Starz's American Gods Thread 2 - Only the Gods are Real

Great season finale.

However I do wonder if the show is more about Michael Ende's Neverending Story (guiding the protagonist through an elaborate story scheme to make him believe) or Berthold Brecht's The Good Man of Setzuan (the Gods trying to win a bet by looking for a good person among humanity which they have pretty much written off as rotten and not worthy of being saved)?

Gillian Anderson doing Judy Garland in [italic]Eastern Parade.[/italic] I loved how she dropped this act and reverted to both Marylin and Lucy as the situation worsened. Bowie was nowhere to be found, however. Perhaps she uses that one for internal dealings.

Giving only some of the Jesuses halos was a nice touch and quickly conveyed the fact that not all Christian denominations follow the Nicene Creed. I wish they did something more with the Virgin Marys, like showing Wednesday pestering one of them in the background. Creationist Jesus gets a quick mention:

[quote]Media: Is he here?

[quote]Ostara: Is who here? Oh, He with the capital H? I've got a gaggle of 'em inside. One of them's got a baby dinosaur!

Also, I've never really been into CBT, but I'd bust Pablo's balls any day. (I can't believe I mentioned the Virgin Mary and CBT in the same post.)

I found Asian Jesus sexy, and I'm somewhat disturbed typing that sentence.

If you didn't know this show was from a gay man, Media in the guise of a relatively obscure Judy Garland role would do it.

Wait, the season finale was already on? I checked Starz On Demand last night, the season finale was not available to view, WTF? My cable provider is Spectrum.

The last episode listed was last week's with Pablo, annoying dead wife and Omid (Salim).

It's available on the Starz app, website, and I thnk onDemand as of Midnight EST on Sunday.

OK thx. I'm going to watch it at the regular time it usually airs, EST.

That Chenoweth moment was...divine.

I've never been a Chenoweth fan but bitch made !!! this damn episode. That ending and further emasculating of the Jesus posse was epic!

Some of the different Jesus's from the showrunner's twitter.

More Jesus

Seems he'll find the djinn at the House on the Rock

The guy playing Shadow Moon is a terrible and uninteresting actor who almost singlehandedly brings the show to its knees. He needs to be replaced.

[quote]He needs to be replaced.

This isn't a nineties soap opera; it's not happening. And yes, he's the weakest one. Just like in the book.

The Wednesday reveal was originally supposed to happen in episode 4.

Stuck the landing, it did.

Fuller was already talking about casting an Indian actress as Kali way back when, so I can't wait for the House on the Rock scenes next season!

As a reader of the novel (I know you guys hate people who start posts like that!), the characters and plot have completely deviated from the source material, so I am enjoying this retelling (I'm not a purist!). I can't wait to see where Messieurs Fuller and Green take us!

Seeing Kristin Chenoweth, a very serious Christian in real life, play a pagan goddess surrounded by all those Jesuses was hysterical. She went for it, God love her.

She actually had a cute interview on Conan about it.

Does anyone know who the guy ( crown Is his credited role) Bilquis fucked in the opening orgy? It lists him as Paolo and nothing else.

R19 No idea, probably some model. He was hot, wasn't he?

I can't decide if he was Latino or Asian, though.

A Filipino model named Paolo Roldan.

Chenoweth and Scully definitely made the finale.

R21 Thanks! One hot fucker. I love this profile shot of him.

R22 I read that some people wanted Christina Hendricks as Ostara and now I can't help but imagine that scene being played out with a luscious redhead like Christina instead. But I guess we already have a magical redhead with Melisandre in GoT...

Who was the main Jesus? I forgot the actor's name. He's so familiar. As I was watching last night I noticed how much he would have made a great Charles Manson in the NBC series "Aquarius". He'd be a million times better than the goofy looking comical idiot who was chosen to play Manson. Every time that guy is on screen, I just laugh. The "Aquarius" Manson also reminds me of the actor in that stupid macaroni & cheese commercial set in a supermarket aisle, the guy who yells at people to get away from his "gold".

Jeremy Davies.

He did play Manson in the 2004 remake of Helter Skelter.

THX! I knew he looked like Manson! I saw that remake.

He would definitely be much better than the actor cast for "Aquarius". He's awful, I cannot take him seriously as Manson.

I'd like to have a word with my husband...

So what does Easter look like in God mode?

Obid has a kid, wonder who his partner is. He's gay, right?

My God, this was a boring series. Maybe it was just taking time to build. The last few episodes were good but I doubt I'll watch it again.

SNORE!!

Meant to write Omid Abathi.

Not sure why the reveal of Mister Wednesday is a 'reveal'... he said it in episode one, Wednesday is "my day"... and who doesn't know that "Wednesday" is "Odin's Day"??

Was that a contact in Ian McShane's left eye or has he lost his eyesight in that eye? He used to be so gorgeous!

R33 That is purposely done by the showrunners. Odin is a one-eyed god. Instead of him being literally one-eyed they chose to make one eye particularly special. That is a theme of Odin's. He tortured himself for knowledge.

German/Slavic/Norse mythology changes a lot by region but essentially Odin sacrifices his eye to a being (this being changes depending on the tale) in the Well of Urd in exchange for knowledge. The Well of Urd is a part of the same realm/plane as Yggdrasil (the Tree of Life) . Yggdrasil is like all the realms of existence, while the Well of Urd is fate/destiny.

[quote]Not sure why the reveal of Mister Wednesday is a 'reveal'... he said it in episode one, Wednesday is "my day"... and who doesn't know that "Wednesday" is "Odin's Day"??

I'd wager that the vast majority of the U.S. population doesn't know who Odin is, let alone that Wednesday is his day.

Sad to say, most people probably know Odin as Thor's father in the Marvel Comic movies. Sigh.....

I'd wager that the vast majority of the U.S. population doesn't know.

Full stop goes there r35

Dang that full of himself smirk on the smug meister when he runs over all those poor bunnies. Precious little citizens!

Is the audience supposed to root for Wednesday's and Shadow's side after they pushed Ostara to withold her powers so humans have to suffer until they worship the old Gods?

R39 I think you're supposed to see that the old ones are just as bad as the new ones and no one is preferable to the other as there's always a price. I would like to see [italic]all[/italic] of them kill each other, to be honest.

Also, I don't think Ostara withheld her powers in that scene; quite the opposite, in fact. For the first time in a very long time, she was freed from the bondage of Christian modesty that was forced upon her by the rebranding deal, as symbolised by her bonnet becoming undone. She literally looked like she was having an orgasm there at the end. I just assumed that giant pink rabbit the camera loved so much symbolised her divine clitoris and a now fully awakened and unleashed female sexuality and power, which was in turn portrayed as having a destructive effect on the established order of things. And it connects wonderfully to Bilquis' story as well.

[quote] I think you're supposed to see that the old ones are just as bad as the new ones and no one is preferable to the other as there's always a price. I would like to see all of them kill each other, to be honest.

We already know that Odin/Wednesday ordered the murder of Shadow's wife so Shadow had no other choice but to join his quest. Plus Odin gets off on his worshippers killing each other. I agree that I'd rather seem them kill each other and not mess with humanity anymore.

R41 And he blatantly deceived Ostara by lying to her about who killed Vulcan. It was probably what made her start to reconsider her deal with Media. He's as bad as the new ones or maybe even worse.

Worship and "sacrifice" keeps them around.

I watched a review of the episode on Youtube and someone mentioned a post credit scene. I didn't hang around after the credits - what did I miss?

My Starz subscription runs out in a few days, so I'm wondering if I should bingewatch the season again. I liked it that much that I actually want to.

For reasons that I can't even articulate, Mad Sweeney's description of America as a "land with no time for magic" is something I find achingly sad.

R44 They probably meant the Bilquis scene which comes right after the main showdown, but before the credits roll. There's nothing after the credits.

[quote]Not sure why the reveal of Mister Wednesday is a 'reveal'... he said it in episode one, Wednesday is "my day"... and who doesn't know that "Wednesday" is "Odin's Day"??

