If you’re not sitting down, you just might want to, lest you swoon like a Victorian lady.
Neil Gaiman’s “American Gods” is being adapted as a series on Starz.
No, this is not some Sandman-eque dream, this is really happening. Bryan Fuller (“Hannibal,” “Pushing Daisies,” “Heroes”) and Michael Green (“The River,” “Kings,” “Heroes”) will be writing the script, and showrunning the series. They’ll also be executive producers, along with one other guy. What’s his name? Oh, just NEIL GAIMAN.
Did you read that right? Are you dancing yet? No? Read it again: Neil Gaiman will be an executive producer for a TV adaptation of “American Gods.”
Starz Managing Director Carmi Zlotnik knows a good thing when he sees one, and he’s making some big promises:
“’American Gods’ is a project that deserves to be made. With our partners at FremantleMedia and with Bryan, Michael, and Neil, we believe we can create a series that honors the book and does right by the fans and viewers.”
Gaiman directly commented “When you create something like ‘American Gods,’which attracts fans and obsessives and people who tattoo quotes from it on themselves or each other, and who all, tattooed or not, just care about it deeply, it’s really important to pick your team carefully: you don’t want to let the fans down, or the people who care and have been casting it online since the dawn of recorded history. What I love most about the team who I trust to take it out to the world, is that they are the same kind of fanatics that ‘American Gods’ has attracted since the start. I haven’t actually checked Bryan Fuller or Michael Green for quote tattoos, but I would not be surprised if they have them. The people at Fremantle are the kind of people who have copies of ‘American Gods’ in the bottom of their backpacks after going around the world, and who press them on their friends. And the team at Starz have been quite certain that they wanted to give Shadow, Wednesday, and Laura a home since they first heard that the book was out there. I can’t wait to see what they do to bring the story to the widest possible audience able to cope with it.”
This is reassuring news, as I think we can all agree that projects made by talented fans often yield the best results.
CEO of FremantleMedia North America, Thom Beers, said “Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods’ is pure genius and we couldn’t be more thrilled to bring this classic to life on screen. Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk have put together a dream team with Fuller and Green joining Gaiman on this amazing journey. Coupled with Starz’ shared passion for this project, we’re confident this combination will raise the bar for drama.”
We certainly hope so. Let’s make HBO kick themselves for letting this one fall through; I personally think this project has the potential to be just as popular (if not more so) than Game of Thrones.
Bryan Fuller stated “Neil Gaiman has created the holiest of holy toy boxes with ‘American Gods’ and filled it with all manner of magical thing, born of new gods and old. Michael Green and I are thrilled to crack this toy box wide open and unleash the fantastical titans of heaven and earth and Neil’s vividly prolific imagination.”
Yes, please.
I know I’m not alone in my excitement. Since publication in 2001, American Gods has been translated into over thirty languages and earned a great many awards, including Bram Stoker, Hugo, and Nebula Awards for Best Novel.
While I’m bouncing like a hyperactive two year old with anticipation over seeing Shadow and Wednesday brought to life (I’m not a Laura fan), I am absolutely giddy over the idea that, at some point in the future, we’ll see “the un-named god” and maybe, just maybe, get some further insight as to who Neil meant for him to be. (For those who don’t know, there is a god that was never identified in the novel, striking much debate as people struggle through lore and legends to name him.)
Now, let us party and await the coming awesomeness. Woo!
