Amazon’s long-gestating take on Travis Beacham’s Carnival Row may have lost Guillermo del Toro, but gained another fantasy icon. Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom will lead the new project, which has an eight-episode order in place.

Per Deadline, Bloom will take his first TV lead role as Rycroft Philostrate, a police inspector investigating the murder of a faerie showgirl on Carnival Row. The series features Victor Frankenstein director Paul McGuigan joining Beacham and writer-showrunner Rene Echevarria, while the full synopsis reads:

Carnival Row is a fantasy-noir set in a neo-Victorian city. Mythical creatures fleeing their war-torn homeland have gathered in the city, and tensions are simmering between citizens and the growing immigrant population. The series follows the investigation of a string of unsolved murders that are eating away at whatever uneasy peace still exists.

The original Killing on Carnival Row draft (written by Pacific Rim alum Travis Beacham) was picked up by New Line back in 2005, but went through multiple directors and developments in years past. Del Toro co-wrote a pilot version of the feature script with Beacham and Rene Echevarria, executive producing with The Strain partner Gary Ungar.

Carnival Row is likely to begin filming in fall 2018 for a 2019 premiere, so stay tuned for the latest.

More From ScreenCrush