Summary

• Don't keep major characters in the background like American Gods did. Give them room to develop and avoid making them obsolete.
• Finish scripts on time, unlike American Gods, so actors don't have to write their own lines and avoid trouble with the Writers Guild.
• Balance the rich lore of Gaiman's books with storytelling, don't overwhelm the audience with too many plot lines, and don't alienate those who haven't read Anansi Boys.

With Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys being brought to the screen by Amazon, the streaming service should take note of Starz's mistakes in adapting Gaiman's American Gods. American Gods only ran for three seasons before being canceled in 2021. The show went through a variety of hardships throughout its run-time. It's clear that the issues with American Gods did not stem from the source material but rather from the behind-the-scenes chaos that led to its ultimate cancelation.

As the story of Anansi Boys is connected to American Gods, Amazon has a chance to succeed where Starz failed. Many of Neil Gaiman's works have been adapted to the screen over the years. Stardust and Coraline were turned into movies that have become classics despite receiving lukewarm reactions when first made. Good Omens, which Gaiman co-wrote with Terry Pratchett, and Gaiman's comic series, The Sandman, have become beloved TV shows.

10 Don't Keep Major Characters In The Background

American Gods season 3 didn't have space for character development

American Gods season 3 had to deal with a lot. After the departure of some of the series' biggest actors, the cast was filled back in with characters who simply weren't given enough room. Wednesday's new driver, Cordelia, was one of the biggest offenders. Rather than have her own space to develop, she was pushed to the background and made almost obsolete. The addition of Liam Doyle also drew some confusion, especially over his relationship with Laura Moon. The lack of character development in American Gods made it feel hollow. Amazon should take care to keep from falling into this same trap with Anansi Boys and keep the character changes to a minimum.

9 Finish Scripts, Unlike American Gods

Actors had to write their own lines for American Gods

After the showrunners of season 1, Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, were fired, the writer's room of American Gods became a poorly run ship. The chaos and confusion led to scripts not being finished in time for the actors to begin studying them. It got so bad that actors began to write their own lines for American Gods in order to complete the scripts. This drew the ire of the Writers Guild and led to Orlando Jones, the actor for Mr. Nancy, being listed as a writer for the show to avoid getting in trouble with the guild. As long as the scripts for Anansi Boys are actually written on time, Amazon should be able to avoid this problem.

8 Balance The Lore Of Gaiman's Book

Don't overwhelm the audience, but don't leave too much out

The world of Gaiman's American Gods and Anansi Boys is full of rich lore. Gaiman drew inspiration from many different religions and mythologies for his gods. Many of the characters from American Gods compare well to their mythological origins. Unfortunately, American Gods did not do a very good job of balancing out the lore with the storytelling. Although they included many of the major gods, American Gods got bogged down by too many plot lines that didn't explain themselves very well. This drowned out a lot of the stellar world-building that makes American Gods such a good story.

7 Don't Alienate Those Who Haven't Read Anansi Boys

The lack of exposition made American Gods confusing for many

The show's inability to balance the source material of the American Gods novel not only confused those who had read the book but it completely alienated those who hadn't. Many struggled to follow the plot, as it skipped around so much and revolved around so many different characters. For those unfamiliar with the book, American Gods became hard to watch as it wasn't making much sense. If Amazon can tell the story of Anansi Boys without leaving those who haven't read the book in the lurch, it'll already be miles ahead of American Gods.

6 Don't Be Cryptic

Questions were asked and then never answered in American Gods

In the later seasons of American Gods, the show's attempt to keep things fresh and moving along created a tangle of questions and riddles that had no answer within the show. American Gods is not a mystery novel but rather the tale of a man's life after he becomes entangled with the gods. By making the show so cryptic, American Gods created yet another divide between itself and its audience. Viewers grew frustrated at how complicated the show became. Amazon needs to avoid making the same mistake with Anansi Boys.

5 Keep The Actors Who Make The Show Possible

Many of American Gods stars had left or been let go before the show's end

Gillian Anderson and Kristen Chenoweth both left American Gods after the first season. They played Goddess Media and Goddess of Easter, respectively, two well-loved characters within both the book and show. Anderson's character was replaced with Kahyun Kim as the New Goddess of New Media, but Chenoweth's was not. The most surprising departure, however, was that of Orlando Jones. Jones played Mr. Nancy, the father of "Fat Charlie" and Spider in Anansi Boys.

Jones did not leave of his own volition. He was fired before season 3, with his character's lack of page-time in the book being cited as the cause. As Mr. Nancy was a pivotal and favorite character, though, Jones' American Gods removal wasn't well-received. Anansi Boys needs to do better about ensuring actors want to stay with the show and aren't fired without proper cause.

4 Embrace Gaiman's Writing Style

The best Gaiman adaptations have fully embraced the author's way of telling a story

Neil Gaiman has a very distinct writing style. American Gods did not manage to capture Gaiman's whimsically macabre writing style in the same way as other, more acclaimed, adaptations of Gaiman's works have. Gaiman's writing lends itself to screen adaptations, as his works are always incredibly visual and unique. This is evidenced by films such as Coraline and Stardust, and the success of Good Omens and The Sandman as TV shows. There are plenty of Neil Gaiman stories that deserve live-action adaptations, so Anansi Boys needs to make its mark. Amazon should let Gaiman's style, not just his words, drive the creation of the show.

3 Stick To The Plot Of Anansi Boys

Don't change so much that the story is unrecognizable

One of American Gods' biggest issues was how far it strayed from the plot of the novel. Although Gaiman liked Fuller and Green's spin on his book in the first season, the rest of the show took a turn for the worse. Rather than taking what Gaiman wrote and making it work for a TV show, it seemed as though the later showrunners were making a different story altogether. Too many deviations from American Gods led those who read the novel to stop watching the show out of frustration. While it is perfectly fine for an adaptation to take some liberties with the source material, the best course is to stay true to the point of the material and not try to make it fit something else.

2 Don't Stretch The Material of Anansi Boys

American Gods took one book and made it three seasons long

It hardly ever works out well when a single book is turned into a multi-season-long show. While there are exceptions, such as Good Omens and The Alienist, American Gods is not one of them. This became all the more clear as the third and final season was muddled by the amount of new characters and strange plot devices. The best course of action for Amazon is to keep the plot of Anansi Boys to what Gaiman has already given them. If the show does well, they could then do what they did with the second season of Good Omens and call upon Gaiman to add more to the story rather than try to do it themselves.

1 Maintain The Creative Team Better Than American Gods

Don't swap out main writers in between every season

American Gods' biggest and most talked about mistake was the firing of Bryan Fuller and Michael Green after season 1. Fuller's success with NBC's Hannibal made him an ideal choice to adapt American Gods. Fuller and Green expertly handled the more violent and graphic parts of Gaiman's novel and made it palatable on screen.

The duo understood what the story needed for it to be successfully translated to the screen. Even Gaiman appreciated the changes they made, as it was still his story but in a new and exciting way. Their firing was the worst thing to happen to American Gods, as it led to the rest of the show's issues. If Anansi Boys learns anything from the failure of American Gods, it should be to keep the creative team as intact as possible throughout the show.