James R | On 01, Apr 2021

American Gods has been cancelled after three seasons.

The series, based on Neil Gaiman’s novel, is the epic story of an inevitable war building between the Old Gods of mythology and our New Gods of technology. Ricky Whittle stars as ex-con Shadow Moon, a man pulled into the service of the mysterious Mr Wednesday, played by Ian McShane.

Bryan Fuller and Michael Green initially served as co-showrunners, but departed over creative differences as the series moved towards a second season. Jesse Alexander then came onboard to steer Season 2 forwards, before he departed and Charles “Chic” Eglee (Hemlock Grove, The Walking Dead) served as showrunner for the third run, which also saw several key cast members drop out of the project.

Now, hot on the heels of the finale of that season, STARZ has confirmed that it will not be renewing the show for a fourth run.

“Everyone at Starz is grateful to the dedicated cast and crew, and our partners at Fremantle who brought author and executive producer Neil Gaiman’s ever-relevant story to life that speaks to the cultural climate of our country,” a network spokesperson told Deadline.

Nonetheless, Neil Gaiman has said that he still has hope that the series may be able to wrap things up.

“It’s definitely not dead,” he tweeted, adding that “Fremantle are committed to finishing the story that began in episode 1” and that right now they were “waiting to see which way forward is best, and who it’ll be with”.

Indeed, it could well find a home at Amazon Prime Video, which has been the exclusive home of the show in the UK and other countries outside of the US. Fremantle certainly still has faith in the prospect of further episodes or a TV movie.

“Fremantle is committed to completing the epic journey that is American Gods, one of TV’s most inclusive series with the most amazing fans across the globe,” a spokesperson for the producers said in a statement. “With Neil Gaiman and this fantastic cast and crew, we are exploring all options to continue to tell this magnificent story.”

Whittle also shares their faith in finding a way forward.

“This has been an amazing journey thus far and I am so grateful to my fellow cast and crew who have worked so hard on this award winning show,” he said on Twitter. “We have the best fans around the world and thank each of you for your passion and support, so know that Neil Gaiman, Fremantle myself and the cast are still committed to completing Neil Gaiman’s critically acclaimed story.”

The series is one of several high-profile Neil Gaiman TV adaptations that have premiered in recent years or are on the way to the small screen soon, with Netflix gearing up for a TV show based on The Sandman, and Amazon recently co-producing a series based on Good Omens with BBC Two.

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