[quote]I'd wager that the vast majority of the U.S. population doesn't know.

[quote]Full stop goes there [R35]

So...the U.S. population doesn’t know anything because they don’t jack off to Norse mythology? I mean....I certainly hope that’s not where you’re going with this. Because that would be a pretty ridiculous thing to say. Wouldn't it?

Costumes, gorgeous costumes!

It was nice seeing Orlando Jones in the series, but I kept thinking of him on MadTV and had to laugh. I guess I see Orlando as more of comedic actor than a dramatic one.

Season 2 cannot air soon enough! Was S1 perfect? Certainly not, but it was the most interesting (and gorgeous) series I've seen in a long time. I also appreciated that fact that the series did not hold the audience's hand and explain everything or talk down to the audience (with the possible exception of the veer off to VulcanTown). You had to figure it out for yourself. (With some Wikipedia help. I knew the major gods -- including that Wednesday is Odin's Day -- but I had to look up the Slavic ones and Anansi.)

I haven't read the book and, at this point, don't intend to as I, rightly or wrongly, tend to be a purist about page-to-screen adaptations. (The TV "Brideshead Revisited"? Heaven. The film remake? Torture.) I'll let Fuller & Co. do their own thing and maybe read the novel when the show is over. How many seasons do those of you who have read the book think they can legitimately make without it completely flying off the rails?

Also, Emmy noms for McShane, Anderson, Chenoweth, Schreiber and all the production designers! (Shadow, you come sit next to me.)

Starz is free this weekend on Amazon Prime.

Any Emmy nods would not be for the upcoming Emmys, they would be for the following year.

Penultimate costume breakdown.

Whittle looks [italic]divine[/italic] in that purple shirt. He really has the perfect skin tone for it.

R47, how could you have never learned where the names for the days of the week came from? I fucking learned that shit in ELEMENTARY school.

Sun day is obvious. Moon day. etc.

Wednesday is "woden's day" or ODIN'S day. Thursday is THOR'S day.

You never EVER studied any Norse mythology in school? I had it several times throughout elementary and high school.

What the fuck kind of shit school did you go to (and fail out of, I'm guessing) that you don't know this basic stuff?

R50, it's been so long since I read the book, I can't even really recall... and they've diverged more than a bit from the book... but my feel is that if they wanted they could wrap the book up by end of next season. But they could also stretch it to three. Depends on how many "just for the show" episodes they insert (like the Vulcan episode, almost none of which was from the book).

The Vulcan stuff, Laura's backstory, and the introduction of Easter are the only things that came from nowhere and weren't modifications of stuff from the book. So it's not that different.

So three full episodes out of 8 "isn't that much"??

I beg to differ.

Last costume breakdown of the season.

That's it for this year. I expect casting announcements and similar news for the next season to start trickling in shortly.

I'm looking forward to hearing about Mama Ji.

Fuller was talking about casting Grace Jones, but then Gaiman said "Here is a list of actual Indian actress."

Spoiler help: Is this show about good Gods vs evil Gods?

r60. No it is not. It's about old Gods (like Odin) vs. the new generation of Gods (Media, Technology, etc.). It's like Titans vs. Greek Gods.

Tech Boy was once again deliciously disgusting.

r62, I like how a previous poster pointed out the character (and actor?) has a face you just want to punch. So true.

[quote]What the fuck kind of shit school did you go to (and fail out of, I'm guessing) that you don't know this basic stuff?

Well, you’d be guessing wrong you pompous piece of shit. And I don’t recall learning Norse mythology in fucking ELEMENTARY SCHOOL or HIGH SCHOOL. If I did, I certainly didn’t retain it because it’s completely useless knowledge, to be honest with you. UNLESS, I am talking to a keyboard mouthbreather--whose only accomplishment is telling people how “Basic” things are over the Internet--.going on and on about a goddamned TV show.

I bet you watched each episode at least five times while stroking your pimply, underwhelming cock.

THX R65. I didn't learn Norse mythology in elementary, high school or college, I don't understand why the anyone would get so angry about ppl who don't know or remember much about it.

It's a fucking TV series! If a person needs a text book to enjoy it, or you need to have read Gaiman's book to comprehend it, why bother!

There are way too many ppl in this thread having orgasms over this overrated show. I only watched it for Ian, Kristin and Omid Abathi. The black British actor is sexy and handsome but doesn't leave much of an impression acting wise. I'd have to see him in something else to judge his acting, in this show, he's merely 'there'.

ˆ That was for R64.

R65 Our "orgasms" over this show are as subjective as your description of it as overrated. You alone don't get to have the final say on how good this show really is. Also, the fact that there are "way too many ppl" in your view who don't happen to share your particular opinion, is your problem, not ours. This is a discussion board, not a polling booth. Let's chant together: [italic]Taste being subjective is not a failure of the human condition.[/italic] Disagreements and different points of view are always welcome.

Now can we [italic]please[/italic] stop with all the bickering in this thread?

[quote]Now can we please stop with all the bickering in this thread?

On DL?

Are forealz?

R68 I know, I know. But still, it's not even enjoyable cattiness like elsewhere, just nastiness.

I want to cum all over tech's boy luscious weasel face

[quote]Taste being subjective is not a failure of the human condition. Disagreements and different points of view are always welcome. Now can we please stop with all the bickering in this thread?

[quote]I know, I know. But still, it's not even enjoyable cattiness like elsewhere, just nastiness.

I wasn't being catty, the archly superior know-it-alls here, the ones who are overly praising this series are the ones acting bitchy and catty.

A person giving their honest opinion had nothing to doing with them trying to have a "final say on how good this show really is". YOUR post R67, was about twisting others words. A lot of the time, viewers are mesmerized by a series visuals and the performers, they can't see past the bad writing and that applies to many series, not just this one.

It seems in this thread, anyone who has a differing opinion, and doesn't gush over this series, is met with contempt, ppl like R67, are simply twisting others posts to suit their agenda. There are also others here putting down the viewers who have not read the book. If you need to have read the book to comprehend a series, again, why bother. Nowhere is it written that viewers need to be familiar with a book a series is based on.

MARY!

"A lot of the time, viewers are mesmerized by a series visuals and the performers, while OTHERS can't see past the bad writing and that applies to many series, not just this one."

[quote]I want to cum all over tech's boy luscious weasel face

Weasel face? Why do so many DL posters call Mid Eastern, Indian and Pakistani men, weasel faced? Omid Abathi is adorable.

Technical Boy is played by Bruce Langley. Omid Abathi plays Salim.

lol @ r74 See, you're obviously oversensitive about that issue and look for it when it's not even there.

R76, not oversensitive at all, I'm not Mid Eastern, Indian or Pakistani , but I certainly DO notice in threads for Riz Ahmed and the "sexy Mid Eastern/Indian" guys threads, many here always mention these obviously attractive men have weasel or rat face. Seems many Wasps just cannot accept that these brown men are becoming famous world wide.

Luscious?! Bruce Langley is actually quite ugly, especially with that horrid hairstyle in this series, Omid is very cute.

Thought R70 was referring to Omid because I recall his character mentioning to his lover that he had an IT job and was in town on business. I didn't pay attention to most of the peripheral characters names.

Salim has such a sexy twinky face. His face is not weasely!

They should make Shadow Moon, a porn name if ever, the God of Pornography, a god that spans old and new gods and they should use the Ricky Whittle Skype jerk off recording.

Technology and Media are powerful gods but they exist for the power of PORNOGRAPHY!

Like the internet.

Yes do that!

Last night I re-watched a few episodes, I watched the episode with Salim and the Jinn having sex. Salim's dick looked like a prosthetic, just like the prosthetic used in the Yves St. Laurent movie.

I don't get the big deal about this sex scene, particularly the argument over Salim's erection and all the other nonsense some people here were arguing about. These men are actors. I notice there's always way too much projection from DL posters when when straight actors do gay sex scenes.

