The behind-the-scenes saga of “American Gods” has been almost more interesting than the show itself. After years of attempts to adapt Neil Gaiman’s beloved novel, it seemed to have a perfect fit in the visionary Bryan Fuller (“Hannibal”), the co-showrunner of season one with Michael Green. While the first season got strong reviews and an early renewal by Starz, there were rumors that Gaiman didn’t like Fuller & Green’s approach and that arguments between the creators and producers over budgets had turned acrimonious. Whatever the reason, Fuller and Green jumped ship during pre-production on season two (with four scripts written that were then tossed out, too), and stars Gillian Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth joined them. While fans waited for that second season, Jesse Alexander (“Star Trek: Discovery”) took over, but then everything derailed again with his removal by Starz, stories about being behind schedule, and no script for the season two finale. Believe it or not, it got worse. There was a report that the season was $30 million over budget, Ian McShane didn’t like the new scripts and was improvising, and Orlando Jones was pissed.

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