of the street. You don't see those every day. The million-dollar houses in this upscale neighborhood are all from the 1920s & 1930S, and a lot of it has been preserved just the way it was decades ago. A bunch of film trucks were wrapping up work JUST as I drove by, and I realized months later this was one of the locations from City of Angels. Showtime spent a ton of money on this show.
I'm halfway through the series and am enjoying it very much and I think Nathan Lane and Natalie Dormer are are standouts. Don't get the criticism that it's not like the previous Penny Dreadful series (which I also enjoyed), and I just take it as an unrelated story under the same banner. Hope it leads to other stories in the future.
Finished watching it all yesterday. I have no complaints. Great that it wasn’t wrapped up. Plenty of scope for a follow-up series. Wouldn’t want it to be too much later as I’d like to see more of Nathan Lane’s character.
While I ultimately enjoyed the ride through season one, For me the show’s identity often vacillated too wildly in tone. It could effectively be a serious drama and just as quickly turn into pulp fiction, and not in a good way, some of the dialog was painful at times. Unlike others, I had no issue with its’ falling under the Penny Dreadful banner, and never expected it to be just another version of the first series. The dark side of Los Angeles’ politics and racial issues were well worth exploring in detail, and Showtime should be applauded for going there. I landed in L.A. in late 1991 unaware of these aspects of L.A. history, and just in time for living through the riots; I received a very quick education back then. There were some excellent performances and some mediocre ones, but all in all it was a fine ensemble. I think Natalie Dormer did a great job at inhabiting four distinct characters and look forward to her future projects. Nathan Lane was outstanding as always, and I hope he does more dramatic roles down the line. And a big round of applause for the show’s Production Design by Maria Caso. Just as with HBO’s Deadwood, she created a remarkable, detailed and textured world from the past. It’s been fascinating to watch Perry Mason and see how that series has handled recreating 1930’s L.A. and the environs of the same radio evangelist and her mother based on Aimee Semple McPherson. I think both shows have done an outstanding job. Having been part of this past year’s other period drama of that era, HBO’s The Plot Against America, I know how difficult it is to build these worlds of the past on the schedule of a weekly series. These two 1930’s dramas really knocked it out of the park, and deserve recognition for their great achievements.
It’s interesting that they’re really not saying anything else except the fact that Showtime decided not to move forward with a second season. Could it be ratings perhaps?
Ratings, reviews, and being a very, very expensive show. It just didn't take off as hoped, and couldn't justify the cost. Nothing to do with Covid-19.
