Eva Green dominates the screen as Vanessa Ives, a woman possessed by ancient demons and pursued by Victorian London's most notorious monsters. Creator John Logan assembles literature's horror royalty: Harry Treadaway's twitchy Victor Frankenstein, Rory Kinnear's tragic Creature, Reeve Carney's ageless Dorian Gray, plus vampires, witches and werewolves. The production shot in Dublin and London, creating fog-choked streets where blood rituals unfold beneath gaslight. Logan wrote most episodes himself, crafting dialogue that sounds like Oscar Wilde on laudanum. The series premiered on Showtime in May 2014 and concluded after three seasons in June 2016. Abel Korzeniowski's score weaves classical strings with electronic pulses, creating the show's signature sound of beauty corrupted. Timothy Dalton's Sir Malcolm Murray leads the fight against evil while wrestling with his own monstrous past as an African explorer. Josh Hartnett's Ethan Chandler arrives as a sharp-shooting American entertainer hiding lycanthropic secrets beneath his charm. The second season pits Vanessa against Helen McCrory's Evelyn Poole, a spiritualist leading a coven of witches called Nightcomers. Billie Piper transforms from Irish prostitute Brona to Frankenstein's reborn Lily, becoming a vengeful feminist monster disgusted by men's violence. The final season trades London's shadows for the American desert, where Vanessa confronts her destiny as either humanity's saviour or its destroyer.
Production Details
Showtime / 3 Seasons / 27 Episodes / 2014
Created by: John Logan
Showrunner(s): Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris
Writer(s): John Logan, Andrew Hinderaker, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
Producer(s): Morgan O'Sullivan, Sheila Hockin
Music: Abel Korzeniowski
Main Cast
Eva Green as Vanessa Ives
Josh Hartnett as Ethan Chandler
Timothy Dalton as Sir Malcolm Murray
Harry Treadaway as Dr. Victor Frankenstein
Reeve Carney as Dorian Gray
Rory Kinnear as John Clare / The Creature
Billie Piper as Lily / Brona Croft
Danny Sapani as Sembene
Simon Russell Beale as Ferdinand Lyle
Douglas Hodge as Bartholomew Rusk
Sarah Greene as Hecate Poole
Helen McCrory as Madame Kali
