10 Best TV Shows Of 2017 (So Far)

5. American Gods

Anyone who loves the previous work of Bryan Fuller should be equal parts enamoured with and wary of American Gods: it's positively dripping with his own macabre stylings and band of characters (not least his take on Laura Moon), but there's also the risk that, if you become too attached, it'll be cancelled-too-soon and we'll be left bemoaning another loss.

Until that happens though - and hopefully, with it being on Starz, it won't come to that - we can enjoy this bedazzling series Fuller and co-creator Michael Green have made from Neil Gaiman's epic novel.

The series manages to be a faithful rendering of Gaiman's work, delivering the trippiest of American road trips as a storm brews between the old Gods and the new, and yet accomplishes the difficult feat of actually expanding it with new material that stands as some of the best on the show. I refer back to the character of Laura Moon here, who becomes a much more fleshed-out character, and in the process gives us a real emotional hook to the surreal events.

It is, needless to say, beautiful to look it, and also weird as hell. At times it feels larger than life, and that certainly goes for Ian McShane's endlessly charismatic turn as Mr Wednesday, but it's given depth thanks to its incredible, diverse cast, and at its heart serves as a story about belief and, most relevantly, immigration. It manages this with real power but without being heavy handed, and even in the moments it gets a little confusing it's never anything less than joyously entertaining.

Best Episode: Git Gone