There's always been a god-shaped hole in man's head. Trees were the first to fill it. Mr. Wood was the trees. Mr. Wood was the forest. Well, he was a very old god who saw something very new. He saw a god-fearing society turn towards complete industrialization. So what did he do? He sacrificed his trees. He sacrificed his forest. And he became something else. -- Mr. Wednesday (American Gods)
That time I went to an advanced screening of American Gods and got to see Bryan Fuller and a bunch of damn fine actors talk. The first season wasn't what I would have imagined, but I thought it was a very good adaptation and I appreciated the hell out of it. I wish I could say the same for the second season. I haven't hated myself enough to watch the third yet.
I am just now in 2023 watching the American Gods adaptation, more or less. (Really I'm zooming through & watching scenes with my favorite characters. I already know where the plot goes because I like browsing tumblr and TV Tropes. Also, doing it out of order.)
The fucking scene where the Technical Boy walks into that white building to meet the CEO, and when the door requires print access, he just flicks it off? That made me laugh, holy shit. That was unbelievably edgy. Very funny, but oh, god, so edgy hipster teenager who is trying too hard to get the edge.
For those keeping score here are all the TV shows based on the work of Neil Gaiman from the last ten years.
Lucifer - Loosely based on the version of Lucifer who quits ruling Hell and opens a piano bar, from The Sandman comics by Neil Gaiman. Originally aired on Fox and then moved to Netflix for seasons 4 through 6. Neil Gaiman also got to play God in a bonus episode for season 3. The full series can be watched on Netflix. And is available on DVD.
The plot deals with Lucifer, the ruler of Hell, up and quitting and moving to Earth where he opens a night club called Lux and takes up playing piano. In the TV series he befriends (and eventually falls in love with) a woman homicide detective named Chloe Decker.
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American Gods - Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. Aired on Starz.
The plot deals with a man called Shadow Moon who gets dragged into the strange world of Old and New Gods vying for power.
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Anansi Boys - Originally written by Neil Gaiman as a spin-off of American Gods, the TV series version was filmed for Amazon Prime and is currently in post-production (Not yet released.)
The plot deals with the sons of Anansi, the African trickster Spider-God.
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Good Omens - Showrun by Neil Gaiman and based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Also Neil Gaiman has a small cameo in the first season. Available now on Amazon Prime. Seasons 1 and 2 are complete. Season 3 has not yet started filming and will very likely be the final season. Season 1 is currently available on DVD.
The plot deals with two "differently competent" entities, an Angel and a Demon, who have come to love life on Earth and each other. And now must work together to prevent the apocalypse.
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The Sandman - First episode was co-written by Neil Gaiman, based on the stories and original characters created by Neil Gaiman with a few borrowed DC comics characters. Currently on Netflix. Season 2 is in production now. Neil Gaiman also voiced a ghostly bird in the bonus episode segment Dream of a Thousand Cats. Season 1 will be available on DVD and Blu Ray at the end of this month.
The plot deals with Morpheus, the King of Dreams, who accidentally gets summoned and captured by occultists who had been trying to capture The Grim Reaper. After over a hundred and six years in captivity Morpheus finally escapes and has to track down his tools which had been taken from him when he was captured. He also comes to realize he had made many terrible mistakes in the past and struggles to set those wrongs right.
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The Dead Boy Detectives - First official spin-off of The Sandman. The Dead Boy Detectives were originally planned as an HBO Max series (now just Max) but moved to Netflix after the success of the first season of The Sandman. Based on characters who first appeared in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman: Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman is involved in the production.
The plot is a pair of ghost teenagers decide to become detectives and are really bad at it.
These two characters made a previous appearance in Doom Patrol on Max (Formerly HBO Max) but had been played by different actors.
I hate to ask such a logistical question, but I can't find the answers myself. I just finished reading American Gods - I loved it a lot, and was excited to watch the show, but it seems there is no legitimate way to watch it as of 3 months ago; it's been removed from Starz, and aside from the first free episode its not available to rent or buy on Amazon.
Is it perhaps in the midst of being sold? Will there maybe one day be an opportunity to stream it again?