Why would a straight actor get aroused on the set of a non-porno film during a gay sex scene? I've always assumed the actor Omid Abathi was straight. I don't know much about him. The woman in the blue dress standing behind him during the interview is either this wife or gf. I've seen her in many photos with him. What a surprise, another cute actor with a bland looking partner.

Omid mentioned knowing his co-star in the sex scene, Mousa Kraish, for 10 years.

Bryan Fuller has admitted on interviews that it was an 11" prosthetic penis.

R82 No, I think he said both actors were wearing skin-coloured sacks and the penises were all CG.

[quote]I didn't pay attention to most of the peripheral characters names.

Is he really a peripheral character, though?

[post redacted because independent.co.uk thinks that links to their ridiculous rag are a bad thing. Somebody might want to tell them how the internet works. Or not. We don't really care. They do suck though. Our advice is that you should not click on the link and whatever you do, don't read their truly terrible articles.]

[quote]Bryan Fuller has admitted on interviews that it was an 11" prosthetic penis.

Which penis? The Jinn, who removed his towel or Salim, whose penis we seen during the sex scene in the sand?

Mousa Kraish, the Jinn, said in an interview, he got "penis approval". If anyone is interested, Mousa is a native New Yorker, he was born in Brooklyn.

"Speaking to Out magazine, Kraish said of the landmark moment: “Now, more than ever, that story is incredibly powerful. The sex scene is so intense and intimate. I don’t think anything like it has ever occurred on TV.”

The actor decided to go fully nude for the scene, allowing him the privilege of approving the final cut: “I was like, ‘Awesome! I got penis approval.”

R86 The "approval" quip was clearly meant as a joke because that CG penis was so big.

PLS link the article which states the penises were CG.

Both penises? Even adorable button nosed Omid's dick?

R88 Both articles on the mechanics of that scene were posted in the first thread, so you'll have to scroll back a bit.

Thx, R89, OK, I'll just Google.

Ironic that "the mechanics of that scene" were in the first thread, as that was where some guy kept arguing with others that there was an actual erection (Salim) and he was basically being a total ass about the scene. I personally didn't find it shocking. The guy was acting as if he never saw a cock before in a film or TV series. Weird.

In their You Tube interviews both actors said they weren't uncomfortable doing the scene. As they've known each other for quite awhile, they said the scene wasn't as awkward as many might have thought. IIRC, Mousa said he hadn't yet watched the series, let alone that scene, at that point.

R90 Salim's cock when they were on the bed was definitely CG and quite obviously so, but when they were all tarred up in the desert it looked smaller and had quite a large foreskin. So I guess they went with a completely different CG cock there. I don't think Omid would consent to having his hard cock on screen, even if it was all black.

Here's the quote from that article:

[quote]The men — who were concealing their privates in little pouches during the shoot; any penises seen mid-coitus are CGI — began to sweat and heave.

THX R91. I will definitely have to watch the scene again, the only cock I saw when the men were in the hotel room was the Jinn's. I watched most of the series on On Demand. I watched the last two episodes in real time, on the Sunday nights Starz broadcast them.

Could be certain scenes were edited in the On Demand versions? That seems doubtful. I don't remember seeing Salim's cock in the bedroom scene, only the Jinn's when he removed his towel. The both sex scenes were awfully dark, maybe I missed his Salim's cock in the hotel room scene. lol

That said, Omid is a cutie, I wouldn't mind seeing his cock!

No, there aren't multiple edits... you just weren't paying attention, R92. It's not like they zoomed in on it. It was just there.

This scene?

ˆ I remember the above scene. Guess I wasn't paying 100% attention to the hotel room scene when they were on the bed.

I remember Salim's expression of pleasure, I do not remember seeing Salim's cock while they were fucking in the hotel room. Maybe I need to re-set the brightness on my TV, lol

If you paid attention to the scene you would wonder where Salim's blue panties went.

Magic porn panties. There they are and not.

What else do I need?

R95 It's really hard to see Salim's CG cock in the bedroom as it's squished under him. I definitely had to look closely to spot it.

[quote]If you paid attention to the scene you would wonder where Salim's blue panties went. Magic porn panties. There they are and not.

I remember seeing Salim's blue underwear, then the next thing we see them fucking. Must have been one of those, "if you blinked, you missed it" moments! looool

You guys are hilarious. You can go to any gym and see tens of real cocks in the locker room. For free! Without squinting! Or pausing the screen! (But, yeah, I'll cop to watching that episode twice for that scene. But NOT pausing it.)

R100, we're just having fun talking about the sex scene, no biggie. It's funny how everyone made such a big deal thinking the actors had erections etc, then to find out the cocks were CGI, well, it's pretty funny.

The argument in the first thread was actually quite hilarious. One guy went on screaming at others about erections, how real the scene was blah blah, then to find out in this thread, the actors wore skin tone covers on their cocks and the cocks were CGI. I sure hope the guy from the first thread is here and reading what the scene really entailed. He might have also argued the two actors were definitely gay.

Seems he was wrong on all counts. It's nice to be vindicated.

Boring series that didn't go anywhere. I won't be returning to season 2

What is CBT?

I actually loved this series more than I thought I would. I'm a huge fan of the book, but the series gets a chance to explore some little things from the book and flesh them out and make them whole. I'm definitely looking forward to whoever they cast as Kali/Mama-Ji next year.

Incidentally, the soundtrack is pretty fucking epic. The disco track in the Tehran discoteque? Vocals by Debbie Harry *and* Shirley Manson (who does the opening sequence vocals). That's a combo made in heaven, or rather, the Vagina Nebula (nice little dig there)...

R103 What Laura was doing to Pablo in the last episode. Ballbusting, essentially; of the literal variety.

CBT = Cock and Ball Torture. No doubt there's a specifically colored hanky for it.

For non pervs, be aware that CBT is frequently used to mean "Computer-Based Training"

Also, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

To clarify, I meant the dirty variety.

Although I wouldn't mind performing the other two on him as well. He just fucking [italic]does[/italic] it for me like no other actor currently on TV, for some reason.

Pablo had an ouchie - but still looks damn sexy

So AG is expected to return forS2 in 2019?

2019? I expect it will return in 2018.

When a network, or cable channel, waits so long to broadcast the next season, viewers lose interest. They've usually already moved on to another series at that point.

I also expect it to return in 2018, just like any other TV series.

Having more than a year off between seasons is still more of an exception, and thank god for that! I can only think of Fargo, Sense8, Doctor Who and Sherlock as examples of that. And none of those shows are standard television, in that they're either British or have showrunners that like doing things their own way.

There were a few series on Showtime that were scheduled to return but never did, same with BBC America. They were renewed yet never saw the light of day. They either made room for new shows or the series were supposed to be renewed then they were likely cancelled.

Matt LeBlanc's series "Episodes" is scheduled to be returning in August 2017. The show was cancelled but the new episodes were already filmed, so, seven episodes are all the viewers will be getting.

BBC America's forensic cop drama "Silent Witness" never returned, even though they announced it would. The new season had already been filmed for the UK market, for whatever reason, BBC America decided not to air the new season. It was a great show.

[quote]Having more than a year off between seasons is still more of an exception

HBO is doing with Westworld, and they hinted Game of Thrones might not be back until 2019 as well.

R115 Last seasons have become something of an event since Mad Men so I understand why they'd do that with GoT.

Westworld is a separate case and I'm sure it's causing Lombardo the mother of all headaches. They were so certain they were making another GoT and now it's just a white elephant that has to either pull all the stops in 2019 or get cancelled after that. Having a year off after the first season is shit you just can't afford to pull in the age of Peak TV.

R114, there was also a really good show "Outcast" that ran in the US a year ago... season 2 is already filmed and has already aired in the UK, but for some reason isn't currently scheduled to show in the US. I keep waiting for word of season 2 and ... nothing. So weird.

I finally got around to binge-watching "American Gods" last week and I thought the gods were great. I needed to do some research to figure out some of the gods, though. I did not know who Ricky Whittle was before but I am now a fan for life. I hope they take him out of his clothes next season.

FUCK!

Budget issues.

