Jesse Alexander To Take Over As Showrunner on 'American Gods'

There's a new man at the helm of "American Gods." Jesse Alexander ("Star Trek: Discovery"), a frequent Bryan Fuller collaborator, has been tapped to take over showrunner duties alongside novelist Neil Gaiman. Fuller and fellow showrunner Michael Green left the show after Season 1 over the show's budget was slashed. According to THR, the search for a new showrunner began immediately after the pair departed the project, with several other established showrunners declining the job before Starz and Fremantle secured Alexander.

Creative differences, along with money concerns, have plagued the upcoming season since the show's inception. Fuller and Green previously wrote the first six episodes of Season 2, which veered away from Gaiman's source novels; Gaiman was reportedly unhappy with the changes, wanting a straight adaptation of his work to hit the small screen. The previous showrunners also had major differences with Fremantle, who produced the first season and wasn't willing to give the pair the kind of budget that the high concept drama needed. Season 1 underwent several rewrites, with two of the episodes scrapped altogether to make eight episodes instead of the originally ordered ten. Fremantle then set a $9 million per-episode budget for Season 2, which ended up being the nail in the coffin for the pair's departure.

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Per a previous tweet in January (see above), Gaiman isn't "physically showrunning" "American Gods," as he's already got his hands full with his Amazon series "Good Omens." However, he'll still be "working closely" with the new showrunner to guide the TV adaptation of his work.

Due to the hiccups behind the scenes, the planned Season 2 release date in January 2019 seems more and more unlikely. However, Alexander is a decent choice for Gaiman's partner, as he's worked with Fuller on "Star Trek: Discovery," "Hannibal" and "Heroes," which means he can blend Fuller's filmmaking style into his own material going forward. Gaiman said of the incoming showrunner:
I'm thrilled that Jesse is  showrunner. He loves and understands the book, he loves and understands the TV series and he's dedicated to making future seasons of American Gods as good and as beautiful and as unique as they can be. Shadow's journey is going to take him, and Mr. Wednesday, and the New Gods and the Old, to some very strange places. I'm glad that we, and the cast and crew, will have Jesse shepherding us on the way.
Alexander is repped by ICM Partners and Kleinberg Lange.

Will you be watching Season 2 of "American Gods"? What do you think of the showrunner switch-up? Let us know in the comments below!

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