By the end of 2023, all Carnival Row audiences needed to know was the fate of the show’s season 3. Carnival Row was one of Amazon Prime Video’s top shows after it premiered on August 30, 2019. Unlike several other fantasy projects, Carnival Row wasn’t adapted from pre-existing, best-selling novels.
The René Echevarria and Travis Beacham-created TV series is based on Beacham’s spec script, A Killing on Carnival Row. The TV series is set in a world where humans and mythology beings struggle to coexist. At the center of it all is a detective looking to solve growing murders in society. With season 2’s finale on March 17, 2023, here’s everything to know about Carnival Row season 3 and the show’s fate.
What Is Carnival Row About?
The urban fantasy show occurs after the war between humans, fae, and fauns. Tirnanoc is the home of the fae, which has rich natural resources, and humans living in the Republic of Burgue. The Great War sees humans invade Tirnanoc for resources, causing the fae population to flee their homeland and settle in the Burgue city, Carnival Row. A mysterious force alliance known as “The Pact,” who were on the other side of Tirnanoc, succeeded in defeating the invading humans, forcing them out of Tirnanoc.
As many fae take refuge in Carnival Row, it causes a refugee problem for the human population. Despite the hostility from the human population, it’s safer in Carnival Row than returning to meet the evil The Pact members and risk extermination in Tirnanoc. The government of the Republic of Burgue is torn between sheltering the fae refugees (since they started the Great War in the first place) and leaving the fae to fend for themselves away from Carnival Row.
Carnival Row’s protagonist, Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate (Orlando Bloom), is a veteran of the Great War and an inspector of the Burgue Constabulary. The series begins with Philo trying to solve a growing number of fae and human murders. Although passing as a human, Philo is half-fae and known to have an underlying love towards the fae, much to the aversion of his colleagues. Carnival Row’s secondary character, Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne), is a fae, a war veteran, and Philo’s ex-girlfriend. Displaced from her homeland of Tirnanoc, she shares a different ideology about humans and quickly aligns with a terrorist group known as Black Raven.
How Did Carnival Row Season 2 End?
Although Philo and Vignette remained the show’s protagonists in Carnival Row season 2, much of the episodes focused on Tourmaline Larou (Karla Crome). Tourmaline is a fae with abilities to see the future and prevent transformations. Tourmaline is Vignette’s former lover and close friend. Several other creatures, such as elves, werewolves, and goblin-like creatures, are introduced in season 2. In season 2, it is established, thanks to Tourmaline’s abilities, that a shape-shifting Sparas is responsible for the killings in Carnival Row. The Sparas is disguised as Mikulas Vir (Andrew Buchan), a Major in The Pact army in The Burgue, to secure a weapons deal.
Philo and Vignette put aside their conflicting principles to fight the Sparas, stopping the killings and saving Tourmaline’s life. To this end, Philo let the shape-shifting Sparas swallow him before fatally shooting it from within. Although Philo is shot in the back by Constable Thatch (Ryan Hayes), Sergeant Dombey shoots Thatch dead in the head. Philo recovered but declined the offered position as Chancellor. Carnival Row season 2 ends with Vignette and Tourmaline returning to their homeland of Tirnanoc.
Will There Be Carnival Row Season 3?
Despite its relative success and growing popularity, Carnival Row will not have a season 3. Although the showrunners had earlier intended to expand the show beyond season 2, Carnival Row was plagued by unforeseen circumstances. If anything, as a show of faith in the show, Amazon renewed Carnival Row season 2 in July 2019, before season 1 premiered on August 30, 2019.
However, the over two-year wait for season 2 was the first indication that the production was not going well. Amazon announced in November 2022 that season 2 would be released as the show’s final season. Simply put, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly affected the dynamics of Carnival Row, from production to storyline. Although Amazon was initially committed to the show, the pandemic greatly increased production costs, causing Amazon to back out of the project.
If there’s anything television audiences have learned over the years, reboot/revival shows are always possible. Whether Carnival Row will get a new home in another network or if Amazon will ever consider continuing with the project is open to fate. Despite the curtains drawn for Carnival Row season 3, TV audiences can look forward to Netflix’s Squid Game TV series follow-up seasons.
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