When last we wrote about the American Gods TV series in development, we were trying not to squee all over the place because we’ve been burned before on adaptations of Gaiman works where Hollywood didn’t deliver. Nonetheless, producer Gary Goetzman delivered some encouraging news to The Hollywood Reporter. He says American Gods is slated for six seasons, with ten to twelve episodes per season (1 hour each) and $35 to $40 million budgeted per season. That’s an awesome $3 to $4 million per episode. They’re planning to air the first season on HBO in 2013 or later. They’re not skimping on the special effects, either:
Rich in religious folklore that spanned millennia and featuring deities from Greek and Nordic mythology, and even the Judeo-Christian monotheistic God making an appearance, in the contemporary U.S., American Gods will be effects-heavy to do justice to the awe-inspiring power of the divine beings. “There are some crazy things in there. We’ll probably be doing more effects in there than it’s been done on a television series,” said Goetzman. [THR]
Neil Gaiman and director/cinematographer Bob Richardson are writing the pilot. Goetzman and Tom Hanks’ production company, Playtone, are developing the series; they’re known for creating Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Big Love. In other words, it’s about the best TV development deal we could hope for to go with this award-winning book. And we’re not throwing the term award-winning around loosely here. It won the Hugo, Nebula, Bram Stoker, SFX, and Locus Awards. I also awarded it a “World’s Greatest Grandpa” mug with several stuffed toys in attendance, so there’s that.