Many early reviews gave "Carnivàle" good marks but also said its unique characters and story might prevent it from becoming a huge mainstream audience success. "Daily Variety" TV editor Joseph Adalian predicted that "it will get mostly positive reviews but some people will be put off by the general weirdness of the show." Phil Gallo of "Variety" described "Carnivàle" as "an absolute visual stunner with compelling freak show characters—but the series unfortunately takes a leisurely approach toward getting to a point," and Eric Deggans of the "St. Petersburg Times" suggested that "it's as if executives at the premium cable network want to see how far they can slow a narrative before viewers start tossing their remotes through the screen". James Poniewozik of "Time" called the first three episodes "frustrating" as well as "spellbinding." Amanda Murray of BBC said "With so little revealed, it's almost impossible to pass judgment on the show—it's hard to tell if this is just good, or going to be great."