Gillian Anderson is on a streak of disappointing television fans. With the return of X-Files, Anderson has been making it clear she’s done after this season. As it turns out, that isn’t the only show she’s clearing from her schedule. In an interview with the L.A. Times, Anderson she won’t return for the second season of the Starz original series American Gods.
Anderson says the departure of the original showrunners led to her decision. It was announced in November that Bryan Fuller and Michael Green were leaving the show due to “creative differences.” Seeing as Anderson worked with Fuller before on Hannibal, it’s possible she didn’t want to continue without him.
American Gods, based on the Neil Gaiman novel of the same name, premiered on Starz last April. The series follows Shadow Moon, played by Ricky Whittle, whose thrown into the world of modern mythology. Anderson played Media, the god of… well, you know. She starred alongside other great talens like Ian McShane, Pablo Schreiber, and Kristin Chenoweth, to name a few.
With such a huge creative shake-up, it’s hard to say when the series will return. The first season was phenomenal, but it’s hard to predict how season two will go. Starz renewed American Gods for a second season long before these departures. There’s no word yet on who will replace Media or the showrunners.
It’s possible Anderson won’t be the only star leaving the show. Kristin Chenoweth, who plays Easter, doesn’t know if she’ll stick around either. She spoke with Variety in December about how she was “devastated” when the showrunners left. “When Bryan was the showrunner, I was coming back for several episodes, but I don’t know now,” said Chenoweth. “It depends on who it is and if they think I add value or not.” Whether other stars will follow suit remains to be seen.
While it’s a shame that Anderson is leaving American Gods and X-Files, it’s not as if she’s leaving show business. Obviously, you can see her in X-Files season eleven, which premiered Wednesday, January 3rd. She’ll also star alongside Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon in The Spy Who Dumped Me, due for release in 2018.
