"Penny Dreadful" abruptly ended when the season 3 finale revealed that it was also the last episode of the series, leaving fans baffled as to why it suddenly concluded. To address the viewers' woes concerning the ending, Showtime CEO David Nevins has since revealed the reason for the decision to end it at that point.
In an interview with Digital Spy, Nevins stated that there was an attempt to get the show moving forward with a fourth season. The CEO revealed that he did continue asking the series creator, John Logan, to reconsider his decision of wrapping up, even until the series finale was being written. In the end, Logan wrote the conclusion the way he envisioned it, and the network decided to respect that decision.
From the day season 3 entered production, Nevins explained that it became clear Logan was intent on stopping the series at the season 3 finale. It is said that Logan was aiming to tell a complete narrative about Vanessa (Eva Green) that had a clear beginning, middle and end, and since her story ended, then there would be no point in doing a fourth season. By the end of season 3, the main character, Vanessa Ives, had died, and the rest of the characters went their separate ways.
Nevins also pointed out that the character of Vanessa Ives and the writer, John Logan, made up the heart of the show, and moving on without either of them wouldn't serve justice to the initial three seasons.
"The death of Vanessa Ives was plotted," Nevins revealed. The Showtime CEO then further said: "So then it became a question for us: Is there a life for the series beyond both Vanessa Ives and John Logan's writing? And for us, we thought the series would just lose its authenticity that way. So it was a moving target, which is partly why we chose to end it."
Without Vanessa Ives, whose story was completed when she found redemption and peace by rediscovering her faith in God at the moment of her death, there would be no "Penny Dreadful" season 4. Additionally, the likelihood of a spin-off was also not in the cards given that the whole focus of the series was always on Vanessa more than her companions.
