Why Carnival Row was cancelled ahead of season 3
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When Carnival Row was first announced by Prime Video in 2017, it sounded exactly like the kind of slick and stylish fantasy mystery that new cult faves are made of.
It had a bit of everything – a distinct sense of style, (a fantasy world that looked ever-so-slightly like Victorian England), a love story between lead characters played by A-list stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne, and an allegory for immigration and racism.
But in November 2022, it was quietly confirmed the upcoming second season would be the show's last, with the words "final season" suddenly popping up alongside announcements. So what happened?
Here's what we know about Carnival Row's cancellation, and the chances of it being picked up elsewhere…
Carnival Row: Why has the show been cancelled ahead of season 3?
When Carnival Row finally dropped on Prime Video in August 2019, it met with critical feelings best described as "meh".
Earning a 57% score on Rotten Tomatoes, critics had no doubt about the amount of time and money that had gone into bringing this steampunk-style world to life, but ultimately criticised it for having more style than substance.
Granted, it fared better with fans, but the team had their work cut out for them if they were to turn Carnival Row into a long-term venture.
It was clear there was confidence in the series – so much so Prime Video confirmed season two was on its way a full month before the first eight episodes launched.
But when the series did finally drop, the results were mixed across the board. According to aggregate site FlixPatrol, the show lasted a full month in Prime Video's Top 10 over in the US, but didn't last longer than a single day in the UK. In the Czech Republic, where the show is filmed, it remained in the top 10 for just under a year, managing an impressive 362 days in their rankings before finally dropping out.
So room for improvement but not a total bust – and so with room to grow, off they went into production in November 2019.
Carnival Row season two was well under way and only had a few weeks to go when suddenly they were unceremoniously shut down in March 2020. You guessed it – the pandemic kicked in, and suddenly the cast were having to rush back to the US and quarantine, given only a couple of days' notice before the US/Europe travel ban kicked in.
Orlando Bloom confirmed the news from his trailer, filming the team for his Instagram as he encouraged fans to "keep their chins up".
The optimistic actor did a shot with pals and told those watching: "Big love everybody, stay safe out there! Self-quarantine. It seems really crazy actually this whole corona thing but do the right thing by you and your family and stay safe."
He added: "in a few weeks we'll beat this bad boy". Oh Orlando, if only you knew.
Over the next year and a half, the cast and crew would be pulled in and out of finishing up the project, and then doing reshoots. Prague principal photography finally concluded in August 2020 (via Variety), but reshoots and filming continued all the way through to September 2021, when Orlando shared a video of him shaving off his character Philo's beard and saying goodbye with behind-the-scenes pics from Prague's Barrandov Studios.
From there the series went quiet while the team were hard at work in post-production – with visual effects being put in place as season two finally, two years on from season one's release, started taking shape.
But then in November 2022, as the first look clips and teaser trailer of Carnival Row finally materialised, there were two big noticeable pieces of news.
1) The series would be extended from eight episodes to ten.
2) This would be the final season of Carnival Row.
Announced with very little pomp or ceremony, the show largely set up to be Prime Video's success story – in line with Netflix's Stranger Things – was snuffed out after just 18 episodes.
While official reasons have not been given, there must have been a significant financial impact on the series thanks to Covid lockdowns, start-ups and reshoots. With the budget already pretty high and in need in other areas, like special effects, stunt teams and costumes for the supernatural and human characters, the sudden new demand for face masks and Covid-monitors on-set could have tipped them over budget.
That's before factoring in last-minute schedule changes, should one of the leading cast members test positive and no longer be allowed on the set, and the deep cleans the sets would have had to go through if a breakout occurred.
As season two launches this week, it's probably best to make most of this fantasy world while you're still allowed in it.
How to watch Carnival Row
Carnival Row is available exclusively on Amazon's streaming service, Prime Video.
Don't worry if you're not a subscriber as you can sign up for £8.99 a month, or £95 for an entire year, which will give you access to all Prime Video has to offer, alongside other Amazon Prime benefits like faster delivery.
What's even better is that if you've never subscribed to Prime or haven't signed up in the past 12 months, you can get a 30-day free trial.
You will be charged automatically when the trial is up, so make sure to cancel if you don't want to continue.
Carnival Row season 2 launches 17 February on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping every Friday.
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