Jesse Alexander, who has written for Hannibal, Heroes, and Star Trek: Discovery, will serve as showrunner for season two of Starz’s American Gods. “I’m thrilled that Jesse is [the] showrunner. He loves and understands the book, he loves and understands the TV series, and he’s dedicated to making future seasons of American Gods as good and as beautiful and as unique as they can be,” said Neil Gaiman, who wrote the novel the series is based on. “I’m glad that we, and the cast and crew, will have Jesse shepherding us on the way.”
But that’s not the real bombshell in The Hollywood Reporter‘s write-up about Alexander’s hiring: his predecessor’s exit is. Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller served as showrunner for season one, but he and Michael Green, who also developed American Gods, “stepped down” over “creative differences.”
Yeah. About that.
Fuller and Green had already written the first six episodes of season two, with sources noting [production company] Fremantle planned to toss those scripts and start from scratch with Alexander. In addition to budget concerns, sources note Gaiman was also unhappy with the direction Fuller and Green planned to take season two as their vision was not a straight adaptation of his source material. Gaiman is said to have wanted a showrunner to come in and produce a straight take on his novel (which would include ignoring the cliffhanger from season one). (Via)
Due to the delay in finding a new showrunner, season two may get a reduced episode count “in a bid to keep the show within its budget.” (Each episode costs $9 million.) American Gods fans may want to pray that things turn out OK.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
