‘American Gods’ Remains a Dark Fantasy Adventure Gem on Free Streaming

When it comes to dark fantasy TV shows, there are a few titles that immediately come to mind. The Witcher, Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things are undoubtedly some of the most popular, but hits such as Penny Dreadful, Interview with the Vampire, and Supernatural certainly deserve their spots in the Top 10. Dare we say another series that’s gone largely forgotten about these days has also earned its place in history for being one of the best dark fantasy series of all time, even if it was cut short.

Premiering on Starz in 2017, this hidden gem was based on the popular 2001 novel by Neil Gaiman. Anyone who is familiar with the author’s work knows just how great he is at world building, as bestsellers like The Sandman, Neverwhere, and Good Omens proved he’s got the chops to take the universe we live in, and completely transform it by adding magic, myth, and mayhem.

The Starz series, developed by Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, served to build upon what Gaiman had already created, deepening the mythology and updating things for a more modern setting. Though it went through a bit of a tonal shift once they exited the show after the first season, there’s no denying that American Gods is still a fantastic dark fantasy series, and the best part about it is that you can now stream it for free on Tubi.

‘American Gods’ Ushered in a New Era of TV

Starring Ricky Whittle as Shadow Moon, American Gods follows his character as he’s released a few days early from prison to attend his wife’s funeral. He’s approached by a mysterious man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane), and before he knows it, Shadow is caught up in a war between the Old Gods representing tradition, religion, and folklore, and the New Gods, who are of the mindset that modern technology, the media, and website clicks are the new currency of the day.

Taking a bold swing at the time, American Gods was unlike anything we’d seen on TV up to that point. It featured tons of surreal imagery, dream-like sequences that made it feel as if you were watching someone’s bad LSD trip, and enough bold colors to make Andy Warhol blush. Not only did it mirror the visual style of one of Fuller’s other creations —Hannibal — but it helped usher in a new era of TV that allowed more creators to take big chances.

Yet for all its positives, American Gods missed the mark in the sense that it began to stray too far from Gaiman’s novel the longer it went. Characters that were nothing more than bit-players in the source material were fleshed out and given their own arcs, completely new storylines were added to fill time, and the pacing was much slower.

‘American Gods’ Became Its Own Worst Enemy

Because of the issues listed above, American Gods eventually became its own worst enemy in the sense that it took everything that made Gaiman’s novel great, and tried to change it too much for the sake of television. Rather than focus on what was right in front of them, Fuller and company thought they could improve upon it so much so that they ended up digging their own graves. As such, it was canceled after three seasons.

That, however, is coming from someone who loves the book and has read it countless times. If you’re not familiar with the novel and have no idea what it’s about going into it, then American Gods is definitely a dark fantasy series that’s worth your time and energy.