Leila Jordan
After nearly 4 years off the air, Prime Video’s original series Carnival Row has returned for its second and final season. Created by Travis Beachum and René Echevarria, the steampunk-inspired fantasy detective drama starring Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne has been a dark and magical ride. Awards Radar had the chance to speak to Bloom, Delevingne, Caroline Ford (Sophie Longerbane), Arty Fraushan (Jonah Breakspear) and Season Two showrunner Erik Oleson about the making of Season 2 and crafting bringing the world of Carnival Row to an end.
Carnival Row has been a twisting tale of magic and intrigue. Crossing genres in a new fantasy world, the show has been an impressive feat of world building. Part murder mystery, part political drama, plus magical creatures and ever escalating stakes. The series was one of Amazon’s first major television productions and introduced a bold and original fantasy show.
“Are we defined by what we do and the way that we treat others or are we defined by our DNA?” is the central question for Season Two according to Oleson. “Do you behave violently to push back against oppression or do you try to change the system from within? Do you respond with hate or do you respond with love?”
Bloom is especially satisfied with how his character’s (Rycroft Philostrate) journey came to an end with Season Two. “This season I got to do more with Philo than I had imagined would be possible. He’s going through an internal journey of coming to terms with his fae history [and] the lies.” Bloom teased some of the ways he conveyed Philo’s internal journey, “There’s a bit of a Batman/The Joker [in his performance].”
On what she’ll miss most as both an actor (Vignette Stonemoss) and an executive producer on Carnival Row, Delevingne spoke about the creative opportunities she had while being involved with an original show. “There’s no book it’s based on…so there were so many elements that we could decide and discuss. Being involved with creativity was incredible. I’ll miss this part, it’s a bittersweet thing for me finishing this show. I’ll miss that character so much.”
Watch the complete interviews with the cast and showrunner below. The first episode of Season Two of Carnival Row is out now, with new episodes every Friday on Prime Video.
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