Carnivàle

TV-MA

24 episodes2 seasons

US Release

~ Into each generation is born a creature of light and a creature of darkness. ~

Overview:

Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar.

Created by:

Daniel Knauf

Status:

Canceled

Language:

English

First air date:

9/14/2003

Last air date:

3/27/2005

Key words:

tarot cards
carnival
striptease
great depression
surrealism
period drama
carny
dust bowl
reverend
circus freak
dark fantasy
dark secret
freak show
1930s
supernatural power

Seasons

Specials

3 Episodes

Season 1

12 Episodes

Season 2

12 Episodes

Cast

Nick Stahl

~ as ~

Ben Hawkins

Clancy Brown

~ as ~

Brother Justin

Michael J. Anderson

~ as ~

Samson

Adrienne Barbeau

~ as ~

Ruthie

Debra Christofferson

~ as ~

Lila

Tim DeKay

~ as ~

Clayton Jones

Clea DuVall

~ as ~

Sofie

Cynthia Ettinger

~ as ~

Rita Sue Dreifuss

Carla Gallo

~ as ~

Libby Dreifuss

Toby Huss

~ as ~

Stumpy Dreifuss

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

t
tsdenizen
Written 1 year(s) ago
7
This show was insanely cool and had the potential to be one of HBO's best ever shows. Seriously, I'd take these two seasons over just about anything the premium channel has put out. There's a level of creativity and thoughtfulness that is near unheard of in TV. Unfortunately, these seasons amount to god-tier set-up for shit-hits-the-fan moments that we never got to see. As soon as we were going to get some big pay-offs, Carnivàle was cancelled. Nobody watched it: it was too slow, too smart, too weird for its time. This is one of the biggest creative what-ifs ever in my opinion. I still love these seasons, but rewatching them know that the story doesn't get its proper end isn't too appealing. Still can't rate it lower though: what we got was way too good.