American Gods season 1, episode 1 synopsis: The Bone Orchard

American Gods takes Neil Gaiman’s story of new and old gods and brings it to life. Here’s what you can expect in the season premiere, “The Bone Orchard.”

There is a ton of buzz surrounding the Starz original series American Gods right now and it’s all very positive, which is a great sign for a new show. Not only that, but American Gods has every probability of living up to all of the hype.

American Gods is based upon Neil Gaiman’s novel that explores what happens when the gods of times past decide that they want to return to the spotlight. New gods have replaced them, and a battle is brewing.

In the series premiere, we meet Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) who is released from prison early because his wife has died. Once he’s out and about as a free man, he meets a man named Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane), a con artist with a few secrets. Wednesday needs a bodyguard, and Shadow is just the man to protect him.

Some of the other characters we meet in the season premiere are Mad Sweeney, a leprechaun who is chasing rainbows to get his lucky streak back in action, and Technical Boy, one of the new gods who basks in the love he gets from people and their love affair with their gadgets. These are but a few of the show’s large cast of characters, and in due time we’ll meet them all.

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One of the things that sets American Gods apart from other high profile projects is that the showrunners have no problem releasing juicy details ahead of the show’s premiere. Whether fans have read Gaiman’s book or not, there doesn’t seem to be any concern with spoilers because the general consensus among critics is that the show really is that good. It can’t be spoiled. That’s a high bar to set for a new series, but American Gods has enough source material to make it the next big thing, and that’s what Starz is counting on.

American Gods airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.