Game of Thrones‘ July return date has left a hole in TV fans’ April schedule, but the new Starz series American Gods is here to fill the void. The premium network released the official trailer Wednesday, and it is full of brutal action and war that promises to be “glorious.”
Based on author Neil Gaiman’s 2001 novel of the same name, American Gods follows Shadow Moon (played by Ricky Whittle) as loses his wife, gets released from prison, and is offered a new job — all in short order. Little does he know, though, he is stepping into the middle of a bizarre war. His work with Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) puts him on the side of the Old Gods, who are preparing to square off against the New Gods.
That doesn’t just sound crazy to us; Shadow is suddenly dealing with an unfamiliar world and has to deal with the fact that his boss is a powerful God. Although Wednesday indicates in the preview that he is “easing” Shadow in to all of this, it looks like a rude awakening.
“You’ve gotten yourself mixed up in some really weird shit, Shadow,” we hear at one point.
That is probably an understatement. The trailer is full of blood — people being split in two, crude weapons, and a woman carrying her severed arm in her other hand. There is even a cow with fire coming out of its eyes. Clearly, things are going to get crazy.
Equally appealing are the big names involved. The cast also includes Gillian Anderson, Kristin Chenoweth, Emily Browning, and more. Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, who wrote the adaptation, serve as showrunners and they, along with Gaiman, are among the executive producers as well.
American Gods premieres April 30 on Starz.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.