Skip to main content

Starz officially green-lights adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods

Almost a year ago, it was announced that the Starz network had ordered development of a television series based on award-winning author Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed modern fantasy novel American Gods. Fans were cautiously optimistic about the news, but now it looks like the project will indeed make it past the development stage thanks to official confirmation that American Gods has been green-lit by the network.

While there’s no date set for the cameras to begin rolling, the network’s official statement on the project indicates that production will begin after casting for the lead role is finalized.

Recommended Videos

Originally published in 2001, American Gods follows a mysterious ex-convict named Shadow Moon who finds himself caught up in the early stages of a war between the old gods of biblical and mythological origin and the new gods of modern society: corporations, technology, media, and celebrity. Both types of “gods” have essentially been given form in the novel’s universe.

The novel has been translated into more than 30 languages and won a long list of awards, including some of the highest accolades bestowed upon fiction and fantasy novels.American gods

“I am thrilled, ‎scared, delighted, nervous and a ball of glorious anticipation,” said Gaiman of the news in a statement accompanying the announcement. “The team that is going to bring the world of American Gods to the screen has been assembled like the master criminals in a caper movie: I’m relieved and confident that my baby is in good hands. Now we finally move to the exciting business that fans have been doing for the last dozen years: casting our Shadow, our Wednesday, our Laura…”

First announced back in February 2014, an adaptation of American Gods had been rumored long before the project began to gain steam, but it gained considerable momentum last July when Starz picked up the project. Along with Gaiman serving as an executive producer, the series will be co-written by Bryan Fuller (Hannibal, Pushing Daisies) and Michael Green (The River, Heroes), who will also serve as showrunners. The series is being produced by FremantleMedia.

“Almost 15 years ago, Neil Gaiman filled a toy box with gods and magic and we are thrilled to finally crack it open and play,” said Fuller and Green in a joint statement. “We’re grateful to have Starz above us and FremantleMedia at our backs as we appease the gods, American or otherwise.”

There’s no word yet on when the series is expected to premiere.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Like Fight or Flight? Stream these 3 Josh Hartnett movies
Josh Hartnett in Fight or Flight.

This week, Josh Hartnett is back in theaters with Fight or Flight, an action comedy. Hartnett is playing Lucas Reyes, a man who has been tasked with identifying a notorious hacker on plane before all hell breaks loose.

Hartnett has been a leading man in Hollywood for the better part of three decades, but he also has a long list of bad movies to his name. Case in point: Trap, M. Night Shyamalan's thriller that had a terrific premise and terrible execution.

Read more
Baby Reindeer star speaks of ‘intolerable pressure’ following show’s success
A man sits and looks sad in Baby Reindeer.

Richard Gadd, the writer and star of last year’s smash-hit Netflix drama Baby Reindeer, said recently that the massive success of the show has made his life "intolerable" at times.

Based on Gadd’s real-life experiences, Baby Reindeer followed a struggling comedian entangled in a disturbing and obsessive relationship with his female stalker. As the show went viral on Netflix just over a year ago, some fans identified Fiona Harvey as the real woman behind Gadd’s stalker, Martha (portrayed in the series by Jessica Gunning). Harvey responded to the show by filing a $170 million lawsuit against Netflix for defamation. 

Read more
7 best action movies of the 2020s, ranked
Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick.

As the halfway point of 2025 approaches, it's become clear that the 2020s have been a great decade for action movies. The genre is very popular among the various streamers, but it's also still the top draw at the box office. Almost all of the major hits from the last half decade have incorporated action into the story in some way. It's just what people want to see on the big screen.

It was surprisingly easy to pick the No. 1 film on our list of the seven best action movies of the 2020s. But there may soon be another contender for the throne. And if the second half of the decade produces action flicks that are as good as the movies of the last five years, then this list will look very different in 2029.

Read more