Amazon’s new streaming series ‘Carnival Row’ is set in Victorian London, which has been overrun by magical creatures who have fled there after their own homelands have been invaded and conquered by humans. Orlando Bloom stars as human Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate, who was one of the soldiers that invaded these fantasy lands, where he engages in a forbidden romance with faerie Vignette Stonemoss, played by Cara Delevingne. Now, in the “real world,” Philo and Vignette are pulled together again, as he investigates a series of brutal murders of magical beings in Carnival Row.
But they aren’t the only characters, of course. David Gyasi portrays the enigmatic and ambitious Puck, Agreus Astrayon, who despite his wealth is still an outcast due to his horned appearance. Tamzin Merchant plays Imogen Spurnrose, who allies herself with Agreus to get ahead.
RELATED: EPs Discuss How Orlando Bloom And Cara Delevingne “Disappear Into Their Roles” On ‘Carnival Row’
The series is based on a spec script for a movie, written by Travis Beacham, who acts as an executive producer on the series, along with Marc Guggenheim. Speaking to Collider regarding the first season, Guggenheim sang Gyasi’s praise, stating:
“When you’re writing for a cast that is this talented, it is very, very tempting and easy to just be like, “Tamzin [Merchant] will make it work. I don’t have to work too hard on this scene.” It’s a great gift to know that your cast is just gonna elevate everything that you do…
“And then, you have David Gyasi, who plays Agreus, and he’s literally unrecognizable, and not because we put him in horns and put a mustache on him. He’s unrecognizable because he carried himself differently and his voice dropped 20 octaves. It’s a complete transformation, which is magical to see. People have never seen David in a role like this before. Those who know him from Interstellar are gonna be like, “Wait, that’s the guy from Interstellar?”
Beacham added:
“I always had a likeability problem with Imogen, writing her. I didn’t really like her, until I saw Tamzin’s audition and thought, ‘Oh, there’s a weirdness and quirkiness to this character.’ The cast was always teaching us things about their characters, and that’s incredibly fun to write. And you’re right, we have so many new faces, familiar faces, and faces that are familiar in a distant way. We have an incredible cast. I’m really excited about them.”
The first season of ‘Carnival Row’ is only eight episodes long, but Amazon has already ordered a second helping. Are you a fan so far?
You can stream the first season of ‘Carnival Row’ on Amazon now.
