American Gods is one of those shows, alas, like so many others these days, that takes an interesting premise and forges it into a sleeping pill. The epic nature of the novel requires a substantial volume of exposition. In lieu of developing an imaginative approach to adapting the story more suitably to the small screen, the writers opted to simply expound. And expound. And expound.
Lovejoy, I mean Swearengen, oh, sorry, Ian McShane,turns in his usual energized, entertaining turn as Lovejoy, I mean Swearengen, oh, sorry, Ian McShane. Emily Browning performs with the most honesty and immersion in her role of all the principal performers.. Ricky Whittle by contrast, seems completely out of place in the role of Shadow Moon. At the end of the day, he's a better print model than actor.
To be sure the series hits on a few great visuals, and as has been noted almost everywhere, the soundtrack is one of the most creatively put together in recent memory.
Ultimately, the series fails due to inertia and the visuals and the tunes can't really save it. One would expect a war among the Gods to be dramatic, exciting, theologically challenging. None of this exist in "American Gods."
It's more a case of "American Nods (Off to Sleep)," with the occasional nudity and gore, and what the hey? Crispin Glover, thrown in, in an attempt to keep things interesting. The Crispin Glover thing almost works.