Everyone's talking about American Gods.
However, not everyone is aware of the genesis of the series – even though a quick Google search would reveal all.
So the story is penned by award-winning English author Neil Gaiman.
He’s ingeniously woven fantasy and Americana into his storytelling. And he blends in a wonderful mix of tension by juxtapositioning ancient and modern mythology. And he uses a taciturn Shadow Moon as his centrepiece.
How does the series play out?
Well the New Gods magnify all the trappings of pop culture; celebrity obsession, technology, drugs and so on. Meanwhile, the Old Gods are battling this wave of modernism to hold their waning place in the world. Everyone has a role to fulfil. Here’s a quick reference to the characters and their role.
The Gods
Mr Wednesday (Ian McShane): In the book, he is an aspect of Odin, the Old Norse god of knowledge and wisdom. In the series, he is painted as a con artist.
Bilquis (Yetide Badaki): An Old Goddess of love.
Mr. World (Crispin Glover): The New God of globalization and the leader of the New Gods.
Technical Boy (Bruce Langley): The New God of technology.
Czernobog (Peter Stormare): Slavic god of darkness and evil who suspects Mr. Wednesday’s motives and is reluctant to lend his aid.
Mr. Jacquel (Chris Obi): The Egyptian god of the dead, Anubis.
Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones): The African trickster god Anansi.
Easter (Kristin Chenoweth): Germanic goddess of the dawn.
Key characters
Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle): An ex-convict who becomes the bodyguard/errand boy of Mr. Wednesday.
Laura Moon (Emily Browning): She is the late wife of Shadow Moon. She died in a car accident. She is now a revenant.
Other crucial characters
Media (Gillian Anderson): The public face and “mouthpiece” of the New Gods. She appears in the form of famous personalities.
Low Key Lyesmith (Jonathan Tucker): A confidante of Shadow’s in prison.
Zorya Vechernyaya “The Evening Star” (Cloris Leachman): The eldest of three sisters who watch the stars to guard against forgotten horrors.
The Jinn (Mousa Kraish): A mythical being of fire who, fearing for his safety, considers fleeing the United States.
Salim (Omid Abtahi): A foreigner who is “one half of a pair of star-crossed lovers”.
Mr. Ibis (Demore Barnes): The keeper of stories past and present, Thoth.
Robbie (Dane Cook): Shadow’s best friend.
Zorya Utrennyaya “the Morning Star” (Martha Kelly): The middle silent sister of the Zorya.
Zorya Polunochnaya “the Midnight Star” (Erika Kaar): The youngest of the Zorya sisters who sleeps during the day and only appears late at night. She guides Shadow and sets him on his path.
One of the many portrayals of Jesus (Ernesto Reyes): His appearance saves Mexicans from crossing the Rio Grande border into the United States. Sadly, he ends up murdered alongside them by vigilantes patrolling the border.
New
Vulcan (Corbin Bernsen): A new character created by Michael Green and Bryan Fuller. He is inspired by an initial concept of Gaiman’s. In the series, he is described as having “bound himself to guns”.