Penny Dreadful Season 2 Brings a Literal Bloodbath, Witchcraft and... Dancing?!

Come April, get ready to dread.

The second season of Showtime's gothic drama Penny Dreadful will premiere on Sunday, April 26 at 10/9c, it was announced at the Television Critics Association winter previews on Monday.

A trailer (which you can watch below) shown before the panel featured a number of disturbing scenes, including this season's antagonist Evelyn Poole (Helen McCrory) reclining in a bathtub filled with blood. "This season we embrace witchcraft," creator John Logan said. "Evelyn Poole becomes the antagonist for all the characters." Viewers may recall meeting McCrory's character by another name, Madame Kali, the renowned spiritualist and medium who hosted a seance in Season 1.

Check out more scoop from the panel:

Penny Dreadful boss addresses Vanessa's sexuality, Ethan's werewolf origins

Ethan Chandler Last season, we discovered that Ethan (Josh Hartnett) was a werewolf. "You'll definitely see more this season. He learns what he is," Logan said."How we treat lycanthropy is a big part of the season." This season will give him more definition after he lived with the dread of not knowing his capability for violence. In the trailer, we also see Ethan performing what looks to be an exorcism. Was he once a priest? All Logan would say was, "He has a strong spiritual past."

Evelyn Poole "I don't believe in heroes and villains," Logan said. "She believes in what she's doing... a noble calling. She is on the side of the angels even though she's serving the devil."

Sir Malcolm Although Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) had a strong, paternal relationship with Vanessa (Eva Green) last season, expect some friction once he begins a relationship with Evelyn that "alienates him" from the group, Logan said.

Witches Don't expect to see the stereotypical crones in pointy black hats. Logan decided to draw from what scares him in real life when he's hiking: rattlesnakes. "They're very beautiful and bewitching," but can turn deadly in a second, he explained. He brought these ideas to the makeup designers.

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Dr. Victor Frankenstein At the end of last season, Victor (Harry Treadaway) killed Ethan's ailing friend Brona (Billie Piper) in order to give his Creature (Rory Kinnear) a companion. "His Creature taught him in a way about the need for love. Creating life is worthless without love... so he gives him a vessel. It doesn't all go as planned."

Dorian Gray In the trailer, we see that Dorian (Reeve Carney) looking at a cameo photo of Vanessa, as intrigued by her as ever. He had plenty of action last season though, first with Brona and then an ambiguous connection with Ethan. Logan teased that "everything becomes more fluid in the second season" including eroticism and sexuality.

Dancing We see the Creature learning to waltz in the trailer, and Logan confirms that music is significant to the series because "anguish is everything." Three original waltzes were composed for Season 2 including one for Vanessa and Ethan, one for all the characters and one for the Creature. "There's a major dancing component to this season," Logan said.

Bloodbath Although McCrory didn't find filming the bloodbath scene upsetting, the logistics of the bath were a nightmare to put together. "You float in that blood," she said. "You bob, bob, bobbed." The crew had to weigh McCrory down with blocks along the length of her body.

Check out the bloody scene yourself in the trailer below:

Penny Dreadful returns on Sunday, April 26 at 10/9c on Showtime.

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