In a sign from above…and/or, below, Neil Gaiman’s ‘Good Omens’ to return for a 2nd series!


Photo Courtesy: Amazon Studios

If anyone is still in need of proof that there is a God (and a Devil, for that matter), Good Omens has been commissioned for a second series. David Tennant and Michael Sheen will return as Crawley and Aziriphale when production gets underway later this year in Scotland.

While Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett did have plans for a second Good Omens novel prior to Pratchett’s death with some of the elements they had discussed having already been featured in Good Omen’s first series, Gaiman teased a series 2 storyline, “We are back in Soho, and all through time and space, solving a mystery, which starts with an angel wandering through Soho, with no memory.

Explaining how it’s possible to bring a second series to life that will please fans, showrunner and co-writer of the original novel, Neil Gaiman said, “It’s 31 years since Good Omens was published, which means it’s 32 years since Terry Pratchett and I lay in our respective beds in a Seattle hotel room at a World Fantasy Convention, and plotted the sequel. Terry’s not here any longer, but when he was, we had talked about what we wanted to do with Good Omens, and where the story went next.

Based on the satirical 1990 end of the world novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens was a devilishly fun (sorry, couldn’t help it). For starters, there’s David Tennant starring as the rockstarish demon Crawley and Michael Sheen as the angel Aziriphale. The on-screen greatness began almost immediately when David Tennant’s ‘Crowley’ says, to Michael Sheen’s Aziriphale, “We need to talk…about armageddon.” What could possible go wrong?

Photo credit: Chris Raphael

Considered to be the original representatives of Heaven and Hell on Earth, their paths initially crossed with Aziriphale tasked with being the guardian of the Eastern Gate of Eden while Crawley served as  the serpent who tempted Eve to eat the apple. Given that the both of them have come to really enjoy their comfortable surroundings in England, it’s understandable that both are ‘hell-bent’ (sorry, again) on working together to stop the apocalypse from happening by mistake.

Since Aziriphale and Crawley have become BFF’s (literally forever) despite their decidedly polar opposite views as they relate to the world in general, they decide to work together and keep an eye on the Antichrist, who is destined to be the son of a prominent American diplomat stationed in Britain, and thus ensure he grows up in a way that means he can never decide between Good and Evil, thereby postponing the end of the world. Complicating matters is the fact that there’s a bit of a mixup at the small country hospital on the day of birth causing confusion as to where the actual son of Satan really is.

For series one, Oscar winner, Frances McDormand (Fargo, Almost Famous, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) headed an all-star ensemble cast as the self-described “Voice of God”. If that wasn’t enough to get you to put Good Omens on your binge-watch list, there’s also Jon Hamm (as in Mad Men’s Don Draper, Jon Hamm) as the Archangel Gabriel, Anna Maxwell Martin (Bletchley Circle),  Miranda Richardson (Blackadder, Harry Potter) and Michael McKean (Better Call SaulThis is Spinal Tap). Oh, and shall I mention again that this came from the brilliant mind palaces of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett? Gaiman wrote all six scripts and has been heavily involved in the editing phase of the Amazon Prime production.

While it may feel like Planet Earth has just been through the apocalypse, Good Omens S2, for my money, couldn’t come at a better time!


In: Drama