HBO is home to a variety of fantasy shows, including Game of Thrones and its multiple spin-offs, True Blood, and His Dark Materials. Years before Game of Thrones, however, HBO canceled one of its most ambitious fantasy shows before its story could fully unfold. Created by Daniel Knauf, Carnivàle blended magic, mystery, and menace into a compelling story. It was a show that lasted only two seasons due to declining viewership and critics’ growing frustration with its densely layered narrative; that’s a shame, given that Carnivàle had so much more to offer.
Carnivàle centers on two men who couldn’t be more different. Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) is a former farmer who joins a traveling carnival, while Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown) is a devout Methodist minister. Both discover they have supernatural abilities: Ben can heal the ill, and Justin can compel people to do his bidding. They also share mysterious visions, which set them on the trail of a man named Henry Scudder. Unfolding against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Carnivàle tells a complex story of good and evil that deserves a second chance.
‘Carnivàle’ Built an Ambitious Fantasy World Before ‘Game of Thrones’
Throughout its run, Carnivàle would hint at greater forces at play, as Ben and Justin turn out to be Avatars — figures representing the primal forces of light and darkness. With his ability to heal, Ben is the Avatar of Light, while Justin slowly embraces his darker nature despite being a man of God. The rest of the cast also have their own connections to this grand battle; fortune-teller Sofie (Clea Duvall) is the Omega, a figure who possesses qualities of light and dark, while Henry Scudder and the carnival’s mysterious “Management” were revealed to be Avatars themselves. Long before shows like Lost were hooking fans with “mystery box” storytelling, Carnivàle was perfecting the art of prestige storytelling in television.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes
WhatFantasy WorldDo You Belong To?
Middle-earth · Grand Line · The Continent · Camp Half-Blood
Pick your magic, your crew, where you want to wake up and who you would rather be fighting, and we will tell you which world you actually belong in. Four are open to you: an ancient kingdom living through its last good age, an endless sea full of pirates, a continent that pays people to kill monsters, and a summer camp where the Greek gods are extremely real and mostly a nuisance.
Middle-earth(Rings of Power)
Grand Line(One Piece)
The Continent(The Witcher)
Camp Half-Blood(Percy Jackson)
FIND YOUR WORLD →
01
What kind of power do you want?
Every one of these worlds runs on a completely different sort of magic.
A Something ancient and half forgotten that came down through my family.
B Something completely ridiculous that works in a fight and gets a laugh.
C No magic at all, just training, potions and a very sharp sword.
D Something I inherited from a parent I have barely met.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
Who is travelling with you?
Nobody gets through any of these stories entirely on their own.
A A fellowship drawn from every corner of the world who barely trust each other.
B A crew I picked up one at a time, all of whom would die for me.
C Two or three people I would never describe out loud as friends.
D Two mates from school who are exactly as out of their depth as I am.
NEXT QUESTION →
03 “
Where do you want to wake up tomorrow?
The best fantasy is usually just somewhere you would genuinely like to live.
A “A high city of white stone with the sea somewhere far below.
B “A ship under sail, with an island ahead that nobody has mapped.
C “A rented room over a tavern, in a town I am leaving in the morning.
D “A cabin at a summer camp with everybody else already awake outside.
NEXT QUESTION →
“04”
How are you making a living out there?
Even in fantasy somebody has to pay for the horse.
A “I am not because somebody far older than me decided this was my duty.
B “Treasure, and I am not always careful about whose it used to be.
C “I take contracts since people will pay well for what they will not touch.
D “I am fifteen and this is all technically a school trip.
NEXT QUESTION →
“05”
There is something in the woods. What do you do about it?
All four of these worlds keep something unpleasant out there in the dark.
“06”
Who is the villain of your story?
The enemy tells you far more about a world than the hero ever does.
“07”
What do you actually believe in out there?
Every world hands its heroes one rule and asks them to hold onto it.
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NEXT QUESTION →
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“08”
A thousand years from now how are you remembered?
Eight questions in this is the one that decides your world.
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A “In a song in a language hardly anybody still speaks.
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The Map Is Drawn
Your World Is…
Four worlds and four completely different ideas of what a good life
looks like. This is where you belong what it would ask of you and what you would get back in
return.
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↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
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