[quote]No one is addressing the reasons behind Green and Fuller’s exit, but we hear that the split may have been over the series’ budget. There had been talk that the budget for first season of the ambitious production had ballooned to Game of Thrones levels. We hear series producer FremantleMedia North America, under new scripted chief Dante di Loreto, tried to impose big budget cuts for the 10-episode second season, which led to the showrunner change.

Wow. Wtf is wrong with Fuller? Can’t he compromise on the budget even a little (namely by getting rid of dead girl)??? He has been fired or left nearly every show he has created and already just got canned from Star Trek. Season two is going to suck now. Thank god Hannibal got three seasons!

R121 I'm really starting to sour on Fuller as well. Why the fuck doesn't he go into movies if he wants such big budgets for his productions? And yes, this show can't possibly look good without a big budget but to increase it over the previous season?! That's just asking for trouble.

And let's face it, this show is dead, dead, dead without Fuller's writing and art direction. We might as well accept it now. Michael Green was always a dud; just look at his Orient Express script. The only thing that would make this shitfest perfect would be hiring Akiva Goldsman as the new showrunner.

I loved this show so much so fuck everyone involved for not being willing to compromise.

" I did not know who Ricky Whittle was before but I am now a fan for life. I hope they take him out of his clothes next season. "

R118, why wait?

Get rid of the CGI flies and the budget falls into place.

Hate when they do a popular season 1 show on the cheap for season 2.

And so it begins, with Anderson announcing she left with the showrunners.

[quote]One of those things, unfortunately, will not be appearing again as the new god Media in the second season of “American Gods” on Starz. Anderson says the departure of showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green means she will not return to the show.

This show is dead, dead, dead. And I blame Fuller for it entirely. To say nothing of the incompetent Michael Green who shouldn't have been involved in the first place.

I just read on Reddit that they actually upped the budget by 2 mil per episode for the new season but that still wasn't enough for the showrunners. Seriously, fuck both of them.

But isn't Neil Gaiman going to be the showrunner for the next season? Why wouldn't Anderson want to work with him? Ok, he's not as experienced but he IS the author of the book. I think it might actually be better with Gaiman as the showrunner. I thought it started to drag and got overly preachy/political (I'm a progressive but even I thought the white militia members shooting the mexican jesus crossing the rio grande was a bit much, esp. since it wasn't in the book at all)

[quote]But isn't Neil Gaiman going to be the showrunner for the next season?

R127 No, Gaiman is busy with the Good Omens TV adaptation right now.

Some genuinely confusing signals coming out of the TCA from Starz today:

[quote]Re @AmericanGodsSTZ and @BryanFuller & Michael Green: "They were not fired, nor did they quit," says @STARZPR prez Chris Albrecht, noting he hopes show will go on, with them, as a "win/win."

[quote]Albrecht on #americangods Fuller & Green departures: it's not an inexpensive show. This is about is there a vision that can be executed on a regular basis? Fremantle needs to know there's a formula to get the show on [in timely fashion] We're on track to get a Season 2.

[quote]They were not fired, nor did they quit

Can anyone in the industry kindly enlighten us as to what the fuck is going on here? Is their "departure but not really", plus taking Anderson and possibly Chenoweth with them, a negotiating tactic or what exactly? Seems very underhanded to me to the point of being unprofessional.

According to some other thread Fuller is going to do Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. I doubt he will do both at the same time.

R131 But he's only slated to do the pilot for that show currently, although the head of that network wants him to remain as the showrunner. Is he slyly playing Paramount against Starz and the one who offers more, gets to keep him? Because if so, that's kinda brilliant.

Article in Deadline with some more info.

[quote]“We’re having some trouble getting the second season underway,” Starz CEO Chris Albrecht admitted during the network’s portion of winter TCA. “It’s not ideal to have 18 months or two years between seasons.”

[quote]“Our partners at Fremantle are working with Bryan and Michael and their schedules, working out a way for them to continue to be involved,” Albrecht said. He confirmed that [bold]“Neil Gaiman will be taking more of a central role, moving forward into a more traditional showrunner function.”[/bold] “We’re looking for a partner for him who can ensure that the television part of this get the appropriate attention.”

[quote]Asked to clarify Fuller and Green’s involvement going forward, Albrecht said that they “will be involved as much as they can be, it’s a little bit up in the air as to what their role will be.”

And finally, a dig at Anderson. I don't think she's returning under any circumstance after this comment.

[quote]On Anderson and Chenoweth’s possible departures, “I think there’s been some confusion around the cast exits,” he said. “Gillian Anderson seems to be leaving everything but this was not a surprise,” he said, referring the actress’ recent statements that she would not be doing more X-Files in addition to not returning to American Gods. “But Kristen Chenoweth is still as far as we know committed to the show obviously depending on her availability.”

Media’s big stuff happens shortly after house on the rock. I’d think she could bail eithout harming anything,

I will say that between this and Hannibal, I can understand why everyone loves Anderson.

They found their new showrunner.

[quote]Jesse Alexander, who worked with Bryan Fuller on shows including Hannibal and Star Trek: Discovery, will take over showrunning duties alongside novel scribe Neil Gaiman.

[quote]Sources tell THR that several established showrunners declined offers for the job.

[bold]American Gods Adding New Media Role to Replace Departing Gillian Anderson[/bold]

[quote]We hear the show is searching for a 20-something, Asian woman to play the series-regular part, which symbolizes the role of social media in modern American life the same way that Gillian Anderson’s Media represented television and pop culture in Season 1.

[quote]Though Starz had no comment, it appears that the series is moving to fill the gap left by Anderson’s departure from the series.

I'm excited at the prospect of an Asian woman playing New Media but I'm still not over Anderson leaving.

[quote]but I'm still not over Anderson leaving.

With Bryan Fuller gone that is expected. She came onto this because of him.

I rewatched the last episode over the Easter Weekend.

So fucking satisfying!

Production started a month ago already and it's finally getting articles today after they dropped a behind the scenes video.

I'm pretty pessimistic about it still but that carousel does look nice.

2019? They trying to kill us?

[bold]‘American Gods’: Sakina Jaffrey Joins Season 2; Casting Search Underway For New Character[/bold]

[quote]Jaffrey will play Mama-Ji. Now a waitress at the Motel America, Mama-Ji is a Hindu goddess of war. With her necklace of skulls, acerbic wit and free spirit, she’s a match for any mighty god or man.

[quote]In addition, a casting search is underway for new female character, Sam Blackcrow. SAM BLACKCROW: First Nation/Native American female age 18-mid-20s. She’s confident, engaging, headstrong, and has a free spirit personality.

Love this broad so fucking much; always have. So I feel a bit better about this season now.

[bold]‘American Gods’ Casts Mr. Town, Sam Black Crow & New Media Roles[/bold]

Another casting announcement. Kahyun Kim's character is replacing Gillian Anderson's. I forget who Mr Town was in the book - I bet they'll make the god of deplorables, now that Vulcan is dead.

[quote]First Nations actor Jacobs will recur as a college student named Sam Black Crow. She is spiritually cynical for someone who claims to believe in so much. She lives life with fierce confidence and openness, selling the chainsaw art she carves by the roadside for extra money.

[quote]Jacobs was born and raised in Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Territory, which has shaped her passion for Indigenous rights activism and interest in politically charged roles in film. Her debut leading role as Aila in the 2013 feature, [italic]Rhymes for Young Ghouls[/italic] earned her a nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards. She recently completed production on [italic]The Road Behind.[/italic]

Very intrigued by this actress.

‘American Gods’ Season 2 Trailer: The Controversial Neil Gaiman Series Returns After Almost Two Years

We do grant wishes. Here's a sneak peek of Jinn and Salim from #AmericanGods Season 2.

I would like to thank whomever posted the link to the Ricky Whittle Skype jerk off.

It has kept me going since the last episode.

And I must have watched the Kristin Chenoweth Ostara scene as much.

What have you done?

Final trailer, featuring the sexiest Pablo you've ever seen.

Damn, you can already tell that the quality is going to go majorly downhill with Bryan Fuller gone. That trailer was very underwhelming. What a shame.

