Skip to main content

Two episodes in, ‘American Gods’ gets renewed for a second season

american gods season 2 renewal shows to stream
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Only two episodes of American Gods have aired at this point, but the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s acclaimed novel has received high praise from critics and audiences alike — high enough to already earn it a second season.

Starz announced the series’ second-season renewal after the first two episodes reportedly had 5 million viewers across various platforms. The premiere of the eight-episode first season aired April 30.

Recommended Videos

Developed by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green with Gaiman serving as an executive producer, American Gods follows an ex-convict named Shadow Moon (The 100 actor Ricky Whittle) who’s hired as a bodyguard by a mysterious man named Wednesday (Deadwood actor Ian McShane) and finds himself thrust into the midst of a conflict between the old gods and the modern gods of pop culture and media.

Along with Whittle and McShane, the series’ cast includes Emily Browning (Sucker Punch) as Laura Moon, Pablo Schreiber (Orange is the New Black) as Mad Sweeney, Yetide Badaki (Masters of Sex) as Bilquis, Orlando Jones (Sleepy Hollow) as Mr. Nancy, Gillian Anderson (The X-Files) as Media, Cloris Leachman (Malcom in The Middle) as Zorya Vechernyaya, and Peter Stormare (Fargo) as Czernobog.

Additional cast members include Kristin Chenoweth (Pushing Daisies) as Easter, Jonathan Tucker (Kingdom) as Low Key Lyesmith,  Chris Obi (Snow White and the Huntsman) as Anubis, Demore Barnes (12 Monkeys) as Mr. Ibis, Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) as Vulcan, Mousa Kraish (Superbad) as The Jinn, Bruce Langley (Deadly Waters) as Technical Boy, and Crispin Glover (Back to the Future) as Mr. World.

“Bryan Fuller, Michael Green, and Neil Gaiman have evolved the art form of television narratively, structurally, and graphically with American Gods, and we’re thrilled to be working again with these artists as they continue to build the worlds and wars of the gods,” said Carmi Zlotnik, president of programming for Starz, in a statement accompanying the announcement.

American Gods airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Starz.

Rick Marshall
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
American Horror Story’s season 10 cast is here, and it includes Macaulay Culkin
Macaulay Culkin

FX's horror hit American Horror Story returns for its 10th season this year and we now have our first look at the cast.

Showrunner Ryan Murphy revealed the cast for the upcoming series Wednesday in an Instagram post. The roster includes many franchise favorites, including Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters, who did not appear in season 9 for the first time in the series' run.

Read more
The Witcher series renewed for a second season ahead of season 1 premiere
witcher netflix news trailer cast the geralt

A month before The Witcher's season 1 premiere, Netflix announced it already renewed the fantasy drama series for a second season.

Geralt's adventure is only beginning....
The Witcher has been renewed for Season 2! pic.twitter.com/6iPrUFeujI

Read more
George Lucas abandoned a Star Wars twist that would have changed Obi-Wan’s story
Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor stand back to back in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.

Few Star Wars characters have a story as well-known or important as Obi-Wan Kenobi. The character, first introduced as an older Jedi in 1977's Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope, is both a noteworthy mentor to Luke and Anakin Skywalker and a tragic figure due to the dissolution of his friendship with the latter. Thanks to Ewan McGregor and Alec Guinness' dual, decades-spanning performances as the character, Obi-Wan's story has been brought to life in almost its entirety over the years, too.

However, it turns out that Star Wars creator George Lucas originally had a very different idea for Obi-Wan Kenobi's story. In an interview with StarWars.com, Iain McCaig, who worked as a behind-the-scenes artist on Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, revealed that Lucas originally intended to swap the names of Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi and Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn in that film. "It’s interesting how things evolve,” McCaig commented. “For a time, the older Jedi was named Obi-Wan and the younger Jedi was named Qui-Gon."

Read more