“Mad Men” veteran Michael Gladis will join the spinoff series “Penny Dreadful: City of Angels” as a ruthless politician, while “The Green Inferno” actress Lorenza Izzo will join the cast as a character known as the Angel of Holy Death.
Gladis will be a series regular, while Izzo will recur on the show, along with several other actors who joined the cast Tuesday. Adam Rodriguez (“CSI: Miami”), Thomas Kretschmann (“Avengers: Age of Ultron”) and Dominic Sherwood (“Shadowhunters”) and Ethan Peck (“Star Trek: Discovery”) will all appear in multiple episodes. “Game of Thrones” veteran Natalie Dormer was previously announced as a star of the series.
Showtime describes the series as “a spiritual descendant” of the original “Penny Dreadful,” which was set in Victorian-era London. The new series, says the network, “opens in 1938 Los Angeles, a time and place deeply infused with social and political tension.”
Showtime adds: “When a grisly murder shocks the city, Detective Tiago Vega is embroiled in an epic story that reflects the rich history of Los Angeles: from the building of the city’s first freeways and its deep traditions of Mexican-American folklore, to the dangerous espionage actions of the Third Reich and the rise of radio evangelism. Before long, Tiago and his family are grappling with powerful forces that threaten to tear them apart.”
Here are the character descriptions for the six newly-announced roles, as provided by Showtime:
Gladis will play Councilman Charlton Townsend, “the ambitious head of the L.A. City Council’s Transportation Committee; a man of killer instincts and ruthless political wiles.”
Izzo will play the role of Santa Muerte, “the Angel of Holy Death and sister of the charismatic demoness, Magda (Dormer).”
Rodriguez will play Raul Vega, “the eldest son of the Vega family and a righteous union leader and advocate for his people. Wise to the ways of the world, Raul tries to be a father-figure to his brother Tiago (Zovatto).”
Kretschmann will play Richard Goss, “an aristocratic and mysterious German architect with grand plans for the future of Los Angeles: a manipulative master builder with unsettling connections to City Hall.”
Sherwood will play Kurt, “the chauffeur and bodyguard for Richard Goss (Kretschmann). There’s more to Kurt than meets the eye: an unexpected depth and surprising background.”
Peck will play Herman Ackermann, “the charismatic second-in-command at the German American Bund. His aggressive politics, heated rhetoric, and personal magnetism inevitably create tension within the group and for the Bund’s leader, Peter Craft (Rory Kinnear).”
John Logan, creator, writer and executive producer of the original “Penny Dreadful” series, will continue in those same roles for the spinoff. Michael Aguilar (“Kidding”) will serve as an executive producer, along with Sam Mendes (“American Beauty,” “Skyfall”) and Pippa Harris (“Revolutionary Road”) both of Neal Street Productions. Logan’s Desert Wolf Productions will produce, and James Bagley will be a co-executive producer. Paco Cabezas (“The Alienist”) will direct multiple episodes.
Production is scheduled to begin later this year.