American Gods season 1

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
American Gods (season 1)
)

American Gods
Season 1
Home media cover art
Showrunners
Starring
No. of episodes8
Release
Original network
List of episodes

The first season of American Gods, based on Neil Gaiman's novel of the same name, was broadcast on Starz between April 30, 2017, and June 18, 2017, and consisted of eight episodes. Bryan Fuller and Michael Green adapted the first season, serving as showrunners, and production began in March 2016 after the series was officially greenlit in March 2015. The season stars Ricky Whittle, Emily Browning, Crispin Glover, Bruce Langley, Yetide Badaki, Pablo Schreiber and Ian McShane.

The season follows Shadow Moon after he's released from prison following the death of his wife, when he meets Mr. Wednesday, an Old God who is in the midst of a war between the Old Gods, the gods from ancient mythology, and the New Gods, the gods of society, technology, and globalization. The season received positive reviews from critics.

Cast and characters

Main

Recurring

Guests

Episodes

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byTeleplay byOriginal air dateU.S. viewers
(millions)
11"The Bone Orchard"David SladeBryan Fuller & Michael GreenApril 30, 2017 (2017-04-30)0.975[20]
In 813 A.D., a Viking ship reaches the shores of North America, where unseen indigenous people force the passengers to retreat by firing a barrage of arrows. The Vikings make several blood sacrifices to Odin; eventually they find a wind enabling them to sail home. In the present, Shadow Moon is released a few days early from prison after his wife Laura dies in a car accident. On the flight home, Shadow meets Wednesday, who offers him a job as a bodyguard. After he lands, Shadow stops at a bar, where he again meets Wednesday. Shadow learns that his best friend Robbie died in the same car accident as his wife. Mad Sweeney introduces himself to Shadow as a leprechaun, and goads him into a fight. Shadow wins and earns a gold coin. Shadow attends Laura's funeral and learns of her affair with Robbie. After the burial, he flips the coin onto her grave. Unbeknownst to him, it mysteriously sinks into the dirt. Leaving the graveyard, Shadow is abducted by the Technical Boy, who demands to know about Wednesday. Technical Boy orders his men to kill Shadow and they attempt to lynch him. The noose snaps, freeing Shadow, while his attackers are killed by an unknown assailant.
22"The Secret of Spoons"David SladeMichael Green & Bryan FullerMay 7, 2017 (2017-05-07)0.710[21]
In 1697, on a
Czernobog
, who dislikes Wednesday. After dinner, Czernobog plays checkers with Shadow on a bet: if Shadow wins, Czernobog will go with them, but if Shadow loses, Czernobog will smash his head. Shadow loses.
33"Head Full of Snow"David SladeBryan Fuller & Michael GreenMay 14, 2017 (2017-05-14)0.716[23]
In
conning
a bank's business depositors and by "thinking of snow," which causes a snowstorm. When he returns to his hotel room, Laura is waiting for him.
44"Git Gone"Craig ZobelMichael Green & Bryan FullerMay 21, 2017 (2017-05-21)0.631[24]
In a flashback, Laura's earlier life is revealed. She attempts suicide, but fails. She meets Shadow when she stops him from using
card tricks
to steal from the casino where she works. Shadow quickly falls in love with Laura and they marry, but Laura still finds life meaningless. She convinces Shadow to help her rob the casino, but Shadow is caught and sent to prison. Laura promises to wait for him, but has an affair with his boss and friend Robbie. On the eve of Shadow's release, Laura and Robbie die in a car accident. Laura awakens in the desert with Anubis, but before he can send her to the afterlife, she is whisked back to her body. Possessing superhuman strength, she sees a brilliant light in the distance, discovers it's Shadow, and rescues him without revealing herself. She later feels compelled to pursue him, even as her physical form begins to deteriorate. She is discovered by two Old Gods, Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel, who restore her damaged body. Jacquel reveals himself as Anubis and vows to reclaim Laura's soul when her mission is done. Laura continues toward Shadow, eventually meeting him in his hotel room.
