Showtime is setting up a family reunion.
The cable network has enlisted Helen McCrory (Skyfall) to join the cast of its upcoming Penny Dreadful, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The actress, who is married to Homeland Emmy winner Damian Lewis, will play spiritualist Madame Kali in the horror drama from Hugo's John Logan.
STORY: Showtime Horror Drama 'Penny Dreadful' Casts its Frankenstein
The eight-episode drama revolves around some of literature's famed monsters -- including Dr. Frankenstein (The Lone Ranger's Harry Treadaway) and his creature, Dorian Gray and figures from Dracula -- weaving together classic horror origin stories as the characters grapple with their monstrous alienation.
British actress McCrory (The Queen, The Special Relationship) is best known for her role as Draco's mother Narcissa Malfoy in the Harry Potter features. In addition to going to work for the cable network that employs her husband, the role also marks a reunion for McCrory with Logan and EP Sam Mendes, with whom she worked with on Hugo and Skyfall, respectively. She's repped by Independent Talent Group in the U.K.
She joins a cast that also includes Reeve Carney (Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) as Dorian Grey; Timothy Dalton as Sir Malcolm, a tough African explorer on a deeply personal quest; Josh Hartnett as Ethan; Eva Green as Vanessa; and Skyfall's Rory Kinnear.
Penny Dreadful was created by three-time Oscar nominee Logan, who will write and executive produce alongside Academy Award winner Mendes and Neal Street's Pippa Harris (Revolutionary Road). Juan Antonio Bayona (The Orphanage) directs the first two episodes. The psychosexual horror series will begin production in October in London. The series will debut in spring 2014.
Lewis, the defending best actor in a drama for his role in Emmy-winning terrorism drama Homeland, will look to make it two in a row at the Sept. 22 Primetime Emmys. The actor is a valuable commodity to the premium cable network, with critics expressing concern about the limited role the actor would have in the show's upcoming third season as the early episodes will find Brody on the lam.
E-mail: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
Twitter: @Snoodit
