I've often heard Twilight called a modern "Penny Dreadful." I myself am no fan of the series – I find it overblown and turgid, and frankly feel the manga incarnation looks superior in artistry to the novels.
But when people call it a Penny Dreadful, I think they're missing an opportunity here, and they're dismissing a valid business model.
Let us be honest, there is plenty of room for guilty pleasures: overblown romance, cheesy action, video games filled with more explosions than dialogue, and so on. There is plenty of room for the "Penny Dreadful," the overblown, trashy, and ultimately just plain fun.
There is room for the literary/artistic equivalent of junk food in our lives.
This is a perfect time for it.