Carnival Row hit Amazon Prime Video in August last year and brought viewers fans a new steampunk influenced slant on the fantasy genre.
The themes of racism, imperialism, and social upheaval explored in the series are perhaps even more relevant in the current climate, especially in America.
With only eight episodes in the first season, fans were left wanting more. The good news is that there will be a second season, although the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed it somewhat.
What is Carnival Row?
Carnival Row is a fantasy series that takes place in a European-looking location known as Burgue (shot in Prague) that has a mix of humans and mythical creatures.
The focus on the series is the mythical creatures who live in Carnival Row after fleeing their war-ravaged homeland in search of safety.
Sadly, as is the case in the real world, when the immigrants show up in the new land looking for shelter, they find nothing but hatred and more danger there.
The plot of the first season was a murder investigation where the mythological creatures find themselves as the targets of humans who can’t see the evil in themselves.
Orlando Bloom stars as Philo, who is investigating the unsolved murders and a sympathizer to the fae in the area. Cara Delevingne is Vignette, a fae who is also Philo’s former lover.
Is there going to be a Season 2 of Carnival Row?
Carnival Row was renewed for a second season, although The Hollywood Reporter revealed that significant changes were made.
Marc Guggenheim (Arrow), who ran the series’ first season, stepped down and was replaced by new showrunner Erik Oleson (The Man in the High Castle).
Also, co-creator Travis Beacham left due to creative differences.
The good news is that Cara Delevingne said that the second season is “so good.”
In an interview with Variety, Delevingne said that “The second season is going to be so good, but I don’t know when we’re going to finish it. And probably not until the winter, because it has to be cold outside and snowing and miserable.”
She knows this because all but two episodes of the second season have been shot.
Release date latest: When is Carnival Row Season 2 likely to come out?
It looks like the second season of Carnival Row won’t be here until 2021.
The good news is that unlike many planned shows that saw production shut down before getting started, Carnival Row was already filming the second season when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Six of the eight Season 2 episodes are finished — at least as far as Delevingne shooting them. There might still be a lot of post-production and effects work considering the magical elements.
The filming is in Prague, so once coronavirus concerns allow production to restart, the final two episodes can be shot, and post-production should carry the Carnival Row release into 2021.
Carnival Row Season 2 cast updates
Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne are expected to return in the lead roles of Philo and Vignette.
Also returning in one way or another are David Gyasi and Tamzin Merchant as Argus and Imogen.
There should also be expanded roles for both Arty Froushan as Jonah Breakspear and Caroline Ford as Sophie Longerbane in Carnival Row Season 2 as well.
Carnival Row spoilers
With creator Travis Beacham leaving, things look scary for Carnival Row fans, even with Delevingne so excited about the show’s direction.
This is because Carnival Row arrived at Amazon Prime Video based on the Hollywood Blacklist script from 2005 and the excitement his story promised.
With that in mind, here is what we know.
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Carnival Row takes place in Burge, on a fictional continent called Mesogeo. The fae (which is not the same as fae in fantasy literature, but instead a catch-all for mythological creatures in the show) used to be the dominant race before humans took over.
Thanks to a war ravaging their land, many of the faes went to Burge for safety. They found hatred and intolerance there. This includes The Hardtackers, which are supremacists and racists who hate anyone different.
The main plot is a murder mystery, with Philo, an inspector who likes the fae in general, searching for the killer.
This led to the finale of Season 1, where someone frames Philo for the murders. He is imprisoned, and it turns out that the Chancellor of the Republic of Burgue, Absalom Breakspear, is Philo’s dad, and the first victim of the evil Dark Asher was his mother, the fae singer Aisling.
It turned out that Abselom’s wife Piety created the Dark Asher monster. She did it due to a prophecy from a witch in her past that the son of the Chancellor would become greater than his father.
When she realized it was Philo and not her son Jonah, she set out to destroy all fae, hoping it would kill Philo before the prophecy could come true.
The season ended with Vignette killing Piety, and Philo defeated the Dark Asher.
However, the season ended with a twist.
A group of fae extremists tried to kill Absalom, and the fae imprisoned in Carnival Row, with the threat to kill any who attempts to leave. Philo chooses to leave the humans and live with the fae so he can remain with Vignette.
Season 2 will follow this new way of living as well as looking into who the real villain was all along. It was Jonah’s half-sister Sophie Longerbane who sent the letter that drove Piety to madness and created the Dark Asher.
Her father was the leader of the opposition, Ritter Longerbane, and the war is just starting.
Carnival Row Season 2 should hit Amazon Prime in 2021.
It’s disappointing only in the wait for the next season! It’s bad enough that these new series are brought out with extremely short seasons to begin with! I get the feeling of not just wanting more, but of getting cheated as well!
Thanks for the update! I never ever watch “TV” but Carnival Row is too good to not like.