HBO's "Carnivale: Creating the Scene" wins the popular vote for a Webby award!  Thanks to everyone who showed support by voting for our favorite TV show, once again!  

Riverside, CA
December 18, 2005

Fans of HBO's "Carnivale", canceled this year after two seasons, are hoping their support will help spur the show's resurrection.

Katie Robinson, 58, a watercolor artist from Riverside, visits the "Carnivale" bulletin boards at HBO. com.

She said her family has been amazed at how involved she's gotten in the "Carnivale" community.

"You could spend hours doing this", she said. "You have to control yourself." Robinson said she checks out the postings about twice per day and plans to attend a "Carnivale" convention next year in Woodland Hills. Without the Internet, she said, she never would have become so interested in the series.

"I would have just watched the show, wondered what happened to it, and went onto something else," she said.

September 27, 2005
"Carnivale" Creator Daniel Knauf to Write "Iron Man"

by Jonah Weiland, Executive Producer

A press release posted at Marvel.com notes that "Carnivale" creator Daniel Knauf will pen six issues of "Iron Man." While no artist was mentioned, Knauf's storyline is set to begin next spring, presumably following the end of Warren Ellis and Adi Granov's current run on the title. A posting on the HBO Forums notes that Knauf will be writing the series with his son Charlie, although there is no mention of him in the Marvel release. read more

September 15, 2005
TV Guide Strikes Back!
Mike Ausiello lambasts HBO again

Question: What are the chances HBO's The Comeback will come back? It's so funny! Canceled? "I don't wanna see that!" — Garrett

Ausiello: Sorry, but I think the show is as dead as Valerie's career. It didn't help that the season finale was seen by fewer than a million people. Heck, Carnivàle pulled in more than 2 million and it got put down, but don't get me started on that.

Dear Mr. Albrecht:

July 29, 2005
Canceled (for now)
Die-hards fight to save TV faves

By Christian Toto

Rockville resident Julie Burnette swears she isn't the kind of person to take it personally when a television show gets canceled.

Then along came HBO's decision to dump "Carnivale," and now Miss Burnette is doing all she can to save the show from oblivion. read more

July 27, 2005
Crazy Capone's CARNIVALE Campaign at Flashback Weekend

I am – Hercules!!

Capone likes “Carnivale” too! Look! Capone is trying to save “Carnivale”! Save “Carnivale, Capone! Save “Carnivale”!
Hey, Herc and all you folks on the right-hand side of the page. Capone in Chicago to deliver one last message regarding this weekend's Flashback Weekend (www.flashbackweekend.com) convention.

July 22, 2005
Bring It Back Already
Watch with Kristin Weekly Column

Carnivalé fans, I feel your pain. It seems no amount of outrage and fan support will bring back this show. But you should know, the network has certainly taken notice.

July 22, 2005
Will HBO snuff its hit?

The "Carnivale" cancellation ended up being a bit messy, Albrecht grants. "When they pitched us this last season, it was going to end up in a place where you didn't have to go on. In the end, they decided to kind of change that a little bit, which turned into a little bit more of a cliffhanger." read more

July 21, 2005
Miscellaneous News Stories Picked from the Wire Services

Big News Network
Toledo Blade
Amerion
St. Petersburg Times
Myrtle Beach Sun
Asbury Park Press

July 19, 2005
'Carnivale' Fans Besiege HBO with E-mails

In a somewhat unusual strategy, HBO Chairman Chris Albrecht refutes claims that his network is no longer capable of generating watercooler buzz by referencing an already cancelled drama. learn more

July 19, 2005
The new TV season: The return of HBO's "Carnivale'' -- not

Charlie McCollum, 04:00 AM in Charlie McCollum, TV

"So you just have to say, 'Can I take this money and allocate it in other ways to appeal to the same audience,'" said Albrecht who then added with a laugh, "After reading those e-mails, I'm not so sure.'' read more

July 17, 2005
HBO plugs 'Entourage' posse

He (Albrecht) professed awe at the fan support greeting "The Wire" and the now-canceled "Carnivale," which he deemed ultimately too expensive to continue given its huge production costs and ensemble cast. "It's not a big show in the foreign (market), there's not a lot of investment to recoup from that," he said. read more

July 17, 2005
'Entourage' renewed

"Never have we gotten besieged the way we have been besieged by "Carnivale" fans for deciding to not go on with the third season of that show," said HBO chairman and CEO Chris Albrecht. "Literally, 50,000 e-mails over a weekend, and I don't mean the first weekend." read more

July 17, 2005
Going for 7?

Passionate Carnivale fans deluged HBO with more than 50,000 e-mails in one weekend, trying to save the show. "We knew there was a big fan base, but we were surprised by the amount of time people took to lobby for it," Albrecht says. read more

July 14, 2005
Carnivale Fans Fight to Bring the Show Back from the Dead

Fans of CARNIVALE are spooking executives who axed the cult TV show after two seasons by sending them packs of tarot cards.

The dark drama, which followed a travelling circus and freak show through Depression era America, was cancelled earlier this year (05) due to falling ratings, but devotees are refusing to let the show die.

Savvy fans have even hired a PR firm to represent them as they attempt to encourage TV bosses at cable network HBO to reconsider their decision.

Carnivale creator DAN KNAUF tells website Moviehole.net, "I believe HBO is horrified, because network executives rise and fall by the decisions they make, and right now they have to be wondering if they made the right decision."

