Neil Gaiman is considered to be one of the great literary forces of modern times. Having dabbled in comic books and long form novel territory, it’s not unusual for his works to be adapted into other mediums. One of Gaiman’s novels from the 1990s, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch , which was co-written with Terry Pratchett, will soon be adapted into a miniseries through a collaboration between Amazon Prime and BBC 2.
The series sees an Angel and a Demon, accustomed to life on Earth, attempting to prevent war between heavenly and demonic forces. Among their follies, they end up losing the son of Satan and must embark on a journey to find him, while attempting to prevent hell on Earth. Good Omens is meant to be a comedy, as shown by their latest trailer released on their Twitter account.
The premise of the series sounds promising and incredibly unique. One of the biggest issues with adaptations is always trying to stay true to the source material. This shouldn’t be an issue for Good Omens, seeing that the teleplay is being written by Neil Gaiman himself, who will also serve as showrunner. Good Omens stars Michael Sheen and David Tennant in the lead roles, while Jon Hamm, Brian Cox, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Frances McDormand star in key supporting roles. The series is directed by Douglas Mackinnon, who has directed episodes of other series such as Doctor Who and Sherlock.
Good Omens isn’t the only current show to be based on Gaiman’s material. American Gods is set to premiere Season 2 on March 11 on Starz. American Gods lost its showrunners for its second season, causing a lot of worry for Gaiman, which led to him deciding to be the showrunner for Good Omens himself. Gaiman discussed his experiences working on a TV series, as well as adapting his own material from 1990 into a more contemporary setting with Good Omens , during an interview with Syfy.
“When we wrote the book, it was 1989, the Berlin Wall would come down, and Glasnost was happening. The world was sort of in this place where the idea of Armageddon seemed a bit weird. And now, in this time of global idiocy, Armageddon wasn’t meant to be something that we are checking our watches to make sure it doesn’t happen before the show gets launched.”
Only this unlikely duo can stop doomsday. #GoodOmens arrives May 31 on @PrimeVideo . pic.twitter.com/g5ytJnb8EK
— Good Omens (@GoodOmensPrime) March 6, 2019
Good Omens definitely looks like a completely off-the-wall comedy with many appearances by notable faces in even more outrageous roles. The chemistry between Sheen and Tennant is wonderful to watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUJoR4vlIIs
Good Omens begins streaming on Amazon Prime on May 31.