Amazon gives nod to Carnival Row

Amazon has greenlit drama pilot Carnival Row to a full eight-episode series to be produced by Legendary Television.

The Amazon original will be written and executive produced by showrunner Rene Echevarria (Star Trek, Teen Wolf, Castle, Medium) for the Amazon Prime Video streaming service.

It is described as a fantasy-noir set in a neo-Victorian city where mythical creatures fleeing their war-torn homeland have gathered, resulting in growing tensions with the local citizens. Amid the feuding, a string of murders take place.

Paul McGuigan (Luke Cage, Sherlock) will direct and executive produce. Travis Beacham (Pacific Rim), who wrote the original script, A Killing on Carnival Row, as a feature film a decade ago, will also executive produce.

Filming will take place in 2018 for a 2019 release.

Joe Lewis, head of comedy, drama and VR at Amazon Studios, said: “There has never been a series like Carnival Row before.

“The scope of the storytelling combined with the uniqueness of the world, themes and aesthetics haven’t been on TV before. A simple police investigation will lead us down a remarkable journey in a world where humans and creatures co-exist.”