From deep beneath the surface of the bone orchard, your favorite new show will rise: American Gods. And trust our very melodramatic hyperbole when we tell you that you’re going to want to worship at the altar of the Starz TV series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s classic novel premieres on Sunday, April 30. From the handsome visuals and dynamic storytelling to the cavalcade of epic, scenery-chewing performances, top to bottom, American Gods is sure to confound and delight.
But this isn’t exactly the easiest story to slip into. There are a lot of moving parts and plenty going on beyond face value, particularly evidenced in the THREE (!!) new clips the series unleashed upon the internet. All three of which you can watch right here on this ol’ website because who loves you more than Nerdist, eh? Praise us! Make us your new god!
First up? This little exchange between Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) and Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) about what’s really keeping that plane up in the air — faith or Isaac Newton?
Continuing on the theme of the truly unbelievable, this introduction of one of our favorite characters from the series (he’s a real highlight), Mad Sweeney, the gruffest, tallest leprechaun the world has ever seen:
And then there is, of course, the ceremony that cements the deal; the pomp and circumstance that gives belief its power — in this case, a couple shots of mead! Because the old gods ain’t afraid to party (sweetly).
There’s so much going on in these scenes that point to larger plot points and motivations that’ll reveal themselves later on. For those who don’t know (and want to be slightly spoiled on the premise), American Gods follows the a bunch of traditional Old Gods—with mythological roots from around the world—as they battle the irrelevance they face as their believers die off and/or are moved to join the New Gods and their devotion to money, technology, and celebrity.
Are you looking forward to the series? Let us know in the comments below!
Images and GIFs: Starz
The American Gods cast explains their complex characters in their own words:
Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor of Nerdist, creator/host of Fangirling!, devout worshipper of American Gods and frequent obsessive on Twitter dot com.
