In the recent vein of many film and television properties, it seems that mixing genres or themes is working out the best for many studios. Carnival Row from Amazon Studios is no different. Marvel Studios has built their empire upon taking one theme or idea and mixing it with superheroes. Carnival Row stars Cara Delevingne (Suicide Squad, Valerian) and Orlando Bloom (Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings) as it’s two leads. Delevingne plays Vignette Stonemoss, a faerie refugee. Bloom plays Rycroft Philostrate a human that showed a love interest in Vignette but disappeared in her time of need.

Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne star in Amazon’s Carnival Row.

Can Carnival Row Work?

Being a long-form television series would definitely help this idea out. It being a story of refugees of different races and kinds mixed with fantasy and a Victorian setting is sure to be a home-run with some people. Following up on this, the casting is sure to be great. Orlando Bloom seems like he would be right at home with this material. Cara Delevingne also has done similar work to this before. That’s not to say they’re both going to be tired of it. The effects and set design show that Amazon put time, money, and effort into this.

Sometimes when you watch a trailer, especially for TV, you can figure out what the target audience is. In Carnival Row’s case, I can’t. It obviously has romance and love, but it also has horror and mystery elements. Philostrate is a detective on the case of a string of murders throughout the Row. Vignette has a secret that could help him crack the case. They just need to find each other again. These are things that can make this appeal to a wider audience.

Different is Dangerous

The final thing I want to touch on with this show is the topical elements of it. It very much seems to be a show about people and creatures who are different and how they can coexist with one another. The show portrays the “different” creatures like the faeries and others as hard workers and servants. This means the show has a deeper meaning that others in the genre. Which will be interesting to see if they can pull it off.

I for one, had not heard of this show before the trailer dropped. Now I’m intrigued. I’m likely to fire up my Amazon Prime account and give the show a watch. Carnival Row drops August 30th. And you’ll be able to watch every episode right as it goes up.

All photos and media courtesy of Amazon Studios.

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