''Carnival Row'' is an American

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

television series created by

René Echevarria René Echevarria is an American screenwriter and producer. He has worked on a number of television series, including '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'', '' Dark Angel'' and ''Castle''. He created ''The 4400'' for USA Network, ''Carnival Row'' fo ...

and

Travis Beacham Travis Beacham (born 1980) is an American screenwriter, best known for writing and co-writing the films ''Dog Days of Summer'' (2005), '' Pacific Rim'' (2013), '' Clash of the Titans'' (2010), and proposing the concept for the Amazon Prime fan ...

, based on Beacham's unproduced film

spec script A spec script, also known as a speculative screenplay, is a non-commissioned and unsolicited screenplay. It is usually written by a screenwriter who hopes to have the script optioned and eventually purchased by a producer, production company, or ...

, ''A Killing on Carnival Row''. The series stars Orlando Bloom,

Cara Delevingne Cara Jocelyn Delevingne ( ; born 12 August 1992) is an English model and actress. She signed with Storm Management after leaving school in 2009. Delevingne won Model of the Year at the British Fashion Awards in 2012 and 2014. Delevingne sta ...

Simon McBurney Simon Montagu McBurney (born 25 August 1957) is an English actor, playwright, and theatrical director. He is the founder and artistic director of the Théâtre de Complicité, London. He has had roles in the films '' The Manchurian Candidate'' ...

Tamzin Merchant Tamzin Merchant (born 4 March 1987) is an English actress and author, best known for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film ''Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), as Catherine Howard in the Showtime series ''The Tudors'' (2009–2010) and as Anne Hal ...

David Gyasi David Kwaku Asamoah Gyasi (; born 2 January 1980) is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in ''Cloud Atlas'' (2012) and '' Interstellar'' (2014), as well as the lead role of Lex Carnahan in The CW miniseries ''Containment''. Early l ...

Andrew Gower Andrew Gower (born 8 November 1989) is an English actor. A staple in British television and theatre, he is best known for his recurring role as Cutler in '' Being Human'' and his turn as Prince Charles Stuart in ''Outlander''. Gower won the S ...

Karla Crome Karla Patsy Crome (born 22 June 1988) is a British actress and writer, best known for her work on Sky Atlantic's '' Hit & Miss'', playing series regular Jess on E4's ''Misfits'', and appearances in a number of other television series and film ...

, Arty Froushan,

Indira Varma Indira Anne Varma (born 27 September 1973) is a British actress and narrator. Her film debut and first major role was in '' Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love''. She has gone on to appear in the television series ''The Canterbury Tales'', ''Rome'', ''L ...

, and

Jared Harris Jared Francis Harris (born 24 August 1961) is a British actor. His roles include Lane Pryce in the AMC television drama series ''Mad Men'', for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Seri ...

. In the show, mythological beings must survive as oppressed refugees in human society as a detective works to solve murders. ''Carnival Row'' premiered its first season on Amazon Prime Video on August 30, 2019, in its entirety. In July 2019, Amazon renewed ''Carnival Row'' for a second season, which is set to premiere on February 17, 2023, and will serve as the series' final season.

Premise

In ''Carnival Row,'' "mythical creatures... have fled their war-torn homeland and gathered in the city as tensions are simmering between citizens and the growing immigrant population". There is an investigation into a string of unsolved murders, questions of madness of power, unresolved love, and social adjustments eating away at whatever uneasy peace exists.

Cast and characters

Main

* Orlando Bloom as Rycroft "Philo" Philostrate, an inspector of the Burgue Constabulary, investigating a dark conspiracy at the heart of the city. A half-fae passing as a human, and veteran of the war, he sympathizes with the fae to the disgust of many of his colleagues. *

as Vignette Stonemoss, a fae and Philo's former lover who believed him to be dead following the war. She falls in with a group of fae ruffians known as the Black Raven while dealing with her complicated feelings for Philo. *

as Runyon Millworthy, a human street performer and master of a troupe of

kobold A kobold (occasionally cobold) is a mythical sprite. Having spread into Europe with various spellings including "goblin" and "hobgoblin", and later taking root and stemming from Germanic mythology, the concept survived into modern times in Ge ...

s *

as Agreus Astrayon, a wealthy

faun The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...

(also known by their derogatory name of " Puck") shunned by Burgue high society for his appearance and origin *

as Imogen Spurnrose, an heiress who becomes involved with Agreus to support her lifestyle *

as Ezra Spurnrose, Imogen's brother whom she blames for mishandling the family finances and driving them into debt *

as Tourmaline Larou, Vignette's friend and former lover, Poet Laureate of Tirnanoc, and a

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

at the Tetterby Hotel in Carnival Row * Arty Froushan as Jonah Breakspear, Absalom's son who rebels against his controlling father * Caroline Ford as Sophie Longerbane, the power-seeking daughter of Ritter Longerbane *

as Piety Breakspear, Absalom's manipulative wife who seeks to enshrine her family's legacy *

as Absalom Breakspear (season 1), the chancellor of the Republic of the Burgue

Recurring

Alice Krige Alice Maud Krige (; born 28 June 1954) is a South African actress and producer. Her first feature film role was in '' Chariots of Fire'' (1981) as the Gilbert and Sullivan singer Sybil Gordon. She played the dual role of Eva Galli/Alma Mobley i ...

as Aoife Tsigani, a

Haruspex In the religion of ancient Rome, a haruspex (plural haruspices; also called aruspex) was a person trained to practise a form of divination called haruspicy (''haruspicina''), the inspection of the entrails ('' exta''—hence also extispicy ...

