Neil Gaiman's 'American Gods' Optioned for TV Series, but not by HBO

It looks like Neil Gaiman's acclaimed fantasy novel American Gods is headed to TV, but it won't be with HBO as had been the plan a couple of years ago. Tom Hanks' Playtone and HBO had optioned the rights with hopes of developing it into a six-episode series, but the network quietly dropped it a few months ago. Disappointing news, to be sure, but there is hope now that FremantleMedia has acquired it.

According to Deadline, Gaiman will exec-produce the potential series with FremantleMedia, but there's nothing on whether he'll be writing the scripts. He had been planning to co-write the pilot with Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson. American Gods was published in 2001 and follows ex-con Shadow Moon, who exists in a world where gods and other mythical beings walk the earth. After taking a job protecting Mr. Wednesday, really Odin in disguise, Shadow finds himself in the middle of a war between the old gods and the modern ones.

Losing HBO is huge because they had the perfect platform and a prime Sunday night slot just waiting to be filled. Hopefully FremantleMedia can do American Gods the justice it deserves, and get it on a network where it can be easily found.