“I am over the moon to be embarking on such an epic storytelling adventure with Prentice, Sebastian and the team at Payback Entertainment,” Badaki said in a statement to Deadline. “As a geek and as a Nigerian it has been a dream come true to be able to fuse both of these elements in this unconventional coming of age tale and to hopefully play a small part in further expanding inclusivity in genre spaces. To see Naija Vamp, an idea that originated in my mind, brought to fruition in partnership with the immense talents and experience of Sebastian, Prentice and the team, is the absolute geektastic cherry on top. Gratitude is an understatement.”
I wish that they would do a version of PJO, that just focuses on the gods. Like Succession meets Game of Thrones meets American Gods.
Let’s really delve into why Zeus is such as fucking dick. He was the only one of his brothers that didn’t get eaten he should be the most well adjusted.
Seriously, tell the story of Kronos and Rhea and Gaia and Uranus and how all this generational trauma started.
How Zeus is really just like his father and it’s the reason that he’s so paranoid he’s gonna be overthrown.
How Hades is actually the eldest boy and gets treated like fucking Connor Roy.
How Poseidon is actually the most powerful god and it’s why Zeus fears and is jealous of him. Also how his myths most always involve him being kind and giving until he perceives to be rejected or abandoned. Real water sign energy.
Hera is the biggest pick me trad!wife of all time. Goddess of marriage. Her husband seems to stick his dick everywhere but in her.
Hestia is basically a nun she was so fucked up by her parents
Demeter has an unnatural attachment to her own daughter bordering on obsession and anxious attachment style.
And that’s just the children of the Titans.
Ares
Aphrodite
Hephaestus
Athena
Dionysus
Apollo
Artemis
God there are literally seasons of drama and good character dynamic driven work to be made here. Hbo, Starz. Hulu what are you waiting for?
It's time to draw a line on Grandma's American Booze Tour and see if it can tell us more about all this very #silly game.
Sure, sure. An innocent pun. That might hold if you set aside all the rest of the context & background, of course. As is, it doesn't. And logic, too: Grandma's character kicked the bucket at the end of Season 2, he hasn't been around for quite a good while, now - this for those who live on Mars, or something.
Never a dull moment in this fandom, I swear to God. This is a STARZ release and not an appropriation, but still... strange.
So now I’m mad because I thought about how badly STARZ fumbled American Gods because Ibis and Jackal should have had the same amount of hype Aziraphale and Crowley have.
Like Ibis and Jackal were so domestic and they’re basically how fanfics portray Aziraphale and Crowley living together in domestic bliss and running a business. Like they literally remind me of an alternate version of the two. Just less chaotic. They’re old and all they want to do is do their business together with their cat daughter.
That scene in the series with them together was so tender and sweet and Jackal is protective of Ibis in the book, it’s just so ugh.
It was wasted and then Chris Obi left after season one and instead of recasting him STARS basically said fuck the book and said “Nah ima do my own thing”
One day I hope to see American Gods get the adaptation it deserves. STARZ was the worst choice for it.
The 4400 (USA)
American Gods (Starz)
Willow (Disney+)
The Girl in the Woods (Peacock)
Vampire Academy (Peacock)
The Wilds (Prime)
Paper Girls (Prime)
Night Sky (Prime)
Raised by Wolves (HBO)
The Nevers (HBO)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
Helstrom (Hulu)
Kindred (Hulu)
The Society (Netflix)
Julie and The Phantoms (Netflix)
Lockwood & Co. (Netflix)
1899 (Netflix)
Shadow & Bone (Netflix)
The Irregulars (Netflix)
Archive 81 (Netflix)
October Faction (Netflix)
The Dark Crystal (Netflix)
Jupiter's Legacy (Netflix)
The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself (Netflix)
First Kill (Netflix)
Cursed (Netflix)
The Order (Netflix)
Resident Evil (Netflix)
The Imperfects (Netflix)
list has been updated with additional shows & re-ordered by producers. if you have shows to suggest, please remember this list is intended to be fantasy or sci-fi shows canceled in 2020 or later that were left with an unfinished ending.
are all sci-fi/fantasy shows left unfinished/abandoned just since 2020 (i'm sure there are more). like, listen, i haven't watched all of these, and some of them may have sucked, but why the fuck would i ever trust that sci-fi/fantasy shows are ever going to get their endings? particularly if that sci-fi/fantasy show is on Netflix?
honorable mention: Warrior Nun (Netflix) - didn't include it since it's been picked up for the movie deal, absolutely no fucking thanks to Netflix, though.