Sepinwall says it sucks. Not that anyone is surprised by that.

r147 I said the same thing when I saw the trailer. You can feel the quality drop from the trailer alone and also from that five minute preview they released a while ago.

[quote]I was offered some VFX work on this, and I was so put off by what I saw in the meeting, I turned them down flat.

A comment I just saw on Reddit. Ouch.

R148 ugh, I had hopes it was going to get better not worse. I guess I won’t be watching.

A good writeup about what doesn't work in the first three episodes.

I love this photo in the article and supposedly their expanded arc is one of the more compelling, so that's nice at least.

Well, Matt Zoller Seitz hates it.

[quote]It seems only fitting that American Gods season two on Starz was born in the battle between two sets of creators. Unfortunately what’s onscreen shows evidence of struggle. It’s an imposing ruin.

It's been completely de-sexed, for some reason. As if that wasn't the main talking point in the first season. Thanks again, Fuller.

[quote]The most striking change is the show’s libido-ectomy. The new Gods has been drained of sexual energy, save for clichéd heteronormative throwaways like a shot of a female pole dancer writhing in a nightclub. Although there’s plenty of talk of carnality, including Sweeney teasing Moon about still having the hots for his decaying wife, we don’t see anything anymore. Everybody keeps their clothes on this time, including Laura; Bilquis, who in season one was presented as a glamorous, soft-core disco succubus; and Jinn and Salim, who hooked up last season in one of the most explicit, rapturously photographed man-on-man sex scenes in TV history, but whose physical relationship is here reduced to another character commenting that he smells sex on them, and Jinn loudly proclaiming that he likes to fuck men. (Glad we settled that! Thanks, show!)

Ricky Whittle is so handsome.

r154 He really is. This paragraph in the review fawns over him and I was taken aback at the Don Draper comparison, though I guess it's apt?

[quote]The show only seems as if it’s capable of arousal when it’s photographing Whittle posing in too-tight dress shirts and khakis, or strung up on a high-tech torture rack, arms spread out as in the da Vinci drawing that inspired the logo for Westworld. Whittle is the most impressive TV-leading-man-as-sculptural-object since Jon Hamm on Mad Men, but this still feels like a misuse, or underuse, of his magnetism. And the viewer might realize during these moments that we’re more than a season in, and we still don’t really have any sense of Shadow as a person, except that he’s sad that his wife is dead, that he had a troubled childhood, and that he’s the protagonist because the show says he is.

Will there be more of Shadow’s jail mate? I thought he’s coming back in S2 but he’s not listed in the cast on IMDb.

r156 Was he even in the first season beyond the first episode? I kept waiting for him to turn up as he was so magnetic and sexy in that one scene, but then he never did. Guess the delayed production schedule of the second season clashed with Tucker's, which is a damn shame if true.

Weird, I don't get the hate boner so many of the critics seem to have.

I mean, you could feel the gears shifting and parts of it definitely felt more pedestrian, but even with weaker material, the actors, particularly McShane and Orlando Jones sold the hell out of it.

[quote]particularly McShane and Orlando Jones sold the hell out of it.

I don't doubt that, but from the review upthread:

[quote]There are even times when McShane and Stormare seem to be trying too hard to inject unruly, eccentric energy into scenes that are mainly about conveying information, giving their eyebrows and their sneers a calisthenic workout.

Listen, I love that guy to bits, but I don't want this to turn into The McShane Show. Although, perhaps that's the only thing that can save the show at this point, so what do I know.

The first episode wasn't that bad, even though the quality drop in the writing is unmistakable. I mean, to come up with this line after two years:

[quote]So, Easter told me to tell you she ain't coming on account of you mowing over bunnies with your car like some kinda fucking rabbit racist.

I bet Gaiman thought of that one and Alexander was too afraid to point out how awful it was, the poor bastard. And I see the latter is still retweeting American Gods promo stuff, even after getting fired. Must have been in his contract. Seeing Orlando Jones' consulting producer credit and McShane's exec producer one in the opening credits made me cringe, sorry. And to think they ended up spending more money because of the reshoots than what Fuller was originally asking for the second season... how unfortunate.

I love Sakina Jaffrey, so I'll finish the season because of her and the two gays. I better see more homos kissing, though, and I don't mean that needless lesbian kiss in the first episode.

This was so bad. I'm crestfallen, even expecting the worse... it was so much worse than anything I could imagine. A cheap comic book series from what was something of a masterpiece in S1. I'm totally out. What a clusterfuck. Even crazy Cloris Leachman seemed glad to be killed off... I assume Gillian Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth will not even be appearing given their allegiance to Fuller. STARZ totally blew it (and following it up with the softcore porn NOW APOCALYPSE didn't endear them to anyone anywhere).

it did suck

I’ll keep watching if there is shirtless scene of Ricky Whittle.

r161 I was trying to be charitable in my take for some reason but you summed up exactly how I felt watching it. Most of the style has been sucked out of this and every aspect looks cheaper and uninspired, like a bland imitation. None of the dialogue in the first season ever made me cringe, yet I groaned out loud several times here. I never rated Gaiman that much as a writer so I guess I should have expected that.

Thank god Cloris Leachman is out. Let that poor woman rest already! Something tells me this will be her final appearance on film.

[quote]I assume Gillian Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth will not even be appearing given their allegiance to Fuller.

Yeah, they're out of the series for good.

Interesting, I just popped into this thread to see what people thought of S2. I thought S1 was pretty crappish but mostly followed it out of boredom. If people who loved S1 hate this season, maybe I’ll like it!

[quote]If people who loved S1 hate this season, maybe I’ll like it!

I mean, sure, if you enjoy crappier writing and lazier cinematography. You have to first tell us what you didn't enjoy about the first season; tastes don't work as polar opposites like you implied in your post.

Tucker was out long before S1 was finished. It might have been because he was on Charlie's Angels. It's a shame, he plays menacing crazy so well.

Miraculously renewed for another season.

[quote]“American Gods” is returning with a new showrunner.

[quote]The Fremantle-produced Starz television series based on the Neil Gaiman novel has officially been picked up for a third season and has tapped Charles “Chic” Eglee to lead the season as showrunner and executive producer. The news comes less than a week after the show launched its second season.

r167 Why don't they contractually ensure that actors stay on a show once production starts? Seems weird that a relatively unknown actor would fuck up the showrunners' plans on a such a big show. Well, I'm going to miss him.

I'm completely gobsmacked that it got renewed after a single episode.

I think actors can quit at any time no matter what, citing BS like "personality conflicts" and whatnot. Surely, if they didn't foresee Gillian Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth jumping ship when Fuller quit/was fired, they don't know what they are doing or can't control actors exiting (or both). The show already has dropped so far in quality that it will be difficult to even sit through any more eps... perhaps STARZ thinks if they show that they have faith in seeing through the show to the novel's conclusion they'll entice people to stick with it. They've got to be aware how bad the reviews and audience reaction has been already to S2...

Also, Anderson and Kristi Dawn weren't series regulars, and were presumably contracted episode by episode.

Okay, so the legendary producer Charles “Chic” Eglee was obviously signed up in order to sort out the mess and prevent the actors from doing the showrunner's work and writing the dialogue themselves. Which is all a good thing and I doubt McShane will strong-arm him into anything. But is he really known for visually appealing shows? Does Hemlock Grove look good?

Thanks for the explanation, r171/r172, that makes sense.

I liked the latest episode. The carrousel scene was mesmerizing, Whittle is still hot as fuck and loved to see Jinn and Salim back.

Glad to see it renewed

To be fair, it would take an idiot who has never worked on TV before to fuck up the carousel scene. Its entire point in the book was to be mesmerizing and its translation to TV was probably the one thing the fans had been dreaming about the most ever since the book was first published.

I hope Chic cleans up the mess and that this show thrives going forward. But something tells me he's also been hired to keep the costs down and this show doesn't do well if it's done on the cheap.

But they hadn't cut the budget, IIRC. They'd increased it but not as much as Fuller demanded.