55"Lemon Scented You"Vincenzo NataliDavid GrazianoMay 28, 2017 (2017-05-28)0.666[25]
During the last ice age, a tribe of people travel across Beringia, with a symbol of their god, Nynyunnini. As in episode one, the Beringians encounter people and gods already indigenous to the North American landbase, who forcibly deny them entry. The Beringian tribe begins to lose faith. Nynyunnini dies and is forgotten. In the present, Media (in the form of David Bowie) confronts Technical Boy on behalf of Mr. World, the New God of Globalization, scolding him for his attempted lynching of Shadow. Shadow and Wednesday are arrested for bank robbery. Mad Sweeney tries to retrieve his coin from Laura but discovers that it is inside her, giving her life. He warns her not to trust Wednesday. In the jail, Media (now in the form of Marilyn Monroe) and Mr. World force Technical Boy to apologize. The New Gods offer an alliance with Wednesday, promising to help him "find his audience" by sending a missile named Odin to attack North Korea. They murder the police and allow Shadow and Wednesday to escape.
66"A Murder of Gods"Adam KaneSeamus Kevin Fahey and Michael Green & Bryan FullerJune 4, 2017 (2017-06-04)0.607[26]
A group of
illegal immigrants attempting to cross the border into the U.S. pray to Jesus, who walks to them across the river and attempts to protect them. Jesus is shot dead by a group of vigilantes, the bullets marking his body like stigmata. Shadow questions what he saw at the police station and admits to Wednesday that Laura is back from the dead. Sweeney teams up with Laura, seeking her resurrection so he can reclaim his coin. They meet Salim, who agrees to drive them across state lines in his taxi in exchange for Sweeney helping him find the Jinn. In Virginia, Wednesday takes Shadow to meet the Old God Vulcan
, who maintains control over a small town through their belief in the right to bear arms. Vulcan agrees to stand with Wednesday and forges him a sword, but he later betrays them by telling the New Gods where they are. In revenge, Wednesday kills him and curses his believers.
77"A Prayer for Mad Sweeney"Adam KaneMaria MelnikJune 11, 2017 (2017-06-11)0.629[27]
Ibis tells the story of Essie, an Irish girl sentenced to transportation who used to leave offerings to the leprechauns in exchange for good luck. On the ship to America, she seduces the ship captain and persuades him to take her to London. There she becomes a thief; but she is caught after forgetting an offering. Pregnant and transported to America again, she marries her master who, upon his death, leaves her in charge of his farm. She resumes making offerings to the leprechauns. Mad Sweeney visits Essie on her deathbed, thanking her, as her belief enabled him to start a new life in America. As Sweeney and Laura are driving, he tells her that he is taking part in Wednesday's war to atone for deserting as a soldier. The truck overturns and Sweeney's lucky coin falls out of Laura. He restores it to her instead of claiming it, revealing that he had something to do with her fatal car crash.
88"Come to Jesus"Floria SigismondiBekah Brunstetter and Michael Green & Bryan FullerJune 18, 2017 (2017-06-18)0.774[28]
Mr. Nancy tells Shadow and Wednesday the story of Bilquis, a powerful but fallen Old Goddess, which convinces Wednesday to seek out a queen. He and Shadow visit
Ostara, an Old Goddess of spring and resurrection who has successfully adapted to the new era by capitalizing on the Christian celebration of Christ's resurrection. Laura and Mad Sweeney track Shadow to Easter's estate. Easter discovers that Laura can't be resurrected because she was killed by a god, forcing Sweeney to admit that Wednesday arranged both Laura's death and Shadow's imprisonment in order to isolate Shadow for his own purposes. Media, Technical Boy, and Mr. World arrive to threaten Wednesday. Wednesday destroys their men with a lightning bolt and proclaims himself to be Odin
, and convinces Easter to unleash her own powers and take back the spring, casting a drought over America. At last, Shadow admits belief in the gods, just before Laura arrives to talk with him.

