Carnival Row (TV Series)

''Carnival Row'' is an American neo-noir fantasy television series created by René Echevarria and Travis Beacham, based on Beacham's unproduced film spec script, ''A Killing on Carnival Row''. The series stars Orlando Bloom, Cara Delevingne, Simon McBurney, Tamzin Merchant, David Gyasi, Andrew Gower, Karla Crome, Arty Froushan, Indira Varma, and Jared Harris. 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.
* Cara Delevingne 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.
* Simon McBurney as Runyon Millworthy, a human street performer and master of a troupe of kobolds
* David Gyasi as Agreus Astrayon, a wealthy faun (also known by their derogatory name of " Puck") shunned by Burgue high society for his appearance and origin
* Tamzin Merchant as Imogen Spurnrose, an heiress who becomes involved with Agreus to support her lifestyle
* Andrew Gower as Ezra Spurnrose, Imogen's brother whom she blames for mishandling the family finances and driving them into debt
* Karla Crome as Tourmaline Larou, Vignette's friend and former lover, Poet Laureate of Tirnanoc, and a courtesan 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
* Indira Varma as Piety Breakspear, Absalom's manipulative wife who seeks to enshrine her family's legacy
* Jared Harris as Absalom Breakspear (season 1), the chancellor of the Republic of the Burgue

Recurring

* Alice Krige as Aoife Tsigani, a Haruspex (or witch) 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 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 as Portia Fyfe, Philo's landlady 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 as Afissa, the "Puck" housemaid and cook to the Spurnroses
* Leanne Best as Madame Moira, the proprietor of The Tetterby Hotel, which she uses as a brothel
* Anna Rust as Fleury, a Pix courtesan at Moira's brothel
* Mark Lewis Jones as Magistrate 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 as Cabal, a "Puck" malcontent seeking to bring his brethren together
* Ronan Vibert as Ritter Longerbane, Sophie's father, Absalom Breakspear's primary political opponent, and longtime advocate of Fae subjugation
* Chloe Pirrie as Dahlia, the ruthless Fae leader of the Black Raven
* Scott Reid as Quilliam ("Quill"), a "Puck" footman, 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 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 spec script 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 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 Cara Delevingne were cast in the series' two lead roles. On September 22, 2017, it was reported that David Gyasi, Karla Crome, Indira Varma, and Tamzin Merchant had joined the main cast. In October 2017, it was announced that Simon McBurney, Alice Krige, and Jared Harris had been cast in recurring roles. On November 3, 2017, it was reported Ariyon Bakare was joining the series in a recurring capacity. On December 15, 2017, it was announced that Andrew Gower 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 Anna Rust 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 throughout 108 shooting days. Principal photography began in October 2017. Much of the work was done at the Barrandov Studios in Prague, while locations included the city of Liberec, the chateaux in Frýdlant and Krnsko, and at the Prachov Rocks (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. 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

On Rotten Tomatoes, ''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, 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'' (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

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{{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