Carnivale Star Hasn’t Heard Any Talks About Reboot or Revival

To say that HBO’s Carnivàle was ahead of its time would be a bit of an understatement, as the two-season series blended period drama with the supernatural in an immensely compelling way, with a number of successors going on to tap into that unique blend of storytelling with otherworldly concepts, as fans still bemoan its unexpected ending in 2005 all these years later. With a number of cancelled series making unexpected returns across a variety of streaming platforms, and with HBO recently launching their new HBO Max service, some fans would think it would only make sense to bring the series back, but star Nick Stahl says he hasn’t heard of any reports of the possibility.

“Man, it’s so interesting because I keep getting asked about that and I haven’t heard anything from HBO people about it,” Stahl confirmed to ComicBook.com. “That show had a very loyal, very rabid fan base. That’d be interesting. I’m wondering where all the talk of that is coming from, actually, but it keeps getting mentioned. So we’ll see what happens, I guess. You never know.”

HBO describes the series, “1934. The Dustbowl. The final conflict between good and evil is about to begin, playing out against a pair of unusual backdrops: a traveling carnival and an evangelical ministry in California.”

Joining Stahl in the series was Adrienne Barbeau, Clancy Brown, Clea DuVall, Toby Huss, and Amy Madigan.

Fans weren’t the only ones who grew enamord with the show, as its debut season earned five Emmy Awards.

The series was created by Daniel Knauf, who conceived of the project as lasting six seasons. HBO’s decision to cancel the series was largely motivated by its intimidating price tag, with each episode costing roughly $4 million, with the producers knowing they couldn’t come down to $2 million per episode, which the network would have considered pursuing. The series’ cancellation meant a number of plotlines were left unresolved.

Interestingly, there was significant overlap at the time between Carnivàle and Deadwood, a Western that ran from 2004 to 2006. That series was also cancelled largely due to the production budget, but it was ultimately continued in a film last year. With that Western earning enough support over the years to warrant last year’s Deadwood: The Movie, it’s hard to rule out a Carnivàle film entirely.

In the meantime, fans can see Stahl in the new thriller Hunter Hunter.

Hunter Hunter follows a family living in the remote wilderness earning a living as fur trappers. Joseph Mersault (Devon Sawa), his wife Anne (Camille Sullivan), and their daughter Renée (Summer H. Howell) struggle to make ends meet and think their traps are being hunted by the return of a rogue wolf. Determined to catch the predator in the act, Joseph leaves his family behind to track the wolf. Anne and Renée grow increasingly anxious during Joseph’s prolonged absence and struggle to survive without him. When they hear a strange noise outside their cabin, Anne hopes it is Joseph but instead finds a man named Lou (Stahl), who has been severely injured and left for dead. The longer Lou stays and Joseph is away, the more paranoid Anne becomes, and the idea of a mysterious predator in the woods slowly becomes a threat much closer to home.

Stay tuned for details on the possible future of Carnivàle. Hunter Hunter lands in select theaters, on Digital HD, and On Demand on December 18th.

Would you like to see the series get a follow-up? Let us know in the comments below!