(or

witch Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...

) in the service of Piety Breakspear * Jamie Harris as Sergeant Dombey, a constable under the rank of sergeant known to harbor racist beliefs against the Fae and despises Philo for sympathizing with them *

Ariyon Bakare Ariyon Bakare () is an English actor. He has appeared in the BBC soap opera '' Doctors'' (2001–2005) as Ben Kwarme, the Amazon Prime series ''Good Omens'' and ''Carnival Row'' (2019), and the BBC series ''His Dark Materials''. Prior to this, ...

as Darius Sykes, Philo's old friend and a former soldier of the Burgue now held in captive luxury due to having been bitten by a Marrok (a type of wolf-man) during the war *

Maeve Dermody Maeve Dermody ( ; born 2 November 1985) is a UK-based Australian actress. After a film appearance at 5 years old, her adult acting career has included work in Australian and British television, theatre, short films, and movies. She characterises ...

as Portia Fyfe, Philo's

landlady A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the t ...

whose romantic advances he frequently rebuffs * Waj Ali as Constable Berwick, Philo's timid partner who nevertheless remains loyal to him * James Beaumont as Constable Cuppins, a constable who finds Philo's interest in the Fae unnatural *

Tracey Wilkinson Tracey Wilkinson is an English actress primarily known for her role as Di Barker in the series '' Bad Girls''. She joined the prison drama in Series 2 as a caring prison officer new to G-Wing, but by the end of her time on the programme in Series 7 ...

as Afissa, the "Puck" housemaid and cook to the Spurnroses *

Leanne Best Leanne Best (born 15 June 1979) is an English actress. She is the niece of former Beatle, Pete Best. She trained at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts and presently lives in South West (London sub region), southwest London. She is kno ...

as Madame Moira, the proprietor of The Tetterby Hotel, which she uses as a brothel *

Anna Rust Anna Rust (born 3 May 1995) is an English actress and filmmaker. She began her career as a child actress in the ITV drama ''Doctor Zhivago'' (2002) and the film ''The Brothers Grimm'' (2005). She has since appeared in the Amazon Prime series ''C ...

as Fleury, a Pix courtesan at Moira's brothel *

Mark Lewis Jones Mark Lewis Jones (born 31 August, 1964) is a Welsh actor, whose roles include that of a First Order Captain Moden Canady in '' Star Wars: The Last Jedi'', a police inspector in BBC drama series ''55 Degrees North'', a whaler in the film '' Mast ...

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

Flute, the head constable in the Burgue who urges solidarity amongst his officers and frequently butts heads with Philo over his concern for the Fae's welfare *

Theo Barklem-Biggs Theo Barklem-Biggs (born 21 March 1990) is a British television and film actor from London. He has performed both comedic and dramatic roles. Career He made his debut television appearance in ''The Bill '' in 2008. He appeared in '' EastEnders, ...

as Cabal, a "Puck" malcontent seeking to bring his brethren together *

Ronan Vibert Ronan David Jackson Vibert (23 February 1964 – 22 December 2022) was an English actor who was known for his appearances in films and on British and American television. Early life He was born in Cambridge, on 23 February 1964, the son of Dil ...

as Ritter Longerbane, Sophie's father, Absalom Breakspear's primary political opponent, and longtime advocate of Fae subjugation *

Chloe Pirrie Chloe Pirrie (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish actress. She has played main roles in the 2014 miniseries '' The Game'', the 2012 film ''Shell'', and the 2015 television film ''An Inspector Calls''. She has also appeared in the 2016 miniseries ...

as Dahlia, the ruthless Fae leader of the Black Raven * Scott Reid as Quilliam ("Quill"), a "Puck"

footman A footman is a male domestic worker employed mainly to wait at table or attend a coach or carriage. Etymology Originally in the 14th century a footman denoted a soldier or any pedestrian, later it indicated a foot servant. A running footman deli ...

