In 2011, HBO toyed with the idea of adapting Neil Gaiman's 2001 novel American Gods as a series, only to drop the idea after network brass determined the show wasn't a good fit—likely due to "not enough incest." But, like the book's immortal subjects, the idea of bringing Gaiman's book to television is eternal. Fremantle Media—the production company currently adapting The Returned for A&E, as well as Carl Hiaasen's Basket Case for Spike—has now snapped up the rights to Gods, and are again working on turning it into a series with Gaiman on board as a producer.
In the world of the book, an ex-con encounters a pantheon of gods, including figures from Norse, Egyptian, Slavic, and Algonquian myths, and many others. Bereft of believers in the modern age, these gods are not as mighty as they once were, yet they still roam the land of mortals—squabbling, scheming, and trying to engineer a return to power.
With a large, colorful cast of characters, and innumerable myths to draw on for further inspiration, American Gods certainly has the potential to be a sprawling fantasy series along the lines of Game Of Thrones. Gaiman has said in the past that the first book could provide enough material for two seasons' worth of a series, and that those seasons would combine the stories from his book with new material. It still remains to be seen which network could potentially pick up the show, but the news is a reason for Gaiman fans to be optimistic again.