American Gods season 2 names former Hannibal exec showrunner

Clearly, Starz still wants American Gods season 2 to have a small dose of the Bryan Fuller magic — after all, they have named former Hannibal executive producer Jesse Alexander.

Alexander has worked on a number of other TV projects, including Star Trek: Discovery (which Fuller also worked on for a time) and Lost. He’s got a good understanding of high-concept dramas and how they work. Basically, there is zero reason to think that he would be anything other than perfect for this gig. Fuller co-ran American Gods alongside Micheal Green, and now Alexander will be working directly alongside series author Neil Gaiman to make the second season of the show a success.

In a statement per The Hollywood Reporter (who first reported the news today), Gaiman had the following to say:

“I’m thrilled that Jesse is [the] 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.”

There are some immense challenges when it comes to working on American Gods, with many of them revolving around the intense, hyper-stylized creative. It’s an expensive show to make and also one that is time-consuming. At this point, we do think that we’re all going to be fairly lucky to even see a second season premiere by around the spring of 2019 — there hasn’t been any filming yet, let alone intense writing. At least now some work can begin.

Related – Gillian Anderson will not return to American Gods

We’ll admit that after hearing about Alexander’s hire, we’re a little more optimistic about the show’s future than we were. It takes a very unique vision to make this show a success, and while he doesn’t have the name value of a Fuller, we do think that he will understand what the series is. He just needs to find a way to deliver early so that ambivalence towards him doesn’t take over as a central thread among many of the series’ fans.

What do you think about Jesse Alexander being hired as the new American Gods season 2 showrunner? Share in the comments below! Also, you can like CarterMatt on Facebook to score some other updates. (Photo: Starz.)