Carnivàle

2003–2005 · Science Fiction & Fantasy, Drama, Mystery · 2 seasons · ★ 7.9

Canceled

+18

Synopsis of Carnivàle

In the American South during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Ben Hawkins is a young farmhand who ends up joining a traveling carnival. There, carnival workers, people with unusual traits, a family-run burlesque show and vaudeville performers coexist, and they all welcome him as one of their own. Ben carries dreams that disturb him and a healing power that frightens him. Meanwhile, in California, Methodist preacher Justin Crowe lives with his sister Iris in a sheltered world where poverty has given way to prosperity. When his own visions begin, the paths of the two main characters seem destined to cross. Created by Daniel Knauf for HBO, the series explores the battle between good and evil and the clash between fate and free will, with Nick Stahl and Clancy Brown as its leads.

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

2seasons

24episodes

54 minper episode

7.9audience scoreTMDB · 476 votes

8.4IMDb rating50,051 votes

Seasons of Carnivàle

Season 12003 · 12 eps · ★ 7.3

Season 22005 · 12 eps · ★ 7.2

Cast by Carnivàle

Nick StahlBen Hawkins24 episodes

Michael J. AndersonSamson24 episodes

Clea DuVallSofie24 episodes

Cynthia EttingerRita Sue Dreifuss24 episodes

Carla GalloLibby Dreifuss24 episodes

Adrienne BarbeauRuthie24 episodes

Amy MadiganIris Crowe24 episodes

Debra ChristoffersonLila24 episodes

Brian TurkGabriel24 episodes

Clancy BrownBrother Justin Crowe24 episodes

Tim DeKayClayton 'Jonesy' Jones24 episodes

Toby HussFelix 'Stumpy' Dreifuss24 episodes

Patrick BauchauProfessor Ernst Lodz13 episodes

Diane SalingerApollonia12 episodes

John FleckGecko12 episodes

Karyne StebenAlexandria12 episodes

Sarah StebenCaladonia12 episodes

John Carroll LynchVarlyn Stroud12 episodes

Robert KnepperTommy Dolan12 episodes

Bill MoseleyPossum7 episodes

Scott MacDonaldBurley7 episodes

Amanda AdayDora Mae Dreifuss6 episodes

K CallanEleanor McGill5 episodes

John SavageHenry 'Hack' Scudder5 episodes

Ralph WaiteReverend Norman Balthus5 episodes

Michael MasseeRussian Soldier4 episodes

Blake ShieldsOsgood3 episodes

Don SwayzeTattooed Man3 episodes

Valeria HernandezCatalina de la Rosa3 episodes

Eliza Pryor NagelCeleste Watkins3 episodes

Richard FancyPsychiatrist2 episodes

Spencer GarrettYoung Balthus2 episodes

John HannahStangler2 episodes

John DoePhineas Boffo2 episodes

Erin SandersIrina2 episodes

Linda HuntManagement (voice)2 episodes

Glenn ShadixCouncilman Val Templeton2 episodes

Bree WalkerSabina Engstrom2 episodes

Leo FitzpatrickErn2 episodes

John AylwardBishop McNaughton2 episodes

Technical Details

Created by: Daniel Knauf
Address: Rodrigo García, Jeremy Podeswa, Scott Winant, John Patterson, Jack Bender
Writing: Daniel Knauf, Nicole Yorkin, Dawn Prestwich, William Schmidt, Ronald D. Moore
Music: Jeff Beal
Photography: Jeffrey Jur, James Glennon, Tami Reiker
Production: Howard Klein, Ronald D. Moore
Production companies: 3 Arts Entertainment, HBO
Network or Platform: HBO
Country: United States
Original Language: English
Premiere: September 14, 2003
Last Episode: March 27, 2005 (2x12)
Status: Canceled
Type: Fiction
Awards: Won 5 Emmy Awards; 14 wins and 26 nominations in total.
Links: IMDb · TMDB · Official Website

Trivia about Carnivàle

The pilot drew 5.3 million viewers on its premiere, the best debut for an HBO original series up to that point.

In 2004, the series won five Emmy Awards out of fifteen nominations.

The cancellation prompted more than 50 000 emails to the network over a single weekend, sent by fans demanding a renewal.

The theme song was composed by Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman, members of The Revolution, and released on an album by the record label Varèse Sarabande.

HBO spent around US$4 million on the budget for each episode, well above what most television series receive.

Filming of the second episode was delayed by fourteen months due to lengthy creative disputes between the writers and the network.

Clea DuVall landed the role of Sofie after four auditions, although the character had originally been written as an exotic Gypsy girl.

Daniel Knauf conceived “Carnivàle” as a six-season story, divided into three arcs of two seasons each, but HBO canceled it after airing 24 episodes.

Sources: Wikipedia (English) · Wikipedia (Spanish)