Skyfall producers bring Penny Dreadful to UK screens.

Sky Atlantic is to join with US network Showtime to produce Penny Dreadful – a frightening psychological thriller series, starring Josh Hartnett and Eva Green and Billie Piper.

The series is created, written and executive produced by Skyfall collaborators John Logan (Hugo, The Aviator, Gladiator) and Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road) and Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road, Call The Midwife).

Penny Dreadful will see some of literature’s most famously terrifying characters – including Doctor Frankenstein, Dorian Gray and iconic figures from the novel Dracula – become embroiled in Victorian London.

Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbour) will take on the role of ‘Ethan Chandler,’ a charming American who finds himself trapped in the darkest corners of Victorian London, while Eva Green (Casino Royale) will play ‘Vanessa Ives,’ a seductive and formidable beauty full of secrets and danger.

Billie Piper (Doctor Who) will play the role of Brona Croft, an Irish immigrant in Victorian London trying to escape a dark past. Piper joins Rory Kinnear (Skyfall), Harry Treadaway (The Lone Ranger) and Reeve Carney (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) who will also star. Carney will play Dorian Grey in a reprisal of Oscar Wilde’s supernaturally attractive and decadent young hero and Kinnear will play a mysterious character of haunting intensity. In an exciting new version of Mary Shelley’s inspired and obsessed genius, Treadaway will take on the role of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights, License to Kill) also stars as Sir Malcolm, a hardened African explorer on a deeply personal quest.

John Logan says, “I’m thrilled to be bringing Penny Dreadful to life here in the UK, where the show is set and was conceived over many years of wandering the streets of London. I think the talent we are bringing together for the show promises to create something memorable.”

“John Logan and Sam Mendes are two of the great storytellers of our time,” said David Nevins, President of Entertainment, Showtime Networks “The visual spectacle combined with the psychological insight in their reimagining of these iconic literary characters seems totally mesmerizing to me. This promises to be a wholly original television show.”

Penny Dreadful is being produced for Sky Atlantic and Showtime by Neal Street Productions and Desert Wolf Productions.