Actress Gillian Anderson – best-known as Agent Scully in The X Files, and her recent stage triumph as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire – is striking a classic MM pose in her latest role, as ‘Media’ in American Gods, an upcoming TV series on the Starz channel.
Based on a fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman, the show will make its US debut in 2017. “American Gods follows an ex-convict named Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) who, upon early release from prison, is hired as the bodyguard of a mysterious con man named Wednesday (Ian McShane),” Kelvin Melrose reports for Spinoff. “However, it’s soon revealed that Wednesday is an incarnation of All-Father Odin, who’s traveling America recruiting his fellow forgotten deities to wage an epic battle against the new American gods — manifestations of modern life and technology, like the internet, media and credit cards.”
As Kimberly Roots reports for TVLine, Anderson’s character is described as “the mouthpiece for the New Gods, functioning as their public face and sales representative, by taking the form of various iconic celebrities. She lives off the attention and worship that people give to screens — to their laptops, their TVs, to their iPhones in their hands while they watch their TVs. Ever the perky spokesperson, and always in control, she spins stories in whatever direction best suits her.”
“In the book, Media, one of the new gods (the goddess of television, in fact) often took on the form of various pop culture icons—like Lucille Ball in her role as the titular Lucy in I Love Lucy,” James Whitbrook reports for io9. “But it looks like she’ll be changing into at least one new form, if Marilyn is any indicator.”