The gods might not exactly be smiling down on American Gods at the moment, because the show just lost its head writers.

In a true shocker, showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green have exited American Gods ahead of its second season over conflicts with the show's production company FremantleMedia (via Variety).

The writers were apparently pushing for an increase on the $10 million per-episode budget they were allotted, but FremantleMedia balked. As of yet, neither side is officially commenting on the reasons for Fuller and Green's departure.

Starz

There's been no shortage of uncertainty about the sophomore run of Starz and Amazon Video's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel over the last few months. As recently as August, Starz boss Chris Albrecht admitted he had no timeline for American Gods' return to screens.

"We are certainly on board for as long as the show makes sense for Starz, and we don't see any end in sight," Albrecht told reporters at the TCA press tour.

"It's a difficult show to do, a lot of people to wrangle, so I can't tell you exactly when the next season is going to be on the air. We're actively pursuing making sure we get it as soon as possible."

Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Fuller's abrupt departure from American Gods draws unfortunate comparisons to his decision to drop out as showrunner on Star Trek: Discovery this time last year. When Digital Spy spoke with him two months later, Fuller said he'd been torn between committing fully to either Star Trek or American Gods.

"With Star Trek, ultimately it was about not being able to do what CBS needed to be done in the time that they needed it done," he told us last December..

"Part of that was [down to] my responsibilities to American Gods, which I'm very dedicated to, and so it was unfortunate to take a step back away from that show... and mainly because of the opportunity that I believe that Star Trek provides - for a conversation about progress, for humanity and the planet, and being able to tap into that."

He added: "I will miss doing Star Trek, but this is the best path."

Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

Fuller remains hugely busy even without American Gods. The writer has been picked to lead Apple's remake of Steven Spielberg's anthology series Amazing Stories, and he's also recently been hinting at a Hannibal revival.

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