10 Cult TV Shows Taken Too Soon

1. Carnivale

Now this one hurts. One of HBO’s early scripted offerings, this depression era drama set in America’s dust bowl detailed the coming together of two characters developing supernatural abilities as they find themselves drawn to each other. Nick Stahl manifests healing powers and joins in with the carnival of the title as it passes through his town.

The other lead, a preacher (played by Clancy Brown, who makes every show better) discovers the ability to bend people to his will, taking it as a sign from God. The show was expensive for the time, costing around $4 million and shot on location with a large cast filling out the carnival’s travelling roadshow. The slow, hallucinatory nature of the story struggled to attract viewers, though they were loyal and many critics joined them in praising the writing and look of the show.

The first episode garnered HBO’s highest ratings, beaten only by Deadwood which followed a year later. An unwillingness to reduce the cost of each episode saw Carnivale come to a cliff-hanger ending after two seasons even after a concerted fan campaign to save this haunting, gorgeous show.