Patti Lupone, Douglas Hodge, Sarah Greene and Jonny Beauchamp to guest star on series two of Penny Dreadful

 Critically Acclaimed Sky Atlantic and SHOWTIME® co-production summons Roster of New & Returning Stars

 Award winning Helen McCrory and Simon Russell Beale Upped To Series Regulars 

London (Monday 8th September, 2014): Two-time Tony® Award winner and Emmy nominee Patti LuPone (American Horror Story, Life Goes On, Evita, Gypsy) is signing on as a guest star on the second series of the hit Sky Atlantic HD and Showtime drama PENNY DREADFUL. The legend of stage and screen will play a mysterious character of great importance in Vanessa’s (Eva Green) past.

In addition, award-winning British actors Helen McCrory (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, parts 1 & 2), and Simon Russell Beale (My Week with Marilyn, MI) have been upped to series regulars. 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 Beale, who is back as eccentric Egyptologist Ferdinand Lyle.

Cast members McCrory and Beale will be joined by a wealth of new guest stars this season. In addition to LuPone, Tony Award winner Douglas Hodge (Robin Hood) signs on as Bartholomew Rusk, an intense Scotland Yard investigator on the hunt to discover who is responsible for the terrible murders that have been plaguing London. Sarah Greene (The Guard, Vikings) will play Hecate, Poole’s powerful daughter and Jonny Beauchamp (How To Make It In America, Stonewall) will portray a young man with a singular past.

PENNY DREADFUL is a frightening psychological thriller created, written and executive produced by three-time Oscar® nominee John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) and executive produced by Logan's Desert Wolf Productions, along with Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Skyfall) and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Call The Midwife), both of Neal Street Productions.  Cameron Roach is Executive Producer for Sky.  PENNY DREADFUL is a co-production with SHOWTIME®. The cast includes Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbour), Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights) and Eva Green (Casino Royale, Dark Shadows). Reeve Carney (Spider Man: Turn Off the Dark, The Tempest), Rory Kinnear (Skyfall, Othello, Hamlet), Billie Piper (Doctor Who), Danny Sapani (Trance) and Harry Treadaway (The Lone Ranger).

PENNY DREADFUL forms part of Sky Atlantic HD’s commissioning and acquisition strategy to bring the most compelling stories exclusively to Sky customers. Its stellar schedule includes Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley and Gomorrah as well as forthcoming new series The Leftovers, The Knick and Fortitude.

Production on the second series of PENNY DREADFUL, written by John Logan, will begin in September in Dublin, Ireland and will air on Sky Atlantic HD is 2015.

-ENDS-

For More Information please contact: 
Annabel Rudden
Senior Publicist, Sky Atlantic HD
T: +44(0)20 7032 6845
Annabel.rudden@bskyb.com

Charlotte Jordan                         
Publicist, Sky Atlantic HD
T: +44 (0)20 7032 1496
charlotte.jordan@bskyb.com

Notes to editor:

About Sky:
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