Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is a book I’ve started twice but never been able to finish. I think that has to do with the concept of the story (old gods banding together to fight the new gods that people have created out of love of money, drugs, celebrities, technology and others) being more interesting than the story itself. That’s why I’ve always thought that American Gods would be best served as a television show, allowing more gods to be introduced and to spend more time with these fascinating characters.
A television adaptation of the book has been in development hell for a long time, but it looks like it’s finally coming together. Starz has greenlit the series and Hannibal‘s own Bryan Fuller is attached as a writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Anyone who watches Hannibal knows that this is excellent news.
Starz needs a show that really hits the cultural conversation hard. Thanks to Gaiman’s faithful fanbase and the appealing idea that the story presents, American Gods certainly has the chance to be that show. It’s still crazy to me that we live in a world where some of the biggest shows on TV are fantastic stories. Game of Thrones is the show of this generation, The Flash had a phenomenal first season, and hopefully Preacher will be another critical and financial success for AMC. Adding American Gods to that lineup makes the future of television look pretty cool for people who love genre fiction. In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I am one of those people.
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