Amazon Prime Video is confident in its new fantasy series ‘Carnival Row’. The streaming service has been heavily promoting it for two weeks at San Diego Comic-Con and the Television Critics Association press tour, and now, ahead of its premiere on August 30, Amazon has already ordered a second season. This follows the early renewal of another ambitious series, the sci-fi program ‘The Expanse‘, which Amazon adopted after Syfy canceled it after three seasons.
The first season of ‘Carnival Row’ only consists of eight episodes, so Amazon may feel that it needs to get at least two seasons in order to justify the hefty cost of this period fantasy series. In the story, humans have invaded and decimated the fairy tale lands, with its mystical inhabitants forced to take refuge in the real world, in Victorian London. But these mystical beings are treated as less-than-human scum and relegated to the filthy ghetto of Carnival Row.
RELATED: Orlando Bloom And Cara Delevigne’s Characters Each Get Their Own Trailer For ‘Carnival Row’
Orlando Bloom stars as human Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate, who was one of the soldiers that invaded these fantasy lands, but now works as a detective, investigating a string of brutal killings in Carnival Row. Cara Delevingne plays his past and present forbidden lover, the faerie Vignette Stonemoss.
Despite the old London setting, Bloom believes the show will resonate with modern audiences in a way that is too close to home for comfort.
“It looks at the fear that people have. I think there’s so much fear in the world today about immigrants, migrants, how are they going to come into our society.”
Not only did Amazon renew ‘Carnival Row’ early, but it has released a new trailer, set to Billie Eilish’s song ‘Bury A Friend’. Check it out below:
Amazon seems to be putting a lot of faith in ambitious shows like ‘Carnival Row’ and ‘The Expanse’, as it has simultaneously axed some under-performing mid-tier shows: Matthew Weiner’s ‘The Romanoffs’ (which was planned as an anthology), comedy ‘Forever’ starring Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen, political satire ‘Patriot’, horror anthology ‘Lore’, and cop series ‘Too Old to Die Young’, starring Miles Teller.
Season 1 will arrive on Amazon on August 30.
Source: Deadline