I read somewhere that the extensive reshoots in the second season ended up amounting to more than what Fuller was originally asking for.

What a mess, R177. STARZ fucked this whole thing up so badly... ugh.

That Ricky Whittle is one big-hanging man.

Apart from those beautiful - if empty - flashbacks, I thought this was a terrible episode. Even worse than the premiere. Why did they get someone to (badly) impersonate McShane's voice in the flashback? His voice couldn't have aged that much in those 15 or 20 years. He's been in the US since the Viking times!

I can literally tell which lines Orlando Jones ad-libbed and it's making my piss boil because they're not half as clever as he thinks they are. Mama-ji mispronounced Grimnir's name the second time around and they didn't even bother with another take. Does this show employ the same script supervisor as the The Good Fight? To say nothing of the fact that nobody can pronounce Zorya's name like a Russian, not even the supposedly cosmopolitan Mr World.

The jinn and his boyfriend intrigue me so I'll keep watching. The actor playing young Shadow is so pretty. Pretty and straight.

The continuity errors with Shadow in the torture contraption were unforgivable... sometimes his arms are straight, sometimes they are angled up, and they made a big point to show the transition from one position to another halfway through. The reshoot footage is so obvious throughout. Horrible writing. So disappointing.

r181 Hadn't even noticed that! Yeah, that's just more production sloppiness I mentioned in the post above. What a far cry from the first season where Fuller would make them reshoot the whole gay sex scene because the bad angles meant the dick wasn't going into the hole.

The bad writing actually makes me wince at times.

Agreed. Orlando Jones is absolutely insufferable. I cannot stand his character and their indulgence of his "wit" is cringe-inducing. He was best in VERY brief appearances, not a major lead like he is now. The whole enterprise is depressing it's so bad. Intriguingly, it seems like McShane is giving a lot more (which is a blessing and a curse) and obviously became a more pronounced presence on the production side. Not good.

Yup, you can almost see McShane spreading his wings under the weaker showrunner, though that's not bothering me just yet. He's been at it longer than Jones and so has a better feel for his limitations. Stormare is another one who's dialled his character to eleven and is a circus act Russian caricature at this point. Though can you honestly imagine Jesse Alexander telling him "That's not it, Rose" after a take? Yeah, me neither.

I'm looking forward to seeing Devery Jacobs and Kahyun Kim, but I'm also dreading the way they'll be directed and the shit lines that'll come out of their mouth.

Shadow's backstory was boring.

It was boring but it was still my favourite part of the episode. Some of the gentle things his mother told him almost made me cry. And the social commentary behind how he was treated as a black man when he came to the US both by the cops and by the other black people spoke volumes about how immigrants are treated by society. I really hope people don't read those scenes as a lecture to the American people, because that shit is universal.

Then I want to see the American God of Prejudice...

That's the people themselves, r187.

[quote] it's making my piss boil

Pics please.

I would give "American Gods" another chance and see if it improves.

I love everything about this show. Every. Fucking. Thing.

r190 I think all of us here are still watching it. No one mentioned dropping it outright, despite all the criticism.

[quote]Then I want to see the American God of Prejudice...

Look no further than the Facebook page for American Gods where they announced a fundraiser for the National Immigration Law Center.

r187, I would imagine to be like the many and varied Jesuses (Jesi?) that were at Easter's house.

The New Media looks feeble,

I am confused; which one is the New Media?

She hasn't shown up yet but I think r194 meant she looked (or felt) feeble judging by her interaction with Technical Boy in the last episode. I hope that poster didn't mean feeble because the character is now being played by an Asian actress.

That was an okay episode, wasn't it? Although as a bird person, I hated the way Wednesday treated Muninn. And why was the episode named after that bird? Something awful is going to befall it in the next episode, right? Eurgh, I'm cringing already.

Season two has been crap, amplified by the fact that so much of the story is obviously just inserted to get around the behind-the-scenes drama, like actors who refused to come back when the original show-runners were kicked off the show....

Orlando Jones is one of the few bright spots in this season so far.

I knew that they were going to go in the direction of the social network media- selfies personified. The actress they chose is too cute and try as she may, doesn't have a layer of menace below the surface, unlike Technical Boy.

I've rewatched the episode now and while I appreciate that delightful machine Ibis used to tell the myth of the week, I thought Io and Argus just lying in a field somewhere looked a bit cheap. I can't help but wonder what Fuller would have done with that. I thought the actress playing Sam Black Crow was magnetic and reminded me a bit of Sofia Boutella. More Native American stuff, please!

Why is the leprechaun going to New Orleans alone?

r200 I'm seeing people elsewhere mentioning that it's a bit... questionable to introduce an Asian character and immediately have her engage in tentacle sex. Did that bother you as well?

I see this reviewer isn't pleased with that sex scene either.

[quote]It’s predictable. It’s dull. It’s diminishing to both characters. It’s hentai porn tailored to Jack Donaghy. The show that gave us the dreamy, erotic, electric “Head Full Of Snow” should treat its characters and their coitus with more care than this.

I also agree with her about Julian Richings' casting, as much as I love whenever he pops up anywhere. I googled the name "Iktome" as soon as they said it and cringed when I saw it was a [italic]Native American[/italic] trickster god. Oy vey.

Oh, and I found the proper term for Ibis' animaton device in that review - praxinoscope. What a fun word.

Not really r201- that would have happened regardless of what ethnicity she was. If they really wanted to be current, she should have been really androgynous, like Desire of the Endless. Apparently her ethnicity somehow is a trigger for you, as you're the one who brought it up. Twice.

watching 3rd episode now- my favorite show

r203 Not really, as it has been clearly brought up on Reddit and in the AV Club's review. I just thought I'd ask you seeing how you thought it important to mention your own ethnicity apropos of nothing. And I don't really appreciate snowflakes who use the word "trigger", so welcome to my ignore list.

Jeez Reddit? AV Club? Someone's trolling.

[quote]According to some other thread Fuller is going to do Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles. I doubt he will do both at the same time.

It's a shame Fuller left the pre-production of The Vampire Chronicles soon after starting. His artistic vision is beautiful. It's many times a bit too style over substance but it's never boring. The story of an old woman dying and being lead to the desert by climbing the ladders to be judged by Anubis on season one is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen on TV. It's just so gorgeous storytelling.

...THIS is an "upgrade"?

How many shows does Fuller need to be involved with and then abandon/get fired from?

Tech boy is so much fun.

I need more Dead Wife and Mad Sweeney.

Asian Media should have been more K-Pop.

Too ugly.

I can't stand dead wife. And she's barely in the books.

Mad Sweeney needs to get naked ASAP.

Did we ever get any real leaked nudes from Pablo?

That was... what [italic]was[/italic] that even? I was prepared to finish the second season and maybe check out the third one, but this is becoming incomprehensible. And boring.

If only the camerawork had some panache to it to offset the convoluted writing, but that sex scene was the least-inspired thing ever. Not a hint of it being a supernatural occurrence in any way. Felt a bit like watching a sex scene on Supernatural. From the desert fucking and Bilquis eating people with her vagina in the first season to... this. What a waste.

I haven't seen any episodes from this season and reading these posts makes me glad about it. I wonder what was Gaiman's influence on the set. I vaguely remember they talked about him getting a bigger role in producing when Fuller exited.

Season 2 is a disappointment, to be sure. But the main problem is that the whole is less than the sum of its parts. There are moments and scenes that I think are masterful. But the entire show all together? It's a mess. A patchwork. Incoherent.

But Ricky’s ass is beautiful!

😋

Yeah, that shot was nice at least. He looks like a bull.

This episode was a lot better but still lacked conceptual clarity. Some of the writing and editing was iffy again.

Pablo pumping that woman got me all wet, not gonna lie.

I tried to watch the new season and it's terrible. All the special effects in the world cannot help this mess. Incoherent is definitely a great way to describe the new season. Glad to see most of the charactera are back, but it's not as interesting or well written as the first season.

Spectrum has a new feature, the OnDemand episodes automatically start when the last one you watched finishes.

