Carnival Row has not even been released yet but season 2 has already been confirmed. Does that predict that this new Amazon Prime show is a hit and potentially the Game of Thrones replacement? Or have Amazon already started running before they have even walked? Only time will tell, but here is what we can expect to find from the new show.
The Storyline
Mythical creatures have fled their homes after loosing a war against humans. They end up in a city called the Burgue, where tensions between citizens are high, and there has been a string of unsolved murders. The series follows a detective (Rycroft Philostrate) trying to solve these murders and a fairy (Vignette Stonemoss) who is a refugee fleeing her war-torn home. In addition, they have a history together. As a matter of fact it seems Philostrate left Stonemoss behind during the war.
The Making of Carnival Row
In January 2015, it was announced by Amazon that they have signed a development deal for a series called Carnival Row. The confirmed team were Guillermo del Toro, Travis Beacham and Rene Echevarria. It was revealed that Beacham had written this as a feature film while he was in film school 17 years ago and never realised that it would be the thing that would do well out of his work. It was 5 years ago that it was suggested to him to make it into a TV series. In 2017, it was announced that Paul McGuigan would be directing the series. However at the same time, it was also announced that del Toro would be stepping down from the show due to his schedule. Later in 2017, it was also announced that Jon Amiel had replaced Paul McGuigan as director. Production for season 1 finished in March 2018.
The Cast
Staring Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne. Bloom is best known for his roles in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’. Starting out as a model, Delevingne quit modelling to pursue an acting career. Some of her films include ‘Paper Towns’, ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousan Planets’. Other cast members include Tamzin Merchant who has starred in ‘The Tudors’ and ‘Salem’ and Indira Varma best known for her role in ‘Game of Thrones’.
David Gyasi, previously in ‘Dark Knight’, has also been cast and recently revealed that he listened to Jay-Z to get in to his character. It turns out that he had read the pilot 5 years ago and loved it. “I feel Jay Z, whatever your flavour, stands out there on his own as a hip-hop artist, and there is an element reflected in Agreus being the only person that looks like him in this place and in his clothes.”
The Episodes
There are 8 episodes in the first season, with Amazon already confirming season 2 will happen.
The Setting
The series is set in a victorian style city which is filled with mythical creatures in a fantasy land. Including a Puck, Trow, Haruspex and Faeries. The city in this fantasy land is called ‘The Burgue’.
The hidden themes
Carnival Row has a lot of hidden themes but the main one seems to be its themes around immigration. Speaking at Comic Con, Bloom said that the series “addresses a lot of what we are experiencing today but with the added component of a fantasy period.”
Trivia
The show has been compared to Game of Thrones, however it was actually written before the first Game of Thrones book was even released. Although this may be true, it has not stopped critics from comparing the two as every channel is fighting to have the next Game of Thrones success. However, critics have already been saying that this is no way similar to that of the Game of Thrones potential. Of course, that is for us, the viewer, to decide.
