CARNIVALE

1930s Circus Yarn

Set in the US Dust Bowl States during the Great Depression, this impressive 24-part HBO drama follows the disparate folk who are part of a travelling carnival (including Cynthia Ettinger as Rita Sue Dreifuss, left). The circus element gives it a degree of the surreal; the glitz among the poverty. It’s a feast for the eyes but there’s lots of grit too.