Showtime’s Penny Dreadful spin-off has begun filling in its cast

Casting is officially underway for Showtime’s Penny Dreadful spin-off series with big stars like Nathan Lane and Natalie Dormer signing on for main roles.

It’s been almost three years since the gothic Showtime horror series, Penny Dreadful, came to a tragic close. But a spin-off series is on the way and with big name stars like Nathan Lane and Natalie Dormer signing on, there are plenty of reasons to be hopeful of the franchise’s future.

Penny Dreadful: City of Angels will not be related to the original series. The story will be a brand new one set in 1938 Los Angeles with a focus Mexican-American folklore. Although the behind-the-scenes won’t be changing much with the original’s showrunner, John Logan, set to return along with many other members of the production crew.

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News of Dormer’s casting news hit the internet last week and we learned she would be playing a shapeshifting demon by the name of Magda. Given Dormer’s fantasy history with Game of Thrones and several horror films under her belt, the casting is perfect.

Magda is described as a cunning creature who can transform into anyone she wishes. It sounds like something well in the neighborhood of Dormer’s wheelhouse. She’s made a reputation for playing the sly women characters and excels at it.

Nathan Lane’s casting is a little more surprising as he tends to do a lot of comedic or musically-inclined roles. He’s most well-known for his role in The Producers and as the voice of Timon in The Lion King. But he also recurs on ABC’s Modern Family and has a resume about ten miles long.

Entertainment Weekly had the scoop on Nathan Lane’s character:

"Lane joins the show as Lewis Michener, a veteran officer in the LAPD who is said to be “wise to the ways of the world and ruthless in pursuit of his goals.”"

It sounds like Nathan Lane might be playing a protagonist character on the show as an officer who may get unwittingly tangled in the supernatural. The current casting doesn’t specify if he is supernatural or not though I’m assuming he isn’t (at least not yet).

I was already looking forward to the Penny Dreadful spin-off but now I’m even more inclined to root for it with the cast shaping up to be pretty exemplary.

Other series regulars have been announced for the show as well including Jessica Garza (The Purge), Jonathan Nieves (New Amsterdam), and Daniel Zovatto (Here and Now).

Are you looking forward to Penny Dreadful: City of Angels? What do you think about the casting of Nathan Lane? How about Natalie Dormer? Who else would you like to see join the show? Let us know in the comments below!