Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels Episode 1 Review: Come For Natalie Dormer, Stay For A Compelling Story

The spinoff of "Penny Dreadful" has finally arrived on Showtime. The first episode is currently available on YouTube for free. As most know, the previous seasons were set in Victorian England and starred Eva Green, Timothy Dalton and Josh Harnett. See my reviews here. "City Of Angels" has an entirely new cast and story that takes place in 1930's Los Angeles. Think of it as more a 'spiritual descendant" of the original.

This time around the main cast include: Natalie Dormer ("Game Of Thrones"), Lorenza Izzo ("Cannibal Hollacaust"), Daniel Zovatto and Nathan Lane ("The Birdcage"). Rory Kinnear is the only cast member back from the original series. Here he's a Nazi doctor named Dr Peter Craft.

We follow the story of Tiago Vega (the first Chicano to become a LAPD detective). He is torn between his new job and his allegiance to his family and neighborhood. On his day on the job Vega and partner Lewis Michener investigate the murders of four family members who have had their hearts ripped out and their faces painted for Day Of The Dead. Scrawled nearby in blood in Spanish is "You take our hearts, we take yours". And we're off to the races.

The Mexico community and the LAPD are fighting over a neighborhood that is slated to be destroyed to make way for a new freeway. There's also an ongoing battle between immortals. Magda (Dormer) is a demon who just likes to destroy stuff and create chaos. According to her "all mankind needs to be the monster he truly is is being told he can". She whispers in mens' ears and makes them do terrible things. Meanwhile her sister Santa Muerte (Izzo) collects souls to ferry to the afterworld. She professes to have no feelings for humans one way or the other. I think she'll turn into more of a softie as the show progresses.

Tiago's mother Maria (who works for Dr Craft) prays to Santa Muerte. Maria believes Tiago is destined for big things. He bares the scars of his encounter with Santa Muerte some 20 years earlier. This was when Tiago's father and other men working a field were burned to death by Magda. After the ending of the first episode Tiago's relationship with his family will never be the same.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). I'm here for two things: 1. The usual "Penny Dreadful" craziness and 2. Natalie Dormer. So far I'm loving Magda. Her sashaying around and whispering in people's ears is delightfully evil. How many roles is she going to play on this show? So far we have three: Magda, the woman who visits Dr Craft and Councilman Townsend's assistant Annie. So far "City Of Angels" is off to a great start. I can't wait to see where they go next.