HBO Adaptation of Neil Gaiman's American Gods Will Last Six Seasons

If you like sci-fi/fantasy anything, you know who Neil Gaiman is. The man is probably best known for his wonderful Sandman comic books that he did for the DC imprint Vertigo back from 1989 to 1996. He also wrote the novel Coraline which inspired the recent Henry Selick film and wrote the Newberry Award winning children's novel The Graveyard Book. Most recently he wrote the fourth episode of series six of Doctor Who, "The Doctor's Wife," which is perhaps the most acclaimed episode of the season so far. Now, Gaiman is getting a television series of his own.

Perhaps after the success of the fantasy series Game of Thrones, adapted from George R.R. Martin's absolutely fantastic A Song of Ice and Fire, HBO has announced that it's partnering with Tom Hanks' production company Playtone to bring Gaiman's novel American Gods to film.

American Gods is primarily a fantasy novel, though it seems more akin tonally to Carnivale than to Game of Thrones. The story, which features real mythological creatures who exist because people believe in them (think Peter Pan, but darker), features an ex-convict named Shadow who meets a mysterious man named Mr. Wednesday who knows too much about him -- and offers him a job. It only gets more complex, I promise you.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Playtone is currently looking at six seasons of ten episodes for the series, with each season's budget being in the ballpark $35 million to $40 million range. "We'll do justice to the awe-inspiring power of divine beings," producer Gary Goetzman shared. "We’ll be doing more effects than have been done on television."

American Gods is expected to premiere in 2013.