An upcoming episode of Starz's fantasy
series American Gods will reportedly include television's most
explicit gay sex scene yet.
The series is an adaptation of Neil
Gaiman's 2001 novel of the same name. Its central premise is that
gods and mythological creatures only exist when people believe in
them. As such, new gods such as Technology, Celebrity and Media are
overtaking old gods such as Love, and a battle is imminent. The gods
walk among us, sometimes without knowing their own identities,
sometimes posing as humans.
The Jinn (played by Mousa Kraish) is a
mythological Middle Eastern god posing as a New York City taxi
driver. When he picks up Salim (Omid Abtahi), who is repressing his
sexuality, in his taxi, god and mortal head to a hotel to have sex.
“The Jinn comes into Salim's life to
say, 'It's okay to be who you are,'” Kraish
told Out
magazine. “Now more than ever that story is incredibly
powerful. The sex scene is so intense and intimate. I don't think
anything like it has ever occurred on TV.”
Showrunners Bryan Fuller, who is out,
and Michael Green called the storyline one of their favorites.
“We took great care and were very
deliberate in how we brought that to life so it reflected the romance
of the novel,” Fuller
told Vice.
“We also added a few notions about a particular gay experience,
coming from a man who originates from a country where you can be
thrown off a rooftop for being gay.”
Matt Brennan, TV editor for Paste
Magazine, and Abraham Riesman, culture writer at New York
Magazine, agree that the sex in American God's third
episode breaks new ground.
“American Gods has the hottest
gay sex scene I've seen on TV since Sense8, maybe ever,”
Brennan tweeted. “It made my palms sweat.”
Riesman warned viewers in a tweet to
“buckle up” for the “single hottest and most pornographic gay
sex scene ever put on mainstream television.”
Starz will broadcast the episode on May
14.