So... did they really kill off technical boy? Um... why? And how does that even work? It's not like there's any shortage of people worshiping technology...

r223 No idea why. I guess that particular iteration was obsolete, so we might be getting a new version? Or maybe New Media and her powers will be enough to Mr World for now.

Anansi looked like he was about to fight Ibis at one point in this episode and then they just cut away and never addressed it again. So odd.

I did love the concept of black rage becoming a revenant in the town of Cairo. And that was one of the most violent, horrific lynching scenes I have ever scene, so good on them for going there. I just really hope a black writer was involved in this arc and it wasn't all Gaiman.

Since most of that wasn't in the book (that I remember) I'm going to assume it wasn't all Gaiman.

Yeah, Rodney Barnes got the teleplay credit for this episode. He's apparently also a co-exec producer for the entire second season, so I'm guessing he was the one who oversaw the racial arc. Which is a reassuring thought.

The fifth and the sixth episode leaked online last week. They both came with Jessica Silvester's (New York Magazine) name stamped on them, so she's going to get into trouble for sharing her screeners.

I watched the sixth one and it's such a terminal slog, I had to resume it three separate times to get to the end. It also has Ian McShane's meddling written all over it.

I am happy today as i have the last ST Discovery and A-Gods episodes to watch/

McShane isn't a writer -- but the way this situation unfolded you could hardly call his activity meddling.

Gaiman asserted himself to get rid of Fuller leaving the poor cast and crew to make the best of the situation.

One thing that struck me as interesting in the firing of Fuller was how quickly Chenoweth jumped ship.

Whenever there's a strong showrunner with a strong vision involved, the actors wouldn't [italic]presume[/italic] to offer feedback, especially not on such a large scale. Alexander was weak, Gaiman probably wasn't around all that much, the actors sensed blood in the water, tried interfering once, got away with it, and then kept doing it.

The proper procedure for this would be for the season to air according to the current showrunner's vision, flop critically / with the audiences, and the studios then hiring a new showrunner next season or cancelling the show. The actors involved have no business offering critical feedback on the fly, to the extent that they have to be credited so as to avoid trouble with the guilds.

I like Chenoweth and Anderson but I find their loyalty to Fuller odd and slightly unprofessional. Though I can only imagine the perks those two got on the set (and in the script) that would all have gone out the window with his departure. You certainly limit your future work prospects with diva behaviour like that. They'll never work on Starz again, that's for sure.

McShane wasn't sensing weakness and turning on his show runner out of some alpha male need to screw with shit. There was an actual vacuum left when Gaimen got rid of Fuller and didn't install a strong show runner or give the weak show runner he wanted any guidance -- AND then they fired him. The two options for who to blame are either STARZ for deciding Fuller was too expensive and trying to scale things back or for Gaimen for stepping in to get rid of Fuller who had replaced his less than brilliant novel with something completely nuts.

As for Chenoweth's loyalty Fuller -- I remember her tweeting immediately and it wasn't as if she was throwing a tantrum and leaving out of loyalty. It was more like she was saying 'Oh no. WE got fired?!' -- as if someone told her that she was one of the expenses that Fuller was being fired over. She never coherently claimed to be walking because she was mad and even hinted she was trying to return (for the resurrection scene) but couldn't get her schedule to work.

Anderson is much more coherent about things and waited months before even reacting but then she made it clear she wasn't going to work on the project without Fuller.

I would be shocked if STARZ blacklisted Anderson and Chenoweth over this.

R230

Oh - I also saw an interview with Chenoweth where she talked about having to put her dog 'Madeline Khan Chenoweth' to sleep while she was in Canada working on American Gods. Apparently that was one of the perks of the job. They let her bring her dog to work so she could be there when she died.

The article linked to above notes quite correctly that the show appears to have rapidly rid itself of all those pesky older female actors -- as if that would fix the budget.

Were there any of the New Gods in the last episode?

What am I missing about the World Tree?

r233 No New gods in the latest episode and I kinda liked it? The World Tree will be explained in time, I'm sure. It's growing really fast!

[quote]There was an actual vacuum left when Gaimen got rid of Fuller and didn't install a strong show runner or give the weak show runner he wanted any guidance -- AND then they fired him.

Doesn't matter. It's not for the actors to scramble and repair anything. They're there to act out what's on the script - that's it. Anson Mount had his pooch on set all the time when filming Star Trek in Canada, so I don't think that was one of the main perks those two had.

R234

I don't think Chenoweth asked for unreasonable perks or broke the budget Fuller wanted to work with. That was my point.

My personal opinion is that Gaiman was upset because his story wasn't the best part of Fuller's crazy production. STARZ didn't have a game changing hit on their hands so they decided sucking up to Gaiman (who hasn't created anything great since Terry Pratchett died) was better than completing the story as reimagined by Fuller. Gaiman wanted a more faithful adaptation of his book with less 'gay sensibility'. So Starz pushed Fuller out with unreasonable demands for budget cuts that were obviously artistic micromanagement rather than reasonable budget demands and at some point in the negotiations (they probably did start with saying 'why not just fire this experienced actress and replace her with a Canadian unknown?') Fuller read the writing on the wall that he was being fired. I figured Chenoweth's reaction reflected the tactics STARZ had used of suddenly pretending the Canadian made show was breaking the budget in non-budget breaking ways. (Chenoweth just isn't an expensive actress and is clearly NOT the element that pushed American Gods over the line. SFX and extra subplots did that.) because she went from tweeting her enthusiasm for the show to being heartbroken that she wasn't going back.

The whole mess is like Superman's mustache of bad management decisions.

My original statement still stands. The problem is NOT that the actors are getting out of line trying to bully people. Ian McShane has ended up stuck in a production he can't just leave without anyone in charge.

Spoiler alert

Since the story is actually about some bullshit HIS character is pulling on everyone else, replacing everything Starz wont pay for with his character being a confusing blowhard is literally the closest way to wrap the show up on a budget without offending Gaiman. The ad libbing might be weak -- but really that is Gaiman's fault, because the story itself isn't as strong as the metaphors it suggested. Wednesday is probably the least interesting old god and his motives which drive the plot are probably the weakest and stupidest of all the characters. But they ARE the plot, so there you go.

[quote]There was an actual vacuum left when Gaiman got rid of Fuller

Why in the fuck did Gaiman get rid of Fuller? Season one was SO much better than Season Two has been. Why would he want to knee-cap his own project?

It isn't just a theory - it is a rumor. The rumor is that he did not like the way Fuller deviated from his story and replaced his vision with hallucinatory fire sex etc.

My theory is that he might have considered it as competition for the Good Omens project which he had more control over. And he didn't like how the tone and production values contrasted with what he was doing with his other project. He prefers his camp gay angel to the hot djinns Fuller emphasized.

Also Gaiman doesn't really have a history of getting big budget projects to make it. Isn't Coraline his biggest success in film/TV? He might have sincerely thought he was doing the right thing when demanding that the show be scaled back to look more like something the BBC might do.

So that's why Djinny and Salim haven't already had burning hot sexy times this season? Oh I see.

Fuck Gayman then!

I missed Laura Bell Bundy as Columbia.

Has that aired?

R239 Yesterday

Only 2 episodes left. It was off for a year and a half and they only made 8 episodes, what a waste. And they only showed Shadow's ass once.

Not much has actually HAPPENED this season.

And I really miss the "coming to America' vignettes of season one.

Thanks R240

I really was surprised to find out she is pregnant and had done American Gods. I randomly clicked on her instagram from a congrats she had posted on someone else's page and clicked through to hers.

The seventh and the eighth episode have leaked online as well, and in HD no less. Poor Jessica. She must be in hiding somewhere right now.

I feel bad for their marketing team. Everything imaginable - expect for an actor getting #MeToo'd - went wrong this year. Nearly a full season has aired already and barely anyone talks about it. It had some room before GoT started but now even that little air has been sucked out.

It is stunning how little attention this got. But Game of Thrones earned the night.

