Nowadays, we’re bombarded with TV series posters—from bus shelters to social media. Streaming services seem to have the patent on bombastic visuals. But pay attention: some posters tell you everything about a series, while others are… well, completely meaningless. In this column, we delve into the world of TV series posters: which ones immediately draw you into the story, and which are run-of-the-mill? Time to take a closer look.
In this first column I will put three legendary series posters under the microscope. Three series that have captivated millions of viewers and were binge-watched en masse. Watch, read and judge for yourself!
Optical illusion or hidden meaning?
How the posters of Penny Dreadful, Hannibal and Pretty Little Liars play with perception.
Penny Dreadful
This poster will always stay with me. It took me a few days to realise that I wasn’t looking at a skull, but at a person – desperate, tearing their hair out, huddled on the floor. The realisation hit me like a sledgehammer. The effect of the poster was immediately clear: dark, oppressive, inescapable.
Penny Dreadful is horror at its best. A series like no other, steeped in gothic splendour and dark poetry. Inspired by the cheap horror stories of the 19th century, but brought to life with an unprecedented depth. Eva Green shines like never before, and Rory Kinnear leaves an indelible impression.
A brilliant and unforgettable series. Iconic characters. And a poster that haunts you long after you first saw it.
Penny Dreadful aired on Showtime in 2014 and aired for three seasons with 27 episodes. Now the series can be streamed on SkyShowtime.
Hannibal
The series Hannibal won’t let me go. The music, the dialogues, the set design—everything was worked out to perfection, just like the posters. The play with light and shadow, but especially with my brain. What did they actually eat? Was it really what it seemed? The psychological chess game was played in a sublime way, and the poster already gives away exactly what you can expect. Mads Mikkelsen transformed Hannibal into a masterpiece in itself—unforgettable and mind-bending. Hannibal was horror in the purest sense of the word. And an extensive buffet? I will never look at that the same way again.
Hannibal was on NBC from 2013. Three seasons with 39 episodes. Unfortunately, the series is not available on a streaming service, but the series is available for purchase on DVD.
Pretty Little Liars
Before you read any further, I want you to take a good look at the poster for the seventh season of Pretty Little Liars. Can you see what’s wrong?
Once you notice it, you can’t ignore it. The leg of one of the characters, Alison (Sasha Pieterse), seems to be missing from the image. This has caused a lot of reactions and speculation among fans. Some wondered if it was a subtle hint to the storyline, while others simply saw it as a clear design error. The error, which turned out to be an editing error, was later corrected, but it was still a bit awkward to send such a poster out into the world.
Pretty Little Liars aired on Freeform from 2010, now on HBO Max and has had a whopping 161 episodes spread over seven seasons.
Posters can be interpreted in a thousand ways—it all depends on how you look at it. A strong poster draws you in and can make you add the show to your watch list right away. But a poster can also confuse, disgust, or even disbelief. Is that character really missing a leg? Am I seeing what I think I see? Every poster tells its own story, just like the show itself. Nothing and everything is chosen by chance—everything could be a deliberate illusion or a clumsy mistake.
One series poster that immediately caught my eye was The Capture (https://delagarde-bnnvara.stream.prepr.io/w_1920,h_1080,q_100/2gdhzzsiiqny-thecapture-s1-horiz-textless-keyart-1563069.jpg).
It exuded exactly what I like to see in BBC thrillers: a combination of suspense, current events and technology.
The Capture, I will remember it for a possible next column.