Did you know there are still people who don’t even realize that, when it comes to TV performances, there’s Eva Green, and then there’s, well, the rest of television? For only the cost of a tweet or Facebook message, you can help these poor folks by telling them to get their act together and start watching Penny Dreadful, Showtime’s bombastic series about magic and mayhem in turn-of-the-century London. And with the season three premiere only weeks away, there’s never been a better time to act, as the above trailer reminds us.
While the first trailer for the upcoming season teased things like Vanessa Ives being locked up in an insane asylum (and Josh Hartnett’s Ethan Chandler finally getting a haircut), this new extended look somehow manages to convey both more and less information simultaneously. We get a good look at some of the locations outside London—including a sparse Western wasteland—as well as checking in with nearly all the major players. A new villain is coming, Vanessa warns, one who’s been hunting her “since the dawn of time.” And, judging by the haunted look on the face of Timothy Dalton’s Sir Malcolm—not to mention his urging that “she needs us”—things go downhill fast this year. Plus, the show’s lost none of its penchant for striking imagery, although we’re already dreading watching Victor Frankenstein shove that giant needle into someone’s eye. Penny Dreadful returns to Showtime Sunday, May 1.