Carnivàle revisited: is this HBO’s strangest show?

2026-03-17 - 14:09

Cancelled after two seasons, this 2003 curio following a travelling troupe in the American dust bowl recalls everything from Stephen King to Twin Peaks Carnivàle premiered on HBO in 2003 and was cancelled after only two seasons. In the immediate aftermath, this decision was protested by the small but dedicated cult following the show had amassed (to the tune of 50,000 emails). But in the years since, as the television canon has expanded and the taste for mystery-box TV has waned, Carnivàle now seems little more than a minor curio in HBO’s ever-expanding back catalogue. So what is this curio about? Continue reading...