Set in 1891, just a few years after the Ripper’s spree, the project capitalizes on the lingering fear created by those events, while playing with the audience’s understanding and expectations surrounding its better-known characters.

Created by John Logan and counting his “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes among the producers, “Penny Dreadful” (a not-quite-dreadful title, derived from the serialized publications of the day) doesn’t hurry the action, and some scenes linger surprisingly long, as the narrative flits around seeking to establish a dense mythology that includes Egyptian hieroglyphics and apocalyptic warnings.

-from the Variety review by Brian Lowry

We’ve seen the pilot, and that description in the title is very accurate. Don’t miss it when Penny Dreadful airs the pilot episode tonight, May 11, on Showtime at 10 p.m.!  Did we mention it’s deliciously creepy and really gory?