On the set of "American Gods": With fantasy against Trump

The American dream dies in Canada. In a film studio in Toronto, they have recreated a complete funeral home. Wilted wallpaper, dim light, an open, empty coffin, a funeral table. Under the sheet bare feet protrude.

Fans of the cult novel "American Gods" and the TV series of the same name are likely to see the backdrop as a central location for the fantasy saga: this is the funeral home of Mr. Ibis and Mr. Jacquel - in truth, the ancient Egyptian gods Thot and Anubis, stranded in Cairo, a broken US town in Illinois.

From the darkness a voice sounds. "Let's roll," shouts director Stacie Passon. Shown here is a key scene of the second season of "American Gods": Ibis gets visit from the spider god Anansi, even disguised as a human. The moment culminates in a monologue about the conditions in America, past as well as today - slavery, racism, police brutality, right-wing radicals. Ten times the black comedian Orlando Jones, who plays Anansi, repeats the speech, getting more and more into it until Director Passon is satisfied: "Cut!"

"American Gods", the Emmy-nominated adaptation of Neil Gaiman's buyer, is about the war between gods and idols, mythology and technology, minorities and majorities. Above all, it is a fan of America, whose ethnicity and religion have always opposed each other - and today more than ever.

photo gallery

10 pictures

"Our show shows America what it really is," says Gaiman, 58, who is also an executive producer of the series and squats in front of a coffee in a neighboring studio. Faith, violence, suppression of minorities: These motives have already shaped the novel from 2001. But suddenly they are hot news - because of Donald Trump.

The timing was a stroke of luck. The concept for the series was created in 2014, the first season, filmed in 2016, had its premiere shortly after Trump's inauguration. The long-delayed second season, which started in March, now reminds one of how blatant the situation has since escalated. "America was never a pure white nation," says Gaiman, who lives as an exile Briton in the United States. "But suddenly this is a political issue." The immigration country no longer appreciates immigrants.

"This cancer"

Gaiman has written dozens of books and comics ("Sandman"), but "American Gods" is his most popular work, with more than 40 million copies sold. "We did not think we were doing anything controversial," Gaiman says of the TV Version, which celebrates all skin color, gender, and sexual orientation. "We did not think that a show that shows immigrants in a positive light and has many black and homosexual figures would be a statement today."

But then, as far as a Fantasyshow can even guess, the series became a statement - even against Trump. "An antidote to this cancer that has now revealed itself," says black actor Demore Barnes (Mr. Ibis).

"Neil wrote that many years ago," says Ian McShane, 76, who plays the mysterious Mr. Wednesday. "But now the topics are very relevant." The British character actor, also known as "Game of Thrones" and "Deadwood", follows the twist in hoodie and shorts and laments the polarization of America: "Terribly sad, you can only shake your head."

Jasper Savage / Amazon / Starz Entertainment

Ian McShane (Mr. Wednesday) with Cloris Leachman (Zorya Vechernyaya) in "American Gods"

The conflicts that are currently ripping apart the US are not new, but only reinforced by Trump. "We live in grotesque times," sighs Anansi actor Jones in a shooting break. "Human rights, civil rights, women's rights, everything is connected."

Jones himself wrote the monologue at the funeral home, from personal experience. But not only for him that is a personal concern. The whole team is proud of its diversity, in front of and behind the camera. The cast comes from the US, UK, Australia, Nigeria, Iran, Sweden, Germany. Women - white, black, Asian - have staged half of the new season.

Quarrels behind the scenes

The range is most evident in Ricky Whittle. The ex-soap opera star was cast not only because of his charisma for the main role of the Shadow, but also because of its origin: His mother is a white Brit, his black father comes from Jamaica. "Our hero is a melting pot, like America," says Gaiman.

Jasper Savage / Amazon / Starz Entertainment

Ricky Whittle (Shadow Moon) and Orlando Jones (Mr. Nancy)

"What is this real America?" Asks Whittle, addressing the political debate. The big man - who also comes from the UK, but lives in Los Angeles and seeks US citizenship - sits in jeans and T-shirt at a crew table. "The real America rises and says so, not so we do not treat immigrants." He was "grateful" that he could "bring this message into the world".

For almost two decades, Gaiman tried to make his vision film. In 2011, HBO secured the rights, in the same year when the pay-TV channel landed the biggest TV fantasy hit with "Game of Thrones". But HBO, says Gaiman, "did not get the script." Finally, "American Gods" landed at HBO rival Starz.

Starz invested more than $ 10 million per episode. The sets occupy half a dozen studio halls, where iconic American places have risen - including a classic fast-food restaurant, where even the ketchup in the old glass bottles is real.

The first season received rave reviews, but the production of the following season suffered from creative quarrels. Showrunners were fired, actors rewrote their dialogues, and two stars dropped. "Second seasons are always difficult," says veteran McShane.

But the problem lies above all in the political environment - and in Trump: How can a surrealist social critique be continued if society itself becomes surreal? How and where is the timeless fantasy different from reality?

Still, Starz gave "American Gods" the green light for a third season. Gaiman muses, "Once it's finished sometime, the racists may have disappeared again, homosexuals and transgender people are fully accepted, and people will see 'American Gods' as a relic of a subjugated era."

" American Gods ": Mondays on Amazon Prime Video (in the US on Starz)