Trivia / American Gods

The Book

• Life Imitates Art: Several people attempted to copy Mr. Wednesday's Bavarian Fire Drill trick to steal from people making deposits at the bank. It in turn was based on a con that the real-life thief Frank Abagnale claims to have pulled off.

The Series

• Ascended Fanon: Laura biting Robbie's penis off during the car crash is a bit of fanon from the books (to explain how Audrey knew that Laura died with Robbie's penis in her mouth). In the series she explicitly says that it was severed at the base for this reason.
• Hypothetical Casting: Neil Gaiman says that Shadow is supposed to look like Dwayne Johnson.
• Troubled Production: Showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green exited the series under mysterious circumstances after season one, launching a long and much-documented series of cast changes and producer upheaval. Season two's showrunner was relieved of his duties midway through the season after a reported series of budget overruns and rejected scripts. Season three, with yet another showrunner, saw more departures including accusations of racism from Orlando Jones, who had been a producer / actor on the previous season. The launch of season three was later delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marilyn Manson had a recurring role in the third season but his role was written out after credible abuse allegations surfaced. The series was canceled after the third season, possibly mercifully.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Nicolas Cage was approached to play Wednesday, but he turned the role down despite liking the script.
  • In "The Bone Orchard", Shadow rejects Audrey's drunken offer of a blowjob as a means of closure to the revelation of their spouses' affair. Bryan Fuller and Michael Green wanted to have him accept it, but Neil Gaiman categorically refused, saying it was utterly out of character for Shadow.

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