Fans given power over Gods as Gaiman book heads to TV
When adapting a much-loved book for television, what’s the best way to keep the source material’s army of loyal fans onside? Get them involved. American Gods, Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novel, is finally heading to television 14 years after it was first published. US premium cable network Starz announced last month that it had ordered a series based on the contemporary fantasy novel. The show has been in development at FremantleMedia North America since February 2014. Translated into more than 30 languages, the book is set amid a war between old and new gods: the traditional gods of biblical and mythological roots from around the world are steadily losing believers to an upstart group of gods reflecting society’s modern love of money, technology, media, celebrity and drugs. The protagonist, Shadow Moon, is an ex-con who becomes bodyguard and travelling partner to Mr Wednesday, a conman who is in reality one of the older gods, on a cross-country mission to gather his forces in preparation to battle the new deities. The deal to finally bring Gaiman’s book to the small screen will end years of anticipation for its fans, who were left disappointed when plans for Tom Hanks to develop American Gods for HBO failed to materialise. Now, however, the series looks set to hit production, with Bryan Fuller and Michael Green on board as writers and showrunners. Gaiman himself will also write some of the episodes, much to the delight of his supporters. When the series was announced, the author said: … Continue reading Fans given power over Gods as Gaiman book heads to TV