Production

Development

The first season was adapted by Bryan Fuller (left) and Michael Green (right)

In February 2014, Fremantle Media acquired the rights to adapt the novel as a fantasy drama series.[29] In July 2014, it was announced that Starz would be developing the series with Bryan Fuller and Michael Green.[30] Fuller stated that the series would be "[following] the events of the books but expanding those events, and expanding the point of view to go above and beyond Shadow and Wednesday".[31] Permission has been given for the series to incorporate elements from the book's companion, Anansi Boys.[31] Fuller also confirmed that Gaiman is "very involved" with the production and expressed his hope that Gaiman would write an episode himself.[31]

On June 16, 2015, Starz officially announced that it had greenlit the series.[32][33] Showrunner Bryan Fuller estimated in May 2015 that the show would likely air in "late 2016";[34] however, it premiered in April 2017, and the first season consisted of eight episodes.[17][35] The first season was initially set to consist of ten episodes.[36]

Filming

Production began in March 2016,[37] with filming primarily occurring in Toronto, as well as Brantford, Cambridge, Guelph, and Hamilton, Ontario, and Oklahoma.[38]

Writing

Regarding the sexual content on the show, Green stated that while the book contains sexual content, "our sexual content, when it was portrayed, was artful. By that, we mean that it was essential to character, or essential to story. That it was as beautiful [as] anything else we were gonna try to portray in the show. Which is to say, if you're going to define gratuitous sexuality as sexuality that can be cut out and not diminish the final episode in any way, we weren't gonna do that. We wanted it to be something that was essential." He also added that Starz wasn't "shy about nudity".[39]

The third episode features a gay scene between a businessman named Salim and a Djinn. Fuller admitted he wasn't concerned with the explicit sexual content that was featured in the scene, stating: "We wanted to tell a very graphic story with the sex and sexuality. And also tell a tale where a man comes from a country where homosexuality is punishable by death. For him most sexual experiences [would be] back-alley blowjobs, so the Jinn is making love to him probably for the first time in his life so he can experience sexual love. It's an amazing, beautiful experience for a human being to have particularly when you consider how many men, women and genders in-between, don't, or can't, because of where they come from."[40] Omid Abtahi, who portrays Salim, commented on the relationship, "I think love in any form, man/man, woman/man, woman/woman, whatever, is a beautiful thing. I would love to live in a world where people are not thrown off by that. So the way you do it is by exposing them to it, and normalizing it. Yes, it might be a little graphic for some people but it's natural. There's no hate. We're not trying to offend anybody. It's love."[40] Fuller also demanded a reshoot of the scene, claiming the original sex positions weren't physiologically possible for anal intercourse.[41]

The fifth episode's prologue showed a five-minute animation sequence that revolves around characters in the Ice Age. The sequence was created by Tendril, a design and animation studio that was based near Toronto, where the series is filmed. According to Tendril's director Chris Bahry, the sequence was difficult to make and it took six months to complete. According to Bahry, "The challenge was in finding the most powerful way to communicate the central theme of the sequence: faith vs survival and adaptation." He also added, "We wanted it to feel very tangible and real, like a stop motion film that could have been made by these ancient people, using whatever materials and tools they would have had access to."[42]

Casting

On January 28, 2016, Ricky Whittle was cast as the lead character, Shadow Moon.[1] On March 2, 2016, it was announced that Ian McShane had been cast as Mr. Wednesday.[2] It was later announced on March 17, 2016, that Emily Browning would play Laura Moon, Shadow's wife.[3] On March 23, 2016, it was announced that Sean Harris, Yetide Badaki and Bruce Langley would play the respective roles of Mad Sweeney, Bilquis and Technical Boy.[6] On April 14, 2016, Jonathan Tucker and Crispin Glover were cast as Low Key Lyesmith and Mr. World.[5] On April 21, 2016, Cloris Leachman was cast as Zorya Vechernyaya, Peter Stormare as Czernobog, Chris Obi as Mr. Jaquel, and Mousa Kraish as the Jinn.[10]

On May 6, 2016, it was announced that Sean Harris had departed the series due to personal reasons and the role of Mad Sweeney was being recast.[43] On May 11, 2016, it was announced that Pablo Schreiber would take over the role of Mad Sweeney.[7] In June 2016, it was announced that Gillian Anderson would portray Media.[8] On June 15, 2016, it was announced that Omid Abtahi, Orlando Jones and Demore Barnes would join the cast as Salim, Mr. Nancy and Mr. Ibis, respectively.[11][12] On July 15, 2016, it was announced that Dane Cook was set to appear as Robbie,[15] and a week later, Kristin Chenoweth as Easter.[16]

