After a tumultuous period following Season 1, Starz’s ‘American Gods’ is back on track and looks to be going strong, and by the book. And “by the book,” I mean the Neil Gaiman novel, upon which the series is based. According to star Ian McShane (Mr. Wednesday), the show is going to drift back to the source material in upcoming episodes. (Those that have read it know that the entire Season 1 finale was a completely new sequence.) And considering that the show has only scratched the surface of the lengthy novel, there looks to be more live-action ‘American Gods’ on its way in the future.
As an anonymous source declared:
“We didn’t make Season 2 of American Gods not to make a Season 3… It’s a big book.”
In fact, rumor has it, Starz is eyeing ‘American Gods’ to run for five or six seasons.
Separately, McShane discussed Season 2, saying:
“Season 2 is really a great way back to the book, which I thought we got away from in season 1.… We needed to get back to the line in the book, which is reuniting Shadow [Ricky Whittle] with his story… Gaiman wrote a great blueprint for a TV series that can go wherever it wants as long as it remains true to the roots.
“The first season thematically tended to be: Weird sh— happens and Shadow goes, ‘What the f— is going on?’ Season 2 is Shadow figuring out what is going on, and weird sh— is still happening, but now he is actually learning what’s going on.”
As to what to expect from Season 2, there have been some unfortunate changes behind the scenes, as both Gillian Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth have exited the series, after their scene-stealing turns as Media and Easter in the first batch of episodes. But judging by the new poster for Season 2, a few supporting characters may be stepping up in importance, including Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones), Mr. Ibis (Demore Barnes), Salim (Omid Abtahi) and The Djinn (Mousa Kraish).
Regarding Anderson’s departure, Gaiman stated:
“Old Media was glorious. Gillian Anderson playing Lucille Ball and Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe is wonderful, but also doesn’t feel like it’s relevant to anyone under the age of 25 who’s interested in media. When you have to explain to them all who Judy Garland in Easter Parade is…. It’s beautiful but it already feels like something that’s been overtaken.”
I must admit, though I clearly knew Lucille Ball and David Bowie, ‘Easter Parade’ was beyond my knowledge base and I’m *ahem* older than 25.
But fans of Easter may have something to look forward to, as Gaiman said:
“Somewhere up the line we are going to need Easter again. Whether or not we get Kristin or somebody else remains to be seen. We don’t need her right now. She isn’t in season 2. Easter doesn’t actually show up until three-quarters of the way through the book.”
Check out the poster, featuring the main cast of Season 2, below:
‘American Gods’ (finally) returns to Starz on March 10. What do you hope to see in the second installment?
Sources: TV Line, Entertainment Weekly, Deadline
