American Gods: Neil Gaiman Speaks Out on “Frustrating” Season 3 Finale

Earlier this week the third season of American Gods officially concluded on Starz and like previous batches of episodes it’s unclear if the show will continue. As viewers know the season finale took a surprise twist and revealed that Ian McShane’s Mr. Wednesday had pulled a fast one on Ricky Whittle’s Shadow Moon, who seemingly died and was consumed by the world tree. Readers of Neil Gaiman‘s original novel however will recall that these very events took place in the book, and Gaiman himself (who is still heavily involved in the show) said it would be maddening if they didn’t get the opportunity to continue that story.

“If we don’t get a season 4, we’ve ended on the single most frustrating, upsetting and maddening place that any season could possibly end,” Gaiman told Entertainment Weekly in a new interview. The writer also confirmed that if the fourth season happens they will finish their adaptation of the book, meaning a fifth season would go into all new territory.

“We definitely wrap the novel in season 4,” Gaiman added. “But it is open-ended, in that with each of the showrunners, I’ve had to sit down and say, ‘Okay, this is the plot of the next American Gods book, which I have not yet written, but you need to know this, because you need to know that these characters are important, and you need to know that this thing leads to that thing. So all three of them, bless their hearts, have done things to set that up, if we ever get there.”

Charles H. Eglee took on the role of showrunner for the third season and Gaiman revealed he hopes that he comes back along with a renewal.

“I sigh deeply when I learn that somebody else has left, because it means that I’m going to have to start again at the beginning with somebody, and that is literally the last thing that any of us want,” Gaiman said.

Since the American Gods TV show has been in the works it has had a long and difficult road making it to screens around the world. Hannibal‘s Bryan Fuller was attached early on and departed before the first season could even begin. Following this each new season seemingly had its own problems with season two as it quickly fell behind schedule due to trouble in the writer’s room (resulting in the showrunner being replaced again) and a budget that ballooned. Season three saw yet another changing of the guard and multiple stars depart the series with including Orlando Jones, whose exit was very public and included fiery accusations.

Starz has not yet announced if they intend to renew American Gods for a fourth season, but Gaiman previously said he intended for the show to run five seasons.