History Series / AmericanGods2017

* BatmanGambit: Season 3 reveals that Wednesday has been running one of these on Shadow. He has been feeding Shadow's ego hoping that when the time comes Shadow's pride and hubris will override his common sense and sense of preservation. Sure enough, [[spoiler: with Wednesday dead Shadow has himself bound to Yidrysil hoping to ascend to godhood. Instead, he dies giving Wednesday the blood sacrifice needed to resurrect and come back stronger than ever.]]

* CanonForeigner: Greco-Roman gods didn't appear in the novel (although Medusa showed up a few times) but Corbin Bernsen was cast as Vulcan.[[note]]WordOfGod is that Gaiman didn't use Greek mythology because there was no evidence at the time he wrote the book that the Ancient Greeks ever made it to America. (And also because he thought Greek mythology had been done to death.) However, with the discovery of some Ancient Roman coins in the Ohio River, there was more license to include the Greek/Roman pantheon.[[/note]]

** Bilquis was once a Goddess of Love in modern-day Iran before Islamic extremists destroyed her altars and drove what was left of her followers to America. Found homeless by the Technical Boy, she derives from a Tinder Expy.

** Argus Panoptes was a many-eyed giant that served Olympus. In America, he had since become the god of Sinister Surveillance.

* AdaptationalBadass: Both the Old Gods and the New Gods get a lot more time to show off their powers in this series than the books. For example, Technical Boy was just a fat kid in a limousine in the novels. In the series, his limousine is a pocket dimension he can force others into, can spawn the faceless "children" to work as his {{Mooks}} out of virtually nothing, can freeze time, and can erase others from existence.

* ReallyGetsAround: Shadow's mother had ''eighty six'' sexual partners in her life, according to Mr World.

* SoundtrackDissonance: Essie's life of crime and punishment in the 18th century is accompanied entirely by 1950s doo-wop pop songs, though the actual lyrics sometimes relate in some way to what is occurring.

* ModernizedGod:

-->'''Audrey''': Holy shit, Shadow. Nobody told you? [[YourCheatingHeart [Laura] died with my husband's cock in her mouth.]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Shadow finds out Laura, at her funeral no less, was cheating on him with his best friend while he was in prison.

** The first season ends with Osterra (Easter) joining with Wednesday and [[spoiler:taking back spring, killing plants for miles around, if not across the country]]. In Season 2, her absence is handwaved away as her being annoyed with Wednesday for running over her rabbits, and her actions are not referenced again.

** Mad Sweeney also has a larger role, as we see him desperately trying to get his lucky coin back.

** Some characters from the 'Somewhere in America' stories that are interspersed throughout the book will play a bigger part in the show.

** Salim and the Jinn only feature in one chapter in the book (with a throw-away call back later on), and never directly interact with the main characters. In the show they're major supporting characters: Salim has a long sub-plot with Laura and Sweeney in Season 1, and they both join the group in Cairo for Season 2.
** As above, Bilquis is promoted from starring in her own single stand-alone chapter to becoming an important supporting character, joining Wednesday's unstable group of allies in Cairo for the duration of Season 2.

* Salim and the Jinn only feature in one chapter in the book (with a throw-away call back later on), and never directly interact with the main characters. In the show they're major supporting characters: Salim has a long sub-plot with Laura and Sweeney in Season 1, and they both join the group in Cairo for Season 2.

* ArtShift: The "Coming to America" segment that opens "Lemon Scented You," which depicts the arrival of prehistoric humans and their god to America, is done entirely in deliberately ConspicuousCGI.

%%This is {{not an example}} unless she/they were fighting someone. Re-add if that's the case.* FullFrontalAssault: Bilquis is repeatedly naked on screen, as are her worshipers regardless of gender.

* FullFrontalAssault: Bilquis is repeatedly naked on screen, as are her worshipers regardless of gender.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/american_gods_7.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Believe]].]]

* TheAlmightyDollar: A divine figure called the "Bookkeeper" is a god of money, older than most of the gods, and TrueNeutral in their conflicts. He is served by three Penny Scouts.

* TheAlmightyDollar: A divine figure called the "Bookkeeper" is a god of money, older than most of the gods. He is served by three Penny Scouts.

* TeamSwitzerland: The Bookkeeper -- the The AnthropomorphicPersonification of money -- refuses to ally with either the Old Gods or the New Gods in their upcoming war, as there is little opportunity in choosing one over the other.

* MeaningfulName: As in the book, several Old Gods have meaningful aliases, making it [[CaptainObviousReveal not much of a big surprise]] when their godly identities are revealed. Mr. Jacquel and Mr. Ibis are [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Anubis and Thoth]], named for animals sacred to them, while Mr. Wednesday and Low-Key Lyesmith are [[Myth/NorseMythology Odin and Loki]].

* TheNthDoctor: Media is replaced by New Media due to problems in scheduling commitments from Creator/GillianAnderson.