Reception

Critical response

The first season of American Gods has received largely positive reviews from critics. On

New York Magazine, called the show "a bizarre, dazzling show."[46]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of American Gods season 1
No. Title Air date
Rating

(18–49)
Viewers
(millions)
DVR
(18–49)
DVR viewers
(millions)
Total
(18–49)
Total viewers
(millions)
1 "The Bone Orchard" April 30, 2017 0.4 0.975[20]
2 "The Secret of Spoons" May 7, 2017 0.3 0.710[21]
3 "Head Full of Snow" May 14, 2017 0.3 0.716[23] 0.585 1.301[47]
4 "Git Gone" May 21, 2017 0.3 0.631[24] 0.621 1.252[48]
5 "Lemon Scented You" May 28, 2017 0.3 0.666[25] 0.3 0.733 0.6 1.400[49]
6 "A Murder of Gods" June 4, 2017 0.2 0.607[26] 0.3 0.671 0.5 1.278[50]
7 "A Prayer for Mad Sweeney" June 11, 2017 0.3 0.629[27] 0.588 1.218[51]
8 "Come to Jesus" June 18, 2017 0.3 0.774[28] 0.622 1.396[52]

Home media

The first season of American Gods was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Region 4 on July 19, 2017,[53] and in Region 2 on July 31, 2017.[54] The season was released in Region 1 on October 17, 2017, including over two hours of exclusive extras.[55]

