John Logan behind series about LA in 1938, Nathan Lane stars

Showtime has made the premiere of Penny Dreadful: City of Angels available for free sampling. The episode can be found on pay-TV producers’ on demand platforms, on YouTube, sho.com and showtime.com. John Logan created the show, as he did with the original Penny Dreadful. Showtime calls City of Angels a “spiritual descendant” of its progenitor.

The premiere is April 26. There are ten episodes.

Logan executive produces alongside Michael Aguilar.

Nathan Lane, Natalie Dormer, Daniel Zovatto, Kerry Bishé, Rory Kinnear, Adriana Barraza and Michael Gladis are in the cast.

City of Angels opens in 1938 Los Angeles, “a time and place deeply infused with social and political tension,” said Showtime. When a grisly murder shocks the city, Detective Tiago Vega (Zovatto) and partner Lewis Michener (Lane) become embroiled in a 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. Other executive producers are Sam Mendes and Pippa Harris of Neal Street Productions. Logan's Desert Wolf Productions produces.

Zovatto called City of Angels “a completely different world” from the previous Penny Dreadful. “That was more about a monster,” he told B&C. “This is about the monsters that live within us.”