Penny Dreadful: The Complete Second Season

The second season of this acclaimed Showtime series—which places characters from iconic 19th-century British horror into a shadowy world of vampires, witches, demons, and dark magic in Victorian London—picks up where the first left off: American gunman Ethan (Josh Hartnett) has a beast within that he is unable to control, Victor Frankenstein (Harry Treadaway) keeps his promise to create a bride (Billie Piper) for his creature (Rory Kinnear), and the ageless Dorian Gray (Reeve Carney) reveals his dark side. But the primary story here revolves around a coven of witches led by cruel Madame Kali (Helen McCrory), who target the tormented but powers-gifted Vanessa (an intense Eva Green) with nightmares and visions, while Kali puts Vanessa's adoptive father, Sir Malcolm Murray (Timothy Dalton), under a spell. The team of supernatural warriors pull together to fight the witch threat, sharing a mutual devotion that is one of the strengths of this smartly-written show. Creator John Logan re-imagines iconic characters in dramatically new and creative ways, fashioning vivid personalities for these haunted, emotionally torn heroes. In a TV culture brimful of horror series, Penny Dreadful remains the smartest, darkest, and richest. Compiling all 10 episodes from the 2015 second season, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette, video production blogs, an interview with Carney, and character profiles. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)