American Gods is one of Starz’s most-anticipated new TV shows, but is it in trouble? TVLine reports two episodes were cut from the series’ freshman season.

Based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, the fantasy drama takes place in a world where old and new gods exist and are at war with each other. The cast includes Ian McShane, Emily Browning, Yetide Badaki, Bruce Langley, Crispin Glover, Gillian Anderson, Kristin Chenoweth, Dane Cook, and Peter Stormare.

Speaking to TVLine, executive producer Bryan Fuller explained that the episode cuts were intentional and help the story in the long run:

When we shot it, we didn’t like what we saw. There were issues with the sets. There were some things that happened too early in Shadow’s journey that changed the perspective of the story. …We went back to the concept that was the strongest. And in order to pay for it, we had to drop an episode.”

Later, EP Michael Green revealed there will be eight episodes in season one and it ends on a cliffhanger:

We saw the opportunity to end our season at what was essentially the cliffhanger moment at the end of Episode 8, rather than one step further… which began a new chapter.”

American Gods debuts on Starz on April 30th at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

What do you think? Are you a fan of the book American Gods? Will you watch the TV show?