Season 1 originally had 10 episodes, but after seeing the cuts for episodes 3 and 4, the producers decided to merge them into one single episode and then use the cliffhanger for the second to last episode as the season finale, then using parts of the original season finale through the whole season. Hence making the season 8 episodes long.
Gillian Anderson and Kristin Chenoweth chose not to return to the show in season 2 in solidarity with creators Bryan Fuller and Michael Green after they were fired. Anderson was replaced by Kahyun Kim and the role renamed New Media, and Chenoweth's role as Easter was simply not mentioned again.
Neil Gaiman, author of the novel on which this series is based, describes the series this way: "it takes the story of the book, turns it upside down, shakes it, reconfigures it, and makes it many things, including funnier, more televisual and broader in scope."
Nicolas Cage was approached to play the role of Mr Wednesday but turned it down, despite liking the script. He cited the commitment of doing a TV show as the main reason for turning it down.