Amazon renews Carnival Row ahead of its debut, The Expanse season 5 and more
Amazon is handing out some early renewals.
During the 2019 Television Critics Association summer press tour Saturday, Amazon Prime Video announced that the upcoming fantasy epic Carnival Row has already been renewed for season 2 before the series even debuts. The one-hour drama from Amazon Studios and Legendary Television stars Orlando Bloom and Cara Delevingne and is set in a Victorian fantasy world filled with mythological immigrant creatures whose exotic homelands were invaded by the empires of man. This growing population struggles to coexist with humans — forbidden to live, love, or fly with freedom. But even in darkness, hope lives, as a human detective, Rycroft Philostrate (Bloom), and a refugee faerie named Vignette Stonemoss (Delevingne) rekindle a dangerous affair despite an increasingly intolerant society. Vignette harbors a secret that endangers Philo’s world during his most important case yet: a string of gruesome murders threatening the uneasy peace of the Row. Season 1 is set to premiere Labor Day Weekend, Friday, August 30.
Check out the new teaser trailer for Carnival Row below:
Amazon also announced that The Expanse has been renewed for a fifth season ahead of the season 4 premiere. After Syfy canceled the series after three seasons, Amazon saved the sci-fi show. The first Amazon season of The Expanse begins a new chapter for the series with the crew of the Rocinante on a mission from the U.N. to explore new worlds beyond the Ring Gate. Humanity has been given access to thousands of Earth-like planets which has created a land rush and furthered tensions between the opposing nations of Earth, Mars and the Belt. Ilus is the first of these planets, one rich with natural resources but also marked by the ruins of a long dead alien civilization. While Earthers, Martians and Belters maneuver to colonize Ilus and its natural resources, these early explorers don’t understand this new world and are unaware of the larger dangers that await them. Season 4 will premiere on Friday, December 13.
The streaming service also announced today that it has ordered an eight-episode season of new series The Banker’s Wife, based on the best-selling novel by Cristina Alger. Meredith Stiehm (Homeland) will write all eight episodes, with director Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland, Now and Then) directing all eight.
The Banker’s Wife is a high-stakes international thriller set in the world of global finance, from Geneva to Paris, London and New York, about two women racing for answers when a mysterious plane crash sets them off on parallel pursuits of truth. As they shine a light on hidden offshore accounts meant to be kept in the dark, the pair will become embedded in the crosshairs of danger within a larger conspiracy of money laundering, powerful politicians and a web of terrorists and criminals, thus transforming their lives forever.
“As soon as we read The Banker’s Wife, we knew this would be a series that our Amazon Prime Video customers will love, a fast-paced, compelling story that pulls you in immediately,” Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said. “We’re thrilled to be working with Meredith and Lesli to bring their vision to the screen.”
And on the business front, Amazon Studios has closed a new first look deal with actress and producer Connie Britton. The Friday Night Lights alum will work with the streaming service to develop television series to premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Jen and the team at Amazon, and my hope is to contribute thoughtful, provocative, female driven and inclusive programming to their exceptional platform, telling stories that will reflect ourselves back to ourselves in ways we’ve never seen before,” Britton said in a statement. “I know this will be an exciting and purposeful collaboration.”
The highly anticipated Lord of the Rings series also got an update, as Amazon announced the creative team overseeing the new show based on stories from the iconic novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. The new team members announced today include: executive producers Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire) and Sharon Tal Yguado; writer/executive producer Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad); writer/executive producer Jason Cahill (The Sopranos) writer/executive producer Justin Doble (Stranger Things); consulting producers Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) and Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4); producer Ron Ames (The Aviator); writer/co-producer Helen Shang (Hannibal); writing consultant Glenise Mullins; costume designer Kate Hawley (Suicide Squad); Academy Award-winning production designer Rick Heinrichs (Star Wars: The Last Jedi); Academy Award-winning visual effects supervisor Jason Smith (The Revenant); Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey; and renowned illustrator/concept artist John Howe. The team joins previously announced filmmaker J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom), who will direct the first two episodes and also serve as executive producer, alongside his partner Belén Atienza.
“This team is our Fellowship – assembled from around the world, all walking the road together to try and accomplish something far greater than any of us could on our own,” McKay and Payne said in a statement. “We feel humbled and extremely lucky to be surrounded by such inspiring and talented women and men.”
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