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‘American Gods’ (Starz)

A highly anticipated title, a returning cult favorite, and one of today’s biggest hits were featured during Starz’s Monday morning presentation at the 2016 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour.

Batting first with a chainsaw mounted prosthetic arm was “Ash vs. Evil Dead”…

• Executive Producer Rob Tapert thinks this season will give the audience everything they liked in the first season, just turned up a notch.
• Star Bruce Campbell (Ash Williams) promises that the gore-dispersing machine has been updated to provide much more blood.
• Dana DeLorenzo (Kelly) says you know it’s going to be a gross day when everything is covered in plastic. She then goes on to describe the “blood cannon” that covers them in grossness. She refers to this as a “typical day at the office.”
• Campbell admits that he likes playing Ash because he’s such a “troublesome hero.”
• Lucy Lawless (Ruby) thinks that Bruce can make a line 8-to-9-times funnier than when she reads it.
• Campbell describes having Lee Majors (Brock) play his father as “perfect casting.”
• Ray Santiago (Pablo) thinks that his character and Dana’s character are becoming members of Ash’s family.
• Majors wasn’t very familiar with the movies, but he watched and enjoyed the series and found it very funny.
• Michelle Hurd (Linda) thinks it’s difficult to balance between comedy and horror.
• Campbell would not comment when asked if we would see a young Ash. He did say there would be two major Easter eggs for fans of the franchise.
• “Ash vs. Evil Dead” will return October 2nd, 2016.

Next up, was the Starz smash “Power”…

• Executive Producer Courtney A. Kemp says they have no choice but to ramp up the intensity. She asks her team, “What’s the craziest thing that can happen?” Her favorite thing is to read Twitter and to see that people are yelling at their screen.
• Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson (Kanan) thought it was odd that people thought he was going to be the lead of the show due to the marketing, but it’s really Omari Hardwick’s show.
• Hardwick (James) called the move to Sunday a step into the “Big Boys’ league.”
• Lela Loren (Angela) doesn’t think the show was cast toward a demographic, but more to capture what New York is really like.
• Kemp didn’t want the show to encompass one race because that’s not what the world is like. She’d like to incorporate other races into the cast.
• Naturi Naughton (Tasha) says we can expect her character to become more independent and a businesswoman.
• Joseph Sikora (Tommy) loves playing a character that has evolved into a boss and is facing a tragic ultimatum.
• Hardwick thinks the show is great because it’s a “bromance gone wrong.” He’s been calling Kemp and begging her to put him back with Sikora. Kemp responded that the characters should be feeling the same way they do.
• Kemp doesn’t think the show being renewed for two seasons spoils the “Ghost Must Die” angle.
• “Power” airs Sunday nights at 9pm ET on Starz.

And finally, we heard about the adaption of Neil Gaiman’s book “American Gods.”

• Bryan Fuller (Executive Producer) was very aware of race when casting because the book was so culturally specific.
• Michael Green (Executive Producer) was warned not to “(expletive deleted) it up” because the source material is so beloved.
• Fuller wanted to be sure to show how all of the gods came to America because it’d be a way to include more female characters.
• Author Neil Gaiman was a big part of the adaptation process with Green and Fuller often going to him with questions.
• Fuller quipped that it should be “North American Gods” because it was filmed in Toronto.
• Fuller said that Gillian Anderson is welcome to do any production he works on and she jumped at the chance to be a part of “American Gods.”
• Green said that the show focuses on forgotten mythology.
• Green thinks when people discuss religion, it immediately seems divisive, but they hope their series will encourage discussion.
• Fuller believes he and Green have a respect for religion.
• “American Gods” will air in 2017 on Starz.