Josh Hartnett and Eva Green to star in Penny Dreadful

The psychological thriller comprises eight episodes, and stars Josh Hartnett as Ethan Chandler, an American who ends up trapped in Victorian London, along with several of the most iconic characters from the literary horror genre, including Dr Frankenstein and Dracula. Eva Green plays a mysterious seductress. Harry Treadaway, Reeve Carney, Rory Kinnear and Billie Piper all co-star.

Spanish director J.A. Bayona (The Impossible etc) will be in charge of the first two episodes of the series, which is for Sky Atlantic and Showtime. It comes from Mendes’ company Neal Street Productions in the UK and Desert Wolf Productions, John Logan’s LA-based banner.

David Nevins, president of entertainment, Showtime Networks, said: “John Logan and Sam Mendes are two of the great storytellers of our time. 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."