Hello, my darlings!

I am back today to tell you guys about my fabulous time at the Penny Dreadful Season 2 premiere screening in TriBeCa. But before I tell you what it was like, let me give you a little bit of background on how I got there…

As some of you may know, I’m an avid live-tweeter. I’m more of a rabid live-tweeter. And one of the many shows that I live tweet happens to be, well, Penny Dreadful. Anyway, as I previously mentioned, my tweet was featured on the show during their New Years Day marathon and as such, I’ve been on their radar for a bit. Well, don’t you know that the great people at Showtime reached out to me and Black Girl Nerds — the site that I do some Penny Dreadful coverage for — and not only sent us some serious swag, but invited us to join them for the Season 2 screening in New York! I’ll show you the swag later, but now on to the event.

With my co-worker, Carson Blackwelder, and my better half (who I at times refer to as “Mine” in public) in tow, I attended the screening at the TriBeCa theater in New York City. Upon entering, there were high tables with deep red roses, a bar with the signature cocktail for the night – a Wicked Prickly Pear Margarita – and servers providing appetizers and crudités for the evening.

To one side of the lobby was a red carpet and Penny Dreadful Season 2 promotional backdrop where fans could stand and take a photo with a cut out of #PennyDreadful.

My co-worker, Carson Blackwelder, and me! #PennyDreadful

Several minutes after arriving, I finally met (in the flesh!) Candice Frederick,  a TV and film critic (and fellow BGN contributing writer) I befriended on Twitter. About an hour into the pre-screening cocktail, our special guest arrived: none other than Mr. Dorian Gray himself, Reeve Carney. At around 7 p.m., we were ushered into the theater — with a box of popcorn, our choice of candy (M&Ms, Twizzlers, and Junior Mints), and a bottle of water — to sit down and take in the show. After about 15 minutes, the light dimmed and Season 2, Episode 1: “Fresh Hell” began.

Just Jared Editor Sharon Tharp (L) and actor Reeve Carney (R) *SWOON*

Sadly, our near-hour episode ended on a crazy cliff hanger, and then it was time for the Q&A with Reeve hosted by Just Jared Sharon Tharp. Reeve was asked a myriad of questions from his character’s story-arc this season to his thoughts about playing the super sexy Dorian (which made him laugh quite a bit).

I had a question, but neglected to ask it, thinking that other people from the press would’ve done their job (note: they didn’t). At the end of the Q&A, we were ushered out of the theater again to see tons of swag bags stacked on top of each other, in addition to a table filled with collectables for purchase. There was also a rack of Penny Dreadful-inspired clothes available for sale.

My co-worker decided to leave, which left me, my other half, Candice and her friend, Sierra, to stand around and talk about the show. As Candice hadn’t watched the second half of Season 1, I filled her in on some of the plot lines, which helped a bit in her understanding of the premiere.

As the night wore on, we all thought it was time to leave, however, I wanted a picture with Candice and Reeve before I left. My better half — who is inclined to push me into doing things that I would otherwise be hesitant to do — shoved me towards Reeve (who was quite the ladies’ magnet for the evening). We spoke to his security, who then told his publicist that a fan just wanted a picture with him. Motioning for Candice to join me, the two of us walked into Reeve’s presence. Now, when I say this guy is dreamy — he is just that. Not only is he something to look at, but his voice (which is not naturally tinted with a British accent) is pretty silky, and his sweet disposition matches his very sharp, hipster style. Candice and I introduced ourselves, and told him we were fans looking for a picture. Not only did he thank us for watching, but he complimented my hair (squeals) and Candice’s scarf. After we got the shot, he thanked us for taking a picture with him and being a part of the night’s festivities. Um, how friggin’ sweet is that!

Me (L), Reeve Carney (C), and Candice Frederick (R)

Afterwards, we all left the event with tote bags full of goodies and found ourselves on the train home, waiting to re-watch the gothic episode when it aired on Sunday. The episode, “Fresh Hell” was pretty damn good — and fans of the show should expect a recap from yours truly on Black Girl Nerds soon. I’m working on nailing down a schedule so that I can have the recaps posted a lot closer to the episode airing that way you guys aren’t reading what happened on Sunday in a post on Thursday.

Now — on to the swag bag!

So, the Penny Dreadful swag bags came with some pretty cool stuff. First, let’s talk about the tote: it features Eva Green’s tormented Vanessa Ives on one side and her Season 2 protector Ethan Chandler portrayed by Josh Hartnett on the other. Next up in the bag is this cool “coffee table” book called The Art and Making of Penny Dreadful. It has tons of behind-the-scenes info about the show including the making of Vanessa’s crazy asylum scene.

The tote also came with a deck of tarot cards (and instructions on how to use them), a black candle, and a wine decanter that looks kind of like a laboratory flask (an homage to Victor Frankenstein, maybe?). Last but not least, the bag comes with five shareable Amazon gift cards granting access to a free copy of Penny Dreadful Season 1 as well as a Penny Dreadful tee with the hashtag #Dreadfuls on the back.

The kind folks at Showtime also sent me another little gift for my tweet appearing on the show during the marathon. Initially, they were going to send me a book, but since I informed them that I had a book already, they sent me a tumbler and a really sleek pen.

Lucky for me, I got my hands on a couple bags… which means some of the spoils of the tote bags will be up for grabs! As it stands, BGN had a Penny Dreadful giveaway leading up to the Season 2 premiere, but I may just team up with the site to give away some of the items in the tote for you #Dreadfuls out there, so stay tuned!

Needless to say… everything about the night and the love I’ve gotten has got your girl feeling blessed.

Until next time darlings, take care and keep it #Dreadful.

-Alja