Starz has confirmed that the TV adaptation of writer Neil Gaiman's popular fantasy novel "American Gods" has been greenlit, based on Gaiman's 2001 Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novel, blending Americana, fantasy and "...strands of ancient mythology...":
Central premise of "American Gods" is that mythological creatures exist with immigrants arriving in the US, bringing with them stowaway 'dwarves', 'elves', 'leprechauns' and other spirits.
"...'Shadow' is an ex-con who leaves prison to find his wife and best friend died in a car accident, leaving him alone in the world. He takes a job as a bodyguard for a mysterious man called 'Mr. Wednesday', who seems to know more about Shadow's life than he lets on.
"Shadow and Wednesday travel across America visiting Wednesday's unusual colleagues and acquaintances until Shadow learns that Wednesday is in fact an incarnation of 'Odin the All-Father', who in his current guise is recruiting American manifestations of the 'Old Gods' of ancient mythology, whose powers have waned as their believers have decreased in number, to participate in an epic battle against the 'New American Gods', manifestations of modern life and technology including the Internet, media and modern means of transport.
"Shadow meets many gods and magical creatures along the way including 'Mr. Nancy' (a manifestation of the spider god/trickster figure 'Anansi'), 'Czernobog' and a leprechaun named 'Mad Sweeney', who gives Shadow the gift of a magical gold coin. Shadow tosses the coin into his wife's grave, inadvertently bring her back from the dead as a semi-living 'revenant'.
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