Only two episodes of American Gods have aired at this point, but the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed novel has received high praise from critics and audiences alike — high enough to already earn it a second season.
Starz announced the series’ second-season renewal after the first two episodes reportedly had 5 million viewers across various platforms. The premiere of the eight-episode first season aired April 30.
Developed by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green with Gaiman serving as an executive producer, American Gods follows an ex-convict named Shadow Moon (The 100 actor Ricky Whittle) who’s hired as a bodyguard by a mysterious man named Wednesday (Deadwood actor Ian McShane) and finds himself thrust into the midst of a conflict between the old gods and the modern gods of pop culture and media.
Along with Whittle and McShane, the series’ cast includes Emily Browning (Sucker Punch) as Laura Moon, Pablo Schreiber (Orange is the New Black) as Mad Sweeney, Yetide Badaki (Masters of Sex) as Bilquis, Orlando Jones (Sleepy Hollow) as Mr. Nancy, Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) as Media, Cloris Leachman (Malcom in The Middle) as Zorya Vechernyaya, and Peter Stormare (Fargo) as Czernobog.
Additional cast members include Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies) as Easter, Jonathan Tucker (Kingdom) as Low Key Lyesmith, Chris Obi (Snow White and the Huntsman) as Anubis, Demore Barnes (12 Monkeys) as Mr. Ibis, Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) as Vulcan, Mousa Kraish (Superbad) as The Jinn, Bruce Langley (Deadly Waters) as Technical Boy, and Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) as Mr. World.
“Bryan Fuller, Michael Green, and Neil Gaiman have evolved the art form of television narratively, structurally, and graphically with American Gods, and we’re thrilled to be working again with these artists as they continue to build the worlds and wars of the gods,” said Carmi Zlotnik, president of programming for Starz, in a statement accompanying the announcement.
American Gods airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Starz.