References

  1. ^ a b Robinson, Joanna (January 28, 2016). "American Gods Author Neil Gaiman on Why Casting The 100s Ricky Whittle as Shadow Is So Vital". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Goldberg, Lesley (March 3, 2016). "Ian McShane to Star in 'American Gods' for Starz". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Goldberg, Lesley (March 17, 2016). "Starz's 'American Gods' Casts Its Laura Moon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  4. ^ McNally, Victoria (June 15, 2017). "A Prayer for Mad Sweeney on American Gods, Explained". Nerdist. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Petski, Denise (April 14, 2016). "'American Gods': Jonathan Tucker & Crispin Glover Cast In Starz Adaptation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Petski, Denise (March 23, 2016). "Starz's 'American Gods' Casts Sean Harris As Mad Sweeney, Yetide Badaki As Bilquis & Bruce Langley As Technical Boy". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (May 11, 2016). "Pablo Schreiber To Play Mad Sweeney In 'American Gods' Starz Series, Joins Indie 'Thumper'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Slezak, Michael (June 3, 2016). "Gillian Anderson Joins American Gods". TVLine. Retrieved June 3, 2016.
  9. ^ Miller, Liz Shannon (June 26, 2017). "Gillian Anderson Ruled 'American Gods': How the Many Faces of Media Were Chosen". IndieWire. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  10. ^
    Fremantle Media. April 21, 2016. Archived from the original
    on March 5, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  11. ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (June 15, 2016). "'American Gods': Omid Abtahi Joins Cast Of Starz Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  12. ^ a b c Stanhope, Kate (June 15, 2016). "Starz' 'American Gods' Adds 'Sleepy Hollow' Alum Orlando Jones". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  13. ^ Briers, Michael (October 17, 2016). "Beth Grant Reteams With Bryan Fuller For American Gods". We Got This Covered. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
  14. ^ a b Griffiths, Eleanor Bley (May 8, 2017). "American Gods mythology guide: Who are the Slavic Zorya sisters and what is their story?". Radio Times. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  15. ^ a b Snetiker, Marc (July 15, 2016). "American Gods: Dane Cook lends a friendly hand". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2016.
  16. ^ a b Trendacosta, Katharine (July 22, 2016). "Kristin Chenoweth Will Play Easter in American Gods". io9. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  17. ^ a b Snetiker, Marc (December 22, 2016). "Meet Vulcan, American Gods' god of guns — exclusive". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
  18. ^ Snetiker, Marc (September 1, 2016). "'Lost' alum joins American Gods as Jesus". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  19. CraveOnline. Archived from the original
    on February 8, 2018. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  20. ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 2, 2017). "Sunday cable ratings: 'American Gods' has decent premiere on Starz". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  21. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (May 9, 2017). "ShowbuzzDaily's Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.7.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
  22. ^ Framke, Caroline (May 28, 2017). "Starz's American Gods finally aired a great episode that wasn't deliberately confusing". Vox. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  23. ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 16, 2017). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Into the Badlands' improves, 'Naked and Afraid XL' leads a quiet day". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 19, 2017. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  24. ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 23, 2017). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Twin Peaks' return comes in low for Showtime". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 23, 2017. Retrieved May 23, 2017.
  25. ^ a b Porter, Rick (May 31, 2017). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Naked and Afraid XL' tops a down day". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 31, 2017. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  26. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (June 6, 2017). "Updated: ShowbuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.4.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 6, 2017.
  27. ^ a b Metcalf, Mitch (June 13, 2017). "Updated: ShowbuzzDaily's Top 150 Sunday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 6.11.2017". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
  28. ^ a b Porter, Rick (June 20, 2017). "Sunday cable ratings: 'American Gods' finale improves, 'Fear the Walking Dead' hits another low". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  29. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 3, 2014). "Fantasy Novel 'American Gods' Being Developed As Drama Series By FremantleMedia". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  30. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (July 1, 2014). "Starz, Bryan Fuller Board Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
  31. ^
    CraveOnline. Archived from the original
    on August 4, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  32. ^ Ge, Linda (June 16, 2015). "Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods' Adaptation Gets Greenlight From Starz". TheWrap. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  33. ^ "American Gods TV adaptation begins casting search for lead character". The Guardian. June 16, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  34. ^ Caron, Nathalie (May 28, 2015). "American Gods producer Bryan Fuller talks casting diversity on the Neil Gaiman TV series". Blastr. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
  35. ^ Evans, Greg (February 23, 2017). "'American Gods': Starz Sets Premiere Date, Gives First Look At New Fantasy Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  36. ^ "Cameras Roll as Starz and FremantleMedia North America Bring "American Gods" to Life". The Futon Critic. April 21, 2016. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  37. ^ Barnett, David (August 25, 2015). "American Gods TV adaptation to begin production in March". The Guardian. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  38. ^ Fleischer, David (July 24, 2017). "Where American Gods was filmed in Toronto". Torontoist. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  39. ^ Opam, Kwame (May 1, 2017). "The creators of American Gods talk extreme violence, male nudity, and praying to guns". The Verge. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  40. ^
    SyfyWire. Archived from the original
    on May 18, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  41. Vulture.com
    . Retrieved May 15, 2017.
  42. ^ McNally, Victoria (June 2, 2017). "Go Behind the Scenes of American Gods' Stunning Animation Sequence (Exclusive)". Nerdist. Retrieved June 4, 2017.
  43. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (May 6, 2016). "'American Gods': Starz Series To Recast Mad Sweeney Role, Changes DP". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  44. ^ "American Gods: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  45. ^ "American Gods: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  46. Vulture.com
    . Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  47. ^ Porter, Rick (May 27, 2017). "'Brockmire' makes a big jump in cable Live +7 ratings for May 8–14". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 27, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  48. ^ Porter, Rick (June 2, 2017). "'Better Call Saul' tops the charts in cable Live +7 ratings for May 15–21". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  49. ^ Porter, Rick (June 8, 2017). "'Better Call Saul' racks up more big gains in cable Live +7 ratings for May 22–28". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  50. ^ Porter, Rick (June 14, 2017). "'Nashville' return makes solid gains in cable Live +7 ratings for May 29-June 4". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  51. ^ Porter, Rick (June 23, 2017). "'Better Call Saul' triples in cable Live +7 ratings for June 5–11". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 25, 2017. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  52. ^ Porter, Rick (June 29, 2017). "'Better Call Saul' on top again: Cable Live +7 ratings for June 12–18". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on June 30, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  53. ^ "American Gods - Season 1". Sanity. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  54. ^ "American Gods [2017]". Amazon. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
  55. ^ Lambert, David (August 7, 2017). "American Gods - Blu-rays and DVDs for the Mind-Blowingly Incredible New Starz Series". TVShowsOnDVD. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 8, 2017.

External links