Carnivàle (2003)

Drama · Fantasy · Mystery

Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. In tracing the lives of two disparate groups of people, its overarching story depicts the battle between good and evil and the struggle between free will and destiny; the storyline mixes Christian theology with gnosticism and Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar.

IMDb rating: 8.4 (50,042 votes)
Episode average: 8.1 -0.3 vs IMDb
Seasons: 2
Streaming (US): HBO Max
Language: EN
Type: TV series

Rising trajectory: each season at least as good as the last. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well. See every Rising show in the explorer →

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 2 seasons indexed

Cast

Seasons

Season 1 (2003)

7.92 avg 12 episodes 7.8 → 8.7 52 min avg

Big finale

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Milfay	7.8	1,280
2	After the Ball Is Over	7.8	1,052
3	Tipton	7.8	983
4	Black Blizzard	7.7	951
5	Babylon	8.0	961
6	Pick a Number	8.2	915
7	The River	7.8	834
8	Lonnigan, Texas	7.7	821
9	Insomnia	7.7	794
10	Hot and Bothered	7.9	803
11	Day of the Dead	7.9	793
12	The Day That Was the Day	8.7	876

Season 2 (2005)

8.27 avg 12 episodes 8.3 → 8.8 52 min avg

Season 2 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Los Moscos	8.3	734
2	Alamogordo, N.M.	7.8	692
3	Ingram, TX	7.8	696
4	Old Cherry Blossom Road	7.9	676
5	Creed, OK	8.1	658
6	The Road to Damascus	8.0	646
7	Damascus, NE	8.5	645
8	Outskirts, Damascus, NE	8.5	641
9	Lincoln Highway, UT	8.7	683
10	Cheyenne, WY	8.3	627
11	Outside New Canaan	8.5	636
12	New Canaan, CA	8.8	771

Carnivàle (2003)

Cast

Seasons

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