Penny Dreadful won't be returning next year for a fourth season. 

If you watched Penny Dreadful Season 3 Episode 9 last night, you probably knew this was coming after the way it concluded. 

Eva Green's character was killed off and pretty much every single storyline got wrapped up. 

It really is an odd way to end a show, but at least there was a conclusion. 

It's an odd way to do business, but if the show served its purpose, then it's actually good for the fans.

The news was confirmed when Showtime president, David Nevins and series creator, John Logan spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the conclusion.

"John has decided the show really, at its core, has always been Vanessa Ives. John has said three seasons is enough and I think it's really interesting that we live in this world where the every show can have its own rhythm and create its own destiny," Showtime president David Nevins told THR.

"This is a case of your creator says this is the best thing for the show and eventually you just say OK, do it, just do it well."

If this is the real reason for the end of the show then it's good that Showtime stood by John Logan's decision to let the series conclude on his terms. 

There's nothing worse than shows being dragged to their death. It turns out that the show was always meant to run three seasons. 

John actually turned to David midway through production of Penny Dreadful Season 2 and told him about his plan to end Vanessa for good. 

He also let him in on the news that the show would not continue beyond Vanessa's exit. 

At first, David was skeptical about ending it due to the wide array of great characters, but he ultimately sided with John and let the show reach a natural conclusion. 

The ratings for the show were never great. It struggled to compete on Sunday nights. 

Penny Dreadful Season 1 averaged 0.77 million viewers, while ratings for this season are averaging 0.60 million viewers. 

The numbers are way down when compared to Showtime's bigger shows like Shameless and Homeland.

Showtime recently called time on both Episodes and House of Lies.

Which show do you think will be the next to go?

How do you feel about the random cancelation of the show?

Hit the comments!

Remember you can watch Penny Dreadful online if you want to get up to speed on what went down on the show.

Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.