Nevertheless, yay for Laura Bell Bundy being all anti-Nazi. I got that much from the recap.

[bold]Free speech row as US TV channel forces removal of tweets[/bold]

[quote]A US TV channel has forced Twitter to remove tweets linking to a news story about pirated content – including tweets from free speech campaigners complaining that the social network was removing other people’s tweets.

[quote]Starz, the network that airs American Gods, The 100 and Knightfall in the US, sent the takedown requests after the copyright and privacy news site TorrentFreak reported on a leak of promotional copies of those TV shows and others. TorrentFreak’s story did not contain any links to the pirated material, although it did include four screenshots of the content in order to report the alleged source of the leak.

Disturbing, indeed. And a PR nightmare.

Wow.

And for a PR nightmare it is still managing to get zero attention.

STARZ has really fucked up American Gods in the most self-destructive manner possible.

Michael Green, who left with Fuller as showrunner after the first season, has now left another show before it started production, [italic]Y: The Last Man[/italic] on FX.

Yikes.

I wonder if any of this relates to the tensions happening because agents have refused to sign an agreement to represent their writers ethically... I expected Hollywood to really flip out when that happened.

And just like that, the season ends with probably my least favourite episode of the season. So convoluted, I had no idea what was going on. What a mess.

If anyone's interested, the cute British actor Andrew Koji, who plays the CEO on this show, is the lead in the new series Warrior on Cinemax. He's great and the show is great as well.

I'm going to have to just admit it... I've lost the narrative thread. I literally have no clue what's going on anymore.

This series burned and crashed to the ground. T'is a pity.

Not since Heroes has a show burned and crashed so spectacularly after its first season. Or maybe there is a more recent example?

I feel lied to by Ricky Whittle. He said at Dragoncon last Sept that he was naked a lot this season. We saw his ass once.

The absolute best episode was the Series 1 finale with Chenoweth/Ostara.

It is good enough to be a stand alone episode.

The difference between the two seasons is huge but I remember thinking "how can Starz afford this?" when watching S1's exuberant production values.

Anyway, I still love the show because it has the 2 sexiest motherfuckers on TV: Ricky and Pablo

In Ricky's jerk off Skype, I picture him Skyping Pablo.

R257, LOL

[quote]I'm going to have to just admit it... I've lost the narrative thread. I literally have no clue what's going on anymore.

I agree, two episodes of the new season and I gave up. Besides cable TV, there's so much out there to watch, why waste time on this shit storm?! What a shame as I really enjoyed most of the cast.

I did enjoy STARZ two "Missing" series.

r254 We were all of us deceived!

That one ass shot at r219 was amazing, though. Too bad we didn't get to see Pablo's as well. I was about to bitch about Yetide Badaki getting her kit off for no apparent reason but then I realised she was giving a communion of sorts to Shadow and so had to be naked to be in her full power.

Just finishes the last episode season 2.

While the whole episode was a nonlinear cluster fuck,

the Crispin Glover/Mr. World monologue about fear was absolutely fucking brilliant.

That speech was nice, although connecting the ancient fear of The Other to the fear people experience when watching horror movies seemed tenuous to me.

I thought the Fear:Other:Safety thread mirrored by

the Horror Movie Fear:Horror Movie Other:Movie Theater Safety smartly compelling.

The rest of the episode was mishmash.

And Bilquis, why can't she be replaced by Asian Anal Porn Star where men disappear up her ass?

R260 and they had several opportunities to show his ass and chose not to. It's not like he doesn't like showing it.

He has a nice cock in the Skype video. I am so glad I snagged it. Is it still open available online?

Yes, it's still available online. Just don't post it here because you might get the thread shut down needlessly.

He did not show his beautiful ass in the Skype videos 🙁

Ricky Whittle Po rn Hu b has TWO vids.

So... what exactly HAPPENED this season?

Seriously, I have no clue about the motivations of anyone anymore.

Wednesday: got his spear back, fixed it, and then lost it

Shadow: fucked a cat; decided to follow Wednesday even though he treats him like shit; realised he was his son at the very end and then took a bus who knows where

Leprechaun: remembered who he was and died after hiding Wednesday's spear

Laura: got better? Is now in love with the leprechaun?

Djinn and Salim: retrieved Wednesday's spear

Mr World: created New Media and new Technical Boy, created a global panic in the finale while Wednesday was having a drink in a bar for the duration of the episode

As for the others... who could tell? Orlando, Ibis, and Yetide Badaki seem to have a BLM coven going on, with Yetide not committing to anything in particular, just like Ibis. In other words, Orlando Jones seems to be in over his head, in more ways than one. We haven't even seen Anubis in person this season for some reason. So the plot as a whole moved about an inch forward. Which I wouldn't really mind if all the stylistic flourishes and the sparkling dialogue were still there. But they're not.

........

R271 - chronically offended.

Oof, I didn't know he was fired. I admit I also thought his character's anger was getting quite out of hand. And he seemed smugly amused with those lines he came up with on the spot himself. He was very off-putting to me this season for that reason, but we knew this would happen under Eglee. That man is no match for strong personalities like Jones and McShane.

Btw, Crispin Glover is out as well and has been replaced by Danny Trejo - I shit you not! This thread should be renamed to "Sad last days."

On the other hand, Julia Sweeney has joined the cast, so that could be interesting.

Oh, and Iwan Rheon has also been cast as some sort of a substitute for Pablo Schreiber. This show...

Hopefully they at least show us his butt or something.

Orlando says Salim and Jinn are out of the show as well. The new showrunner definitely is doing his best to de-gay the show.

I actually didn't hate Season 2 but there's no denying it had lost some of its charm from Season 1, and the show desperately needed Gillian Anderson. That Japanese girl replacing her was totally forgettable and boring. And now they've replaced Crispin Glover with Danny fucking Trejo? Jesus Christ. He might be a likeable person but Trejo is a rather shitty actor. This must be coming from the new showrunner whose production credits include The Walking Dead, Dexter and The Shield. (He used to produce Moonlighting as well, and was a showrunner in Dark Angel). I mean, from a total artist Bryan Fuller to this guy who seems to love rather macho bullshit... ok. Sure he's a pro and you never know, maybe Season 3 will be awesome.

BTW, it's funny that people get fired left and right in the show and the only one in the production with a true scandal to his name is the lead Ricky Whittle who couldn't keep his gorgeous 8+ incher in his pants but had a few webcam wank sessions and now everyone knows what he looks like when he's cumming.

All this constant and totally weird crap in the production does make you wonder who the hell is causing all the shit there? Gaiman and his wife?

[quote]Orlando says Salim and Jinn are out of the show as well.

An insider source on Reddit said that while the Jinn is out, Salim is very much still in and has already shot some solo scenes. Apparently the Jinn dumped him via a letter? Sounds like such a shitfest already.

[quote]That Japanese girl replacing her was totally forgettable and boring.

That actress is also out! 😆

[quote]All this constant and totally weird crap in the production does make you wonder who the hell is causing all the shit there? Gaiman and his wife?

Freemantle, the production company that makes this show for Starz, is apparently the main culprit for all this drama. Allegedly, they convinced themselves they could replicate the style of the first season on their own and didn't need Fuller's (expensive) oversight. Classic case of corporate hubris and mismanagement. Such a waste.

[bold]American Gods' Mousa Kraish Not Returning for Season 3[/bold]

[quote]“I can confirm that I wasn’t asked to come back this season,” he tweeted. “It has been an honor to play the Jinn and live in his fiery eyed skin… This character has introduced me to so much and I was proud to represent not just the Middle Eastern community in such a positive role you don’t normally see television but also the LGBTQ community that supported this character of color that you don’t see on television.”

[quote]The actor pointed out that “the door isn’t closed for me” at the show and stated that he’d love to come back and act opposite Abtahi in the future. TVLine hears that Abtahi remains a series regular and will appear in Season 3.

Interview with Orlando Jones about his writing on the show and the problems that came with it, including getting paid. I had no idea he'd been in the writer's guild for a quarter of the century at that point; thought he was just an actor.