Among the interesting tidbits of information to come out of Showtime’s presentation at the Television Critics Association Press Tour, here’s one of the more unexpected: Apparently proto-punk poet Patti Smith is a big fan of the network’s horror series Penny Dreadful. (She’s presumably hoping an absinthe-sodden Rimbaud will show up at some point.)
That’s what Showtime head David Nevins said earlier today, by way of explaining how Penny Dreadful creator John Logan acquired the rights to Smith’s 2010 memoir, Just Kids. Logan plans to adapt the book into a limited series, with Smith on board as his co-writer and co-producer. Logan’s romantic sensibilities should suit the material, about Smith’s on-again, off-again romance with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in New York City in the early ’70s. Like Penny Dreadful, Just Kids is filled with legendary figures from Jimi Hendrix to Andy Warhol, and like Penny Dreadful, in the world of Just Kids reciting poetry counts as a fun Saturday night activity. No witches in Just Kids, though, although we wouldn‘t mind a little creative license on that one.