Dreadful news for Penny Dreadful fans.

Last night, in a surprising twist, Penny Dreadful’s 3rd season finale became the show’s series finale after Vanessa Ives sacrificed herself and the last words seen on the screen were “The End.”

According to an interview with Showtime president David Nevins and show creator, John Logan, that was posted this morning on Variety, the plan had always been for the series to end after season three.

“I knew well before David did, which is sort of midway through the second season, so two years ago,” said John Logan when asked when he knew the series was going to end. 

Logan went on to say that Penny Dreadful was always about a journey of a woman and her faith and that the third season was going to be about Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) sacrificing herself to be reunited with God.

Showtime’s president David Nevins said that it took some convincing words from Logan before he was on board with the ending of the show and the ending of Green’s character, Ives.

In the interview with Variety, Nevins said that, “John convinced me that this was the right end, and the right time to end.”

When asked why the series ender was kept a secret and not continued for the sake of continuing, Nevins responded that, “I didn’t need more impetus to keep it going. This show was very effective and meaningful to us…Television is in a place now where each show can have its own sort of rhythm, its own trajectory. There’s not “one size fits all.”

He went on to say that, “We deliberately made the decision not to announce going into season three this was the final season, because given where we knew the season was ending, that would have been a massive spoiler. It would not have felt like the right way to handle this show. If it had been a more conventional show, I think I would have given a little more warning to the audience. But it felt like, in this case, that was the obvious move, but not the bold move.”

Logan responded with a video message to fans after the series finale thanking them for the dedication they have shown towards Penny Dreadful.

The cast also had a few words to say about the show’s final moments.

Well, there you have it Dreadfuls, a beautiful surprise ending to a short series.

How do you feel about the series ending so soon? Did it live up to your expectations?

Let us know in the comments.