Yahoo News American Gods TV show: All you need to know
After George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels proved such a success as a TV show in Game of Thrones, the hunt is on for the next big book-to-small-screen hit, especially in the fantasy genre. Not only do we have Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials on the way on the BBC, but we also have Neil Gaiman's American Gods.
His 2001 novel will be hitting our screens on Starz in 2017, so here is absolutely all there is to know about the much-anticipated series:
American Gods air date: When and where will it premiere?
Not long to wait now - American Gods debuts first on Starz in the US on Sunday April, 30 at 9pm ET and then arrives a day later in the UK on Monday, May 1 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
American Gods trailer: watch all the teasers
The first proper trailer includes a floor of skulls, animals with flaming eyeballs, plenty of blood and our hero looking all dark and broody.
There may also be some visual references in there that are going to make a lot more sense once you see the show, but we wouldn't want to give anything away.
A first teaser trailer for the show was released at San Diego Comic-con and it looks just like an epic Western fantasy.
We catch a glimpse of Shadow meeting Wednesday, a visit from his not-as-dead-as-she-looks wife as well as some tasty treats for fans of the book.
American Gods cast: Who will be in it?
Loads of people! Former Hollyoaks actor Ricky Whittle leads the cast as Shadow Moon, while Ian McShane will play the mysterious Mr Wednesday.
Emily Browning will play Shadow's deceased wife Laura, and Dane Cook will appear as best friend Robbie.
There are also roles for Gillian Anderson (Media), Orange Is the New Black's Pablo Schreiber (Mad Sweeney), Back to the Future's Crispin Glover (Mr World), Prison Break's Peter Stormare (Czernobog), Psych star Corbin Bensen (Henry Spencer), Sleepy Hollow's Orlando Jones (Mr Nancy) and Cloris Leachman (Zorya Vechernyaya).
Rounding out the cast are Yetide Badaki (Bilquis), Bruce Langley (Technical Boy), Jonathan Tucker (Low Key Lyesmith), Chris Obi (Mr Jacquel), Mousa Kraish (The Jinn), Omid Abtahi (Salim), and Demore Barnes (Mr Ibis).
American Gods pictures and posters: Are there any teasers?
Yep! Take a look at all these goodies:
And here are some rather awesome character posters:
American Gods plot: What is it all about?
Gaiman's original novel is a mixture of Americana, fantasy, and ancient and modern mythology, and centres around the mysterious Shadow, a taciturn convict who is released from prison early after his wife and best friend die in a car accident, leaving him alone. Several themes in the book were previously seen in his comic series The Sandman.
The TV series also focuses on Shadow's post-prison life after serving three years for bank robbery. Arriving home for the funeral of his wife Laura, he is seated next to a man who introduces himself as Mr Wednesday, who somehow knows more about Shadow's life than could be possible.
Shadow soon learns that Wednesday is actually the god Odin of Norse mythology, and that all of the gods that mankind has ever believed in are in fact alive in human form. Shadow finds himself amongst a conflict between the old gods and the supposed "new gods" - the gods of money and technology, who believe their elders should leave Earth.
(SPOILERS IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH... LOOK AWAY NOW)
The first season will adapt the first third of the novel, with Lakeside, a Fargo-like mid-western town that Shadow ends up in, as the main setting for a potential second season, and Wednesday's death as the second or third season finale, according to Gaiman himself.
In an interview with Deadline, co-writer Michael Green said that some of the big themes will include religion and the gun crime problem in the US.
"One of the reasons we were so excited to adapt it is it hits on a lot of themes that people have passions about and that, a lot of times, shows tend to shy away from," he said.
"Not the least of which, religion, which few enough shows tackle head on, and the immigrant stories of just people come with their faiths, with their traditions, with their myths, with their beliefs, with their idiosyncrasies and then have to negotiate those against this new world they find themselves in that they came to largely on purpose and with different dreams and aspirations.
"We are very fortunate in that the book lends itself to talking about those things, because we get into this idea of new gods, which is what are the things we worship now whether passively or unintentionally?
"And wherever you put your passions, wherever you put your time and attention, is a form of worship, whether it's technology, whether it's media, and these things that Neil really apotheosized in his book."
He added: "Those are passions that have taken on a religious zeal for a lot of people, and taking a little bit further, we now have a very big gun debate in our country, and we're looking at a story later on in our season where an old god has become the public face, in a manner, of people's passion for holding weaponry in their hands."
Bryan Fuller explained further: "There are things that are happening in America right now with the political climate and the sociological climate where we have episodes that focus on the black person's perspective of being an American, that focus on a woman's perspective of being an American, focus on a gun owner's perspective of being an American, and using those sort of hot-topic issues as a platform to have a conversation about faith and our role in the universe."
Fuller revealed that the original book would cover "three to four seasons", adding: "The first season was fairly easy to arc out when we went, 'Oh, this point in the book, that's where we end the first season.'"
American Gods crew: Who is behind it?
Hannibal mastermind Bryan Fuller and Blade Runner sequel co-writer Michael Green have scripted the first episode titled 'The Bone Orchard', and will be the series' showrunners.
Neil Gaiman will executive produce the series, alongside Green, Fuller, Craig Cegielski, Stefanie Berk and Thom Beers.
Speaking to Crave Online, Fuller said that the series will "[follow] the events of the books but expanding those events, and expanding the point of view to go above and beyond Shadow and Wednesday".
Gaiman has also given permission to incorporate elements from the book's companion Anansi Boys, and Fuller has also said that he hopes Gaiman will write an episode.
In May, Gaiman told Digital Spy that he was very excited about what he had seen so far, saying: "[Bryan] and Michael Green have been writing these really powerful scripts, the casting is shit hot... and the footage that I've been seeing is also shit hot.
"It's looking amazing. It's got that thing where the production designer and the director and Bryan all have a vision.
"It's definitely hyper-real, and it's gorgeous, and I'm so looking forward to seeing a rough cut of something... when they finish one!"
Are there any pictures?
Just a couple so far, including this one of Ricky Whittle's Shadow Moon in a fight with Pablo Schreiber's Mad Sweeney:
And Gillian Anderson posted this picture of herself as the New Goddess Media:
Plus, Kristin Chenoweth has given us a first look as Easter:
#EASTER IN HER EASTER BONNET WITH ALL THE FRILLS UPON IT @KChenoweth @andmichaelgreen @neilhimself @AmericanGodsSTZ pic.twitter.com/Oe7PrcJiwE
- Bryan Fuller (@BryanFuller) August 24, 2016
You Might Also Like
