WE DIDN’T WANT TO RUSH BACK; WE HAD TO GET IT RIGHT
The hugely anticipated second season of American Gods – based on Neil Gaiman’s bestselling novel – is nearly upon us. chats to stars Ricky Whittle and Emily Browning TWO years is a long time to wait for a second series of a TV show.
But Ricky Whittle and Emily Browning promise when the series in question is American Gods, it’s worth the wait.
The fantasy drama is based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Neil Gaiman.
It revolves around the idea that, over thousands of years, immigrants to America have brought their gods with them.
But as time’s gone on, people have turned to newer gods (like Media and Technical Boy).
In the first series, we saw Shadow Moon, an ex-con played by Ricky, get caught up in the middle of a war between the new gods and the old gods, thanks to his mysterious boss Mr Wednesday (Ian McShane).
“We’ve had to be patient, the fans have had to be patient,” says former Hollyoaks star Ricky, 37, about season two. “I feel we
Swouldn’t have done the show justice by coming back sooner than we did. We had to wait until the writing was right and the storyline was right and it all made sense.”
“It’s a big cast to wrangle as well – it takes a while to get us all in the same place!” adds Aussie Emily, who plays Shadow’s wife, Laura.
Season one showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green quit and were replaced by Lost writer Jesse Alexander.
“We publicly had some big shifts in management,” notes 30-year-old Emily.
“But the thing that felt different [for series 2], in a really great way, was the fact we had such a strong core with the cast, because we all love each other so much and we all collaborate really well,” she continues tactfully.
Ricky says plenty hasn’t changed with the new episodes, however.
“It’s going to look exactly the same, with its unique rich tone and feel – that’s down to our executive producer director Chris Byrne, who worked on the first series.”
Was there a sense of relief that the show feels the same?
“Yeah, for sure,” Ricky responds. “At the end of the day, this is Neil Gaiman’s incredible book, and the source material is there. It’s not like something fresh that we are trying to figure out storylines. So, we follow the book, but we deviate just a little bit just to keep it fresh.”
“For me, it feels kind of like therapy sometimes, to play Laura,” Emily notes. “It’s very cathartic because she’s just someone who genuinely couldn’t care less what anyone thinks. She is a hideous person, sometimes... She’s trying her best.”
When the book American Gods was released in 2001, it was applauded for the themes it explores: modern humanity, the evolution of faith in America, the struggles that come with immigration.
“He foresaw a lot of this and it’s the true America; America is full of immigrants,” says Ricky.
“And the show is about all these gods kind of bringing their different flavours to America and we show every culture in a really great light. It’s a great way to educate the audience.”