, unjustly dismissed by the Chancellor, who turns to radicalism * Sinead Phelps as Jenila, Sophie Longerbane's "Puck" lady's maid * Jim High as Fergus, a human servant in Mr. Agreus's household * Erika Starkova as Aisling Querelle, Philo's mother and a once-famous Pix singer turned to the life of a scavenger

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2

Production

Development

On January 9, 2015,

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

signed a development deal for the series which, at the time had Guillermo del Toro on board as a co-writer, executive producer, and director. The series, set to be co-written by del Toro, Travis Beacham, and Rene Echeverria, is based on a feature film

written by Beacham, entitled ''A Killing on Carnival Row''. The company ordered three scripts with the expectation that if the series went into production del Toro would direct the first episode. On June 6, 2016, the production was given a pilot order with the previously announced creative team still set to be involved. On May 10, 2017, the production was given a series order with Beacham and Echeverria still executive producing, and with Echeverria expected to act as showrunner. Filmmaker Paul McGuigan was set to direct the series. By this point, del Toro had stepped away from the project, as his feature film schedule did not permit him to stay on as an executive producer as the project moved forward. On November 10, 2017, filmmaker

Jon Amiel Jon Amiel (born 20 May 1948) is an English director who has worked in film and television in both the UK and the US. After receiving a BAFTA Award nomination for the BBC series ''The Singing Detective'' (1986), he went on to direct films, inclu ...

replaced McGuigan as director. In July 2019, Amazon renewed the series for a second season. In November 2022, Amazon announced that the second season would serve as the series' last.

Casting

In August 2017, Orlando Bloom and

were cast in the series' two lead roles. On September 22, 2017, it was reported that

, and

had joined the main cast. In October 2017, it was announced that

, and

had been cast in recurring roles. On November 3, 2017, it was reported

was joining the series in a recurring capacity. On December 15, 2017, it was announced that

and Jamie Harris had been cast in recurring roles. On January 30, 2018, it was reported that Scott Reid had joined the cast as a series regular. On October 8, 2018, it was reported that

had joined the cast in a recurring capacity.

Filming

The series spent almost five months in pre-production before filming began. The series was shot entirely in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

throughout 108 shooting days. Principal photography began in October 2017. Much of the work was done at the

Barrandov Studios Barrandov Studios is a set of film studios in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest film studio in the country and one of the largest in Europe. Several major Hollywood productions have been made here, including '' Mission Impossible'', ' ...

in Prague, while locations included the city of Liberec, the chateaux in

Frýdlant Frýdlant (; also known as Frýdlant v Čechách, german: Friedland in Böhmen) is a town in Liberec District in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,400 inhabitants. The town centre is well preserved and is protected by law a ...

and

Krnsko Krnsko is a municipality and village in Mladá Boleslav District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 600 inhabitants. Administrative parts The village of Řehnice is an administrative part of Krnov. Geography Krnsko ...

, and at the

Prachov Rocks The Prachov Rocks ( cs, Prachovské skály) are a rock formation in the Czech Republic approximately 5 kilometres west of Jičín. Since 1933, they have been a protected natural reserve. The region where the formations are located is called Bohemi ...

(Prachovské skály) area. Filming for the first season concluded on March 14, 2018. Production on the second season commenced in November 2019 but was halted in March 2020 due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identifie ...

. As of the first week of May, preparations for resumption of production were underway. However, by June 2020, Amazon had yet to resume production on the series. Upon production halting due to the pandemic, the production team were reportedly three weeks away from concluding filming for the season. Filming for the second season continued in August 2020 in the Czech Republic. Production for the second season again resumed in May 2021 in the Czech Republic to film the remaining scenes which involved Orlando Bloom, who was not available in 2020 due to the birth of his child. In a February 2021 interview, Tamzin Merchant revealed that only five out of eight episodes were wrapped up. Filming for the second season officially wrapped in September 2021.

Release

On June 3, 2019, it was announced that the series would premiere on August 30, 2019. The second season is set to premiere on February 17, 2023, with episodes releasing weekly in batches of two episodes.

Reception

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, ''Carnival Row'' holds a 57% approval rating based on 68 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Beautiful, but bloated, ''Carnival Row'' boasts meticulously crafted mythology and luscious world building—unfortunately its story of haves and have nots simply has too much going on to create anything cohesive." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the series has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Sam Brooks of the New Zealand-based ''The Spinoff'' noted that the premise of the show is "a mish-mash of influences and inspirations, from Neil Gaiman to ''

Mortal Engines ''Mortal Engines'' is a young-adult science fantasy novel by Philip Reeve, published by Scholastic UK in 2001. The book focuses on a futuristic, steampunk version of London, now a giant machine striving to survive on a world that is runni ...

'' (the novels not the film)".

Accolades

''Carnival Row'' was nominated for Best Genre Series at the 2020 Satellite Awards.

Other media

* ''Carnival Row: Tangle in the Dark'' – An audiobook about the first meeting of Tourmaline and Vignette * ''Carnival Row: From the Dark'' – A comic starring Rycroft * ''Carnival Row: Sparrowhawk'' – A comic starring Vignette * ''Carnival Row'' – A roleplaying setting for the Cypher System by Monte Cook Games * ''Tales of Carnival Row'' – A graphic novel anthology set in the Burgue.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carnival Row 2010s American drama television series 2010s American supernatural television series 2019 American television series debuts Amazon Prime Video original programming Dark fantasy television series English-language television shows Neo-noir television series Steampunk television series Television about magic Television series by Amazon Studios Television series by Legendary Television Television shows filmed in the Czech Republic Television series created by Travis Beacham Television series about immigration