26 shows similar to Game of Thrones to watch next

14. American Gods

We’ve talked about an awful lot of medieval shows with political intrigue, and all that sort of stuff. Let’s talk about something a bit more contemporary, but that still has a fantastical air about it.

American Gods is one of the more unique shows to come out on television in the past several years. Based on the book of the same name by Neil Gaiman, it tells the story of Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle), an ex-con who becomes embroiled in a war between the old gods (those who manifested in America after their believers immigrated to the country) and the new gods (those born out of the country’s obsession with technology, capitalism, and power). When Shadow is released from prison, he finds himself in the employ of the enigmatic Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane). Wednesday takes Shadow on a cross-country road trip to visit a plethora of deific characters, and things get real weird, real fast.

American Gods is unlike anything else out there. It leans heavily into artistry and playing with expectations, especially in its first season. Shadow’s journey requires him to walk along the edges of comprehension; the show is like a colorful acid trip that could go bad at any moment.

American Gods ran for three seasons on Starz. The show was canceled on a pretty serious cliffhanger…though there have been rumblings that the effort to finish out the story may not be dead quite yet.