‘American Gods’ Producers Fremantle Reiterate Neil Gaiman’s Pledge For More Of Canceled Starz Series – Update

Matt Grobar and Dominic Patten
·4 min read
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EXCLUSIVE UPDATE, 2:38 PM: Two days after Starz made public its lack of faith in any more seasons of American Gods, producers Fremantle on Wednesday said the series based on Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed novel is still alive and kicking.

“Fremantle is committed to completing the epic journey that is American Gods, one of TV’s most inclusive series with the most amazing fans across the globe,” a spokesperson for the company told Deadline of a possible fourth season or more. “With Neil Gaiman and this fantastic cast and crew, we are exploring all options to continue to tell this magnificent story.”

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The statement today backs remarks made Tuesday by EP Gaiman that the Ricky Whittle- and Ian McShane-led series wasn’t going quietly into the premium cable night.

Two early possibilities for more American Gods that may be coming into focus are Netflix and Amazon, we hear. The former is already making a series based on Gaiman’s beloved Sandman comics series and would like to do further business with the author. The latter had served as the home of American Gods everywhere but in America, with new episodes of the three seasons of the show debuting on the Jeff Bezos-founded platform the day after they debuted on Starz. Additionally, the six-episode Gaiman-produced Good Omens, based on the 1990 novel he wrote with Terry Pratchett, launched on Amazon in May 2019.

As the search for a new alter for American Gods the series, limited series or TV movie continue, Whittle tossed up his own shortened Season 4 online yesterday — with his Shadow Moon character shirtless, of course:

PREVIOUSLY, March 30, 7:46 PM: American Gods EP Neil Gaiman responded to Starz’s cancellation of the series, assuring fans there is more to the story that can and will be explored.

“It’s definitely not dead,” tweeted the author, who wrote the 2001 book on which the series is based.

While expressing his gratitude to the team at Starz for “the American Gods journey so far,” he shared that “Fremantle (who make AG) are committed to finishing the story that began in episode 1.”

“Right now,” he added, “we’re all just waiting to see which way forward is best, and who it’ll be with.”

Yesterday, Starz confirmed that the fantastical drama, starring Ricky Whittle and Ian McShane, would not be picked up for a fourth season. The news came just more than a week after its Season 3 finale.

“Everyone at Starz is grateful to the dedicated cast and crew, and our partners at Fremantle who brought author and executive producer Neil Gaiman’s ever-relevant story to life that speaks to the cultural climate of our country,” a network spokesperson told Deadline.

As the cancellation was confirmed, there was word that further exploration of American Gods (perhaps with an event series or TV movie) might be possible—and Gaiman’s comments bring the situation into sharper focus. Clearly, the notion of continuing on with the American God story was not just lip service, on the part of those close to the show.

Developed for TV by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, and debuting on the premium cabler in April of 2017, American Gods centers on Shadow (Whittle), a recently released ex-convict who connects with a mysterious man named Mr. Wednesday (McShane), thereby coming to know more about his own life and past. The series’ original cast also included Orlando Jones, Emily Browning, Yetide Badaki, Bruce Langley, Crispin Glover, Kahyun Kim, Omid Abtahi, Mousa Kraish and Pablo Schreiber.

Produced by Fremantle, American Gods is executive produced by Gaiman, McShane, current showrunner Charles Eglee, Anne Kenney, Damian Kindler, David Paul Francis, Mark Tinker, Craig Cegielski and Stefanie Berk.

Currently, Gaiman is also at work on Netflix’s adaptation of his comic book series The Sandman, which will star Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Boyd Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry and Sanjeev Bhaskar, among others.

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