Carnivale is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate groups of people in a traveling carnival, Knauf's story combined a bleak atmosphere with elements of the surreal in portraying struggles between good and evil and between free will and destiny. The show's mythology drew upon themes and motifs from traditional Christianity and gnosticism together with Masonic lore, particularly that of the Knights Templar order.The Carnivale pitch document is an in-depth document explaining the mythos of the series and its characters, with mock news articles and pictures and a synopsis of the first season. It was used by Knauf to pitch the series to HBO and posted online after its cancellation.