Prospects are increasingly bleak for American Gods Season 2, especially after Gillian Anderson left the series behind showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green. Now, Starz admits they’re having trouble filling the slots, but may come to an arrangement with Fuller, Green and creator Neil Gaiman for future seasons.

Starz boss Chris Albrecht offered a candid assessment of the second season from the network’s TCA press tour panel; initially addressing the recent departures. “Gillian Anderson seems to be leaving everything,” he noted of her likewise X-Files departure. “But this not a surprise — we knew she was not necessarily going to come back … Kristen Chenoweth, as far as we all know, is still committed to the show — obviously pending her availability because as you are seeing we’re having some trouble getting the second season underway.”

The network has not yet found replacements for Fuller and Green, but claimed that the pair were neither fired nor quit, as “our partners Fremantle are working out with Bryan and Michael and their schedules, a way for them to continue to be involved.” Albrecht also stated “Neil Gaiman will be taking a more central role moving forward into a more traditional showrunner function and we’re looking a partner for him who can ensure that the television part of this gets the appropriate attention,” though that was apparently news to Gaiman:

As Entertainment Weekly outlined, Albrecht also remains hopeful that Fuller and Green won’t be so distant as the original exit implied:

Bryan and Michael will be involved as much as they can be. It’s a little bit up in the air as to what their exact role will be … It’s a big show, it’s a monster show. It has faced many of the challenges that terrific, complex premium shows when trying to get successive seasons, especially when art comes before commerce … Not surprisingly if you’ve seen the show, it’s not an inexpensive show. Budget is always a factor, but Freemantle has been really terrific in wanting to reinvest. This is about is there a vision that can be executed on a regular basis. It’s obviously not ideal to have 18 months or two years between seasons, especially given how competitive the world has become. Fremantle needs to know that there’s a formula where they can get the show on, and we’d like to have the same as well. It might be that the things that Bryan and Michael were doing in their schedule would not allow them to focus in the way that Fremantle has wanted them to, although I don’t know that specifically. It seems like we’re on a path to get this on track to a definite season 2.

Gaiman also seemed to imply that a showrunner announcement was incoming, so stay tuned for the latest on American Gods Season 2 as it arrives.

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