Showtime has released a first look at the new season of its gothic literary monster remix series

Showtime has released a first look at the new season of its gothic literary monster remix series, Penny Dreadful.

John Logan, series creator and executive producer, says (of the image), "This season Vanessa (Eva Green) and Ethan (Josh Hartnett) face new challenges, and old enemies, and turn to each other for solace. Their intimacy grows as they are forced to confront their demons together.",

This season, Vanessa and Ethan form a deeper bond as the group, including Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton), Dr. Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway), and Sembene (Danny Sapani), unite to banish the evil forces that threaten to destroy them. Meanwhile, Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney), the Creature (Rory Kinnear) and Brona (Billie Piper) are all waging battles of their own. Patti LuPone will guest star as a mysterious character of great importance in Vanessa’s past.

Helen McCrory returns as Evelyn Poole (a.k.a. Madame Kali), the seductive spiritualist who will pose a unique threat to our protagonists this season, along with Simon Russell Beale, who is back as eccentric Egyptologist Ferdinand Lyle. Additional guest stars include Douglas Hodge as a Scotland Yard investigator; Sarah Greene as Poole’s powerful daughter, Hecate; and Johnny Beauchamp as a man with a singular past.