American Gods Backstage Drama That Ruined the Show For Good
A great adaptation if done right has all the potential to become a long-running beloved series fans will watch and discuss for years.
Such was the idea behind American Gods, a series based on Neil Gaiman 's bestselling novel of the same name produced for Starz. However, the series had much more drama happening behind the camera than in front of it, which led to the show's cancellation to the dismay of its many fans.
It took many years before the beloved Neil Gaiman novel was at last adapted for the small screen, back in 2017. By that time, American Gods had been long awaited by Neil Gaiman fans and kicked off with a bang. Fans highly praised the casting of the series, including such beloved actors as Ricky Whittle and Emily Browning, the writing, and the character work. So season 2 came into production in no time.
However, the behind-the-scenes drama, American Gods is so notorious for, already started on the set of the first season, after which the showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green left the show. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the reason for Fuller and Green's departure has become the refusal of the show's producers to increase the budget and the disagreement with Neil Gaiman over the plot which has become a surprise for many fans considering how vigorously the creators of the show stressed Gaiman's involvement in the production.
Moreover, the new showrunner Jesse Alexander was also removed from the show because of numerous delays and continuous skirmishes between Starz and Fremantle, the production company behind the series. Another reason for the showrunner's removal, according to The Hollywood Reporter, could be Neil Gaiman's attempts to gain full control over the production of American Gods.
Season 2 premiered without a showrunner in March 2019, two years after season 1, and was quite successful which led to the show's prolongation for season 3 with a new showrunner Charles Eglee who soon made things much worse. Eglee caused fans' backlash by firing one of the cast members, Orlando Jones, playing Mr. Nancy. The actor took to Twitter to express his outrage about the reason behind his firing.
Apparently, the actor had been told that his character Mr. Nancy's sent "the wrong message for black America." Jones also described the toxic atmosphere on the set of American Gods, mainly created by Fremantle treating the actor "like a second-class citizen." (via Vulture)
This scandal was a hard hit for the show. And when season 3 premiered, it and other backstage dramas led to the viewership and ratings going down, which made Starz cancel the series without producing season 4 and leaving fans with a huge cliffhanger.