July 13, 2005
Carnivale fans get the Carousel moving again

A grassroots movement made up of fans, stars and the creator of “Carnivale” has been sweeping Hollywood.

From the moment it was announced that “Carnivale” would not be renewed, the fans (6,000 on one Internet group alone) got themselves armed with tarot cards (to send to HBO) and some talented PR to establish an unprecedented response with one aim: to get back “Carnivale.”

Described as articulate professionals (with an international base as well) who are not dedicated TV watchers, the fans have made themselves noticed in Hollywood. Articles in Entertainment Weekly and in the Washington Times show that people are closely watching to see if this is a new change coming in the industry.

Dan Knauf, the show’s creator, is overwhelmed by the response both to him and by the many letters being sent to HBO.

“I believe HBO is horrified, because network executives rise and fall by the decisions they make, and right now they have to be wondering if they made the right decision,” he said.

A “CarnyCon” is already planned for next year; April 21-23 2006.

July 11, 2005
More Testimony to the Power of Networking - Letters to the Editor

A "sea change" is afoot in media today because of "the power of us." Virtual communities are forming to support interactions between a show's creators and creatives and the fans who love and follow them. Nowhere is this more evident than in Carnivale, HBO's magical Depression-era epic that was recently canceled after only two seasons. Fan-created and moderated sites on Yahoo! (YHOO ) and other [portals] host active discussions and live chats with the series' creator, Daniel Knauf, and many of its stars. The model is the first of its kind. This direct connection was almost unimaginable prior to the wide-scale use of the Internet, which is the fundamental infrastructure for the power of us.

Amy Price
Austin, Tex.

June 24, 2005
Last Crusade

Is there life after death in prime time? There was last season for Fox's once-defunct Family Guy. Now fans of several recently canceled series are trying to work similar resurrection magic. Who'll succeed? EW weighs in.

Carnivàle

THE CAMPAIGN Die-hard fans have deluged HBO with custom-made tarot cards demanding a revival and even got star Clancy Brown to publicize their efforts in the media. WILL IT WORK? This low-rated Carnivàle ride could be over for good, but once the bearded lady joins the cause, who can stop them? ODDS 10-1

read complete article

June 16, 2005
TV Guide Weighs in Again!

HBO's Six Feet Under kicked off its farewell season Monday with 2.6 million viewers, down 30 percent from last year. And Lisa Kudrow's Comeback stalled in its second episode Sunday, falling from 1.5 million to 925,000 viewers. At least HBO still has Carnivàle. Oh, wait — they canceled that. (Still bitter, yes I am.)

June 1, 2005 - TV Guide
TV Guide Weighs in on
HBO's Cancellation of Carnivale

Jeers to HBO for shutting down Carnivale after just two seasons and on a cliff-hanger, no less. Sure the show never broke through like The Sopranos or Six Feet Under, but it had a loyal niche audience that obsessed over its intricate mythology. For a network that brags, "it's not TV. It's HBO," that was a real tv kind of thing to do.

June 10, 2005
Letter to the Editor

EW, I'm giving you one more chance to place nice with HBO's Carnivale. If it's a pop-culture fever you are looking for, I would be happy to steer you toward the online petitions to keep Carnivale going and to the blogs and groups whose members are mobilizing Carny Conventions, selling "Save Carnivale" merchandise, and pelting HBO with postcards and cancelling their subscriptions in protest. I think your one-dimentional reviews are the real "bad dream sequence."

- A.M. Nance (SaveCarnivale comment: way to go, A.M.!)

June 10, 2005
Metro Mix Celebrity News

Ernesto Rios on "Carnivale's" cancellation: "One of the best shows out there in a long time is no more and with no resolution (for thinking fans, anyway) in sight. I know it was a weird show, but that was the attraction. I loved trying to get people to watch it (I described it as Stephen King writing `The Grapes of Wrath')."

May 11, 2005 - Horror Channel
Retrospective: Carnivale

Despite a massive fan outcry, Carnivale has been cancelled, no doubt to make way for the next bad “improv” series. It’s a sad fact, especially in television: Invention is the enemy of success. People seem to prefer shows about slutty materialistic city women who drink and discuss orgasms, as opposed to something with real imagination.

I guess I shouldn’t complain too much, as we did get a satisfying resolution at the end of the season. But I can’t help but wonder about all those untold stories: Ben’s future. Sofie’s role. Jonsey’s fate. The end of magic. The Carnivale and its inevitable doom at Trinity. It’s heartbreaking to leave this all behind.

One thing is for certain: Carnivale will never truly die. It will always be remembered, re-visited, and treasured by an ever-growing legion of cult fans. In a medium dominated by fads, there is perhaps no greater reward.

May 11, 2005
It's official: Carnivale leaves town

Following up on previous rumors, HBO officially announced the end has come for its original series Carnivale, leaving fans in the dust after only two of the show's planned six seasons aired. I for one will miss the show and its fantastic cast of characters, its incredible writing and compelling stories. more

May 11, 2005
HBO Cancel Carnivale

HBO has been the best network on the box in the last decade or so but even they aren't infallible. Pretty much every show they've launched like "Sex and the City", "Deadwood", "The Sopranos", "Real Time with Bill Maher" and "Six Feet Under" I've enjoyed and loyally watch (I've yet to see "Entourage" and "The Wire" but I'm stocking up on the DVDs as I write this). However if one show has held my interest in the last year or so its been "Carnivale". more

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