(Starz)
Will the fight continue? After huge season-to-season declines in the ratings, Starz has cancelled the American Gods TV series. There won’t be a fourth season but, the show may still get some kind of a conclusion.
An adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s novel, the American Gods series stars Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, Emily Browning, Yetide Badaki, Bruce Langley, Omid Abtahi, Ashley Reyes, Crispin Glover, Demore Barnes, Devery Jacobs, Blythe Danner, Marilyn Manson, Julia Sweeney, Iwan Rheon, Danny Trejo, Peter Stormare, Denis O’Hare, Lela Loren, Dominique Jackson, Wale, Herizen Guardiola, and Eric Johnson. The story centers on Shadow Moon (Whittle), Mr. Wednesday (McShane), and a pantheon of gods — old and new — competing, and ready to do battle, for the hearts and minds of believers. In the third season, Shadow angrily pushes this apparent destiny away, and settles in the idyllic snowy town of Lakeside, Wisconsin — to make his own path, guided by the gods of his black ancestors, the Orishas. But he soon discovers that this town’s still waters run deep, and dark, and bloody, and that you don’t get to simply reject being a god. The only choice — and a choice you have to make — is what kind of god you’re going to be.
The third season of American Gods averaged a 0.04 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 170,000 viewers. Compared to season two (which aired in 2019), that’s down by a whopping 65% in the demo and down by 49% in viewership.
“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 today.
There is talk of Gods getting some closure either via a TV movie or an “event series”. It’s unclear what the realistic chances of this wrap-up might be as the traditional ratings saw such large season-to-season declines this year. It’s not known what the delayed and streaming numbers were but, if they were impressive, Starz probably wouldn’t be pulling the plug on the show in the first place.
What do you think? Do you like the American Gods TV series? Are you sorry to hear there won’t be a fourth season on Starz? Would you like to see a wrap-up of some kind?