Showtime, Sky renew Penny Dreadful

US cablenet Showtime and UK satcaster Sky have renewed their gothic horror coproduction Penny Dreadful for a second season halfway through its debut run.

Ten new episodes of the psychological drama, which airs on Showtime in the US and Sky Atlantic in the UK, will air on the networks in 2015.

The series weaves together stories of some of literature’s scariest characters including Frankenstein’s monster and Dracula in a Victorian London setting.

Season two, from Skyfall duo John Logan and Sam Mendes (American Beauty), will again shoot on location in Dublin, Ireland.

Mendes’ UK-based production company, Neal Street Productions, is leading the project, which was picked up by CBS-owned Showtime last year. LA-based Desert Wolf Productions is also coproducing.

Penny Dreadful is the latest successful drama launch for Showtime, following the likes of Masters of Sex, Ray Donovan and Homeland.

For Sky, the series forms part of its pledge to invest £600m (US$960m) per year in UK productions and is one of a handful of original dramas for Sky Atlantic, which is also coproducing murder mystery series Fortitude to air later this year. The first eight-episode season of Penny Dreadful is midway through a Tuesday night run on Sky Atlantic.