The author of 'American Gods' talks about his thoughts of season one, possibly upto five seasons? and where could season two be heading?

I have some really great news about one of my favourite shows this year, Starz‘s adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s American Gods proved to be one of the biggest and most unexpected success stories of the 2017 television season. Originally published in 2001, the Hugo Award-winning novel’s adaptation was lead under the guidance of executive producer Gaiman and showrunners/executive producers Bryan Fuller (the mastermind behind Hannibal) and Michael Green (Heroes). With solid ratings and high praise from both television critics and social media (all of us), Starz renewed the series for a second season before American Gods‘ third episode had even aired.

Of course with that level of success comes many more questions which need to be answered, so Gaiman took some time to sit down with The Independent to discuss the first season, what the future holds for additional seasons of American Gods and even a mention of a little something Gaiman’s working on… that only goes by the fricking name American Gods 2.

Here are some of the highlights:

When asked about how he feels now that the first season is over and was so well-received he had this to say:

“It’s kind of a weird mixture of feeling like we’ve dodged some kind of bullet and just joy. I love how well we’ve been received. I love that the show feels like it found its audience. I got a thing in my newsfeed this morning saying American Gods is the most popular Amazon download in the UK.” (I know I'm one of them).

Concerning Season 2 and what storylines will be the main focus, Gaiman has a few ideas…including showing us why that strange but wonderful meet-up at The House on the Rock is so important; and where Shadow (Ricky Whittle) is heading next:

“We are going to reach The House on the Rock which is very strange. Lots of people believe that I made up, but I didn’t – it really exists and it’s half-way between a roadside attraction and a monument to surrealism. We’re going to be shooting there. We’re planning several episodes set in there and then there’s a lot of playing around in season two with things that are in the book. We’re still sending Shadow to Cairo, Illinois to work with Jacquel (Chris Obi) and Ibis (Demore Barnes). The most recent news on Cairo is that the government has decided all the public housing that is unfit for habitation, they wont be spending money on it or on building new housing so it’s really the death knell for the town anyway. So we take that into account.”

The visuals of American Gods are nothing like what Gaiman visualized in his own head when he was writing his novel…and that’s okay:

“The answer is not much and people always look disappointed when I say this. I have to say if I write a scene where two people are having a picnic in a field, whatever you shoot will not look like the thing in my head, because you will never find that field and you will never find the tree they’re under.
Henry Selick’s Coraline is, I think, the best of the films that have been made of my stuff and one of the reasons for that is it’s a Henry Selick film and every frame of it is beautiful and magic – it’s not my book. I love it just as much as if it was. But if people ask if it was my vision, I’d say, ‘No, it really is Henry’s and it’s wonderful.’ That’s how I feel about American Gods.”

 Last but not least, Gaiman doesn’t see the source material from the first book drying-up before the end of American Gods‘ potential FIFTH season…which should give him more than enough time to get on and finish that other book he keeps getting asked about:

“The fact we are liberated from the inside of Shadow’s head means in season two we’re going to meet more of the old Gods and more of the new Gods. We’re going to watch some of the problems the new Gods have and the problems the old Gods have. We also, I hope, are going to encounter old friends. So with that, we’ve probably got around five seasons from the first novel and probably by the time that’s ready, there will be another American Gods novel done.”