In a sign from above and/or…below, Neil Gaiman’s ‘Good Omens’ set to return for a 2nd series next month!
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 is set to return for a second series next month. David Tennant and Michael Sheen reprise their respective roles as Crawley and Aziriphale when the series returns to Amazon Prime on July 28.
While Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett did have plans for a second Good Omens novel prior to Pratchett’s death in 2015 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 in series one 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’ (ok, 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 Saul, This is Spinal Tap). Oh, and shall I mention again that this came from the brilliant mind palaces of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett?
As with series 1, Gaiman wrote all six scripts for series 2 which will also see the return of Jon Hamm (Mad Men) as the archangel Gabriel, Derek Jacobi (Gosford Park) as the “Voice of God” that’s also separate from God called Metatron, Niamh Walsh (The Sandman) as a Nazi agent from 1941 named Greta Kleinschmidt, Mark Gatiss (The League of Gentlemen) as a bookseller from 1941 named Mr. Harmony, Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9) as another bookseller from 1941 named Mr. Glozier, Reece Shearsmith (High-Rise) as the famous English playwright William Shakespeare, Doon Mackichan (The Day Today) as the archangel Michael, and Gloria Obianyo (Dune) as the archangel Uriel.
For series 2 of Good Omens, Miranda Richardson plays Shax, a new demon who takes over for Crowley after he is fired from hell while also introducing Liz Carr (Silent Witness) as another new angel named Saraqael. Other new actors include Siân Phillips (I, Claudius), Tim Downie (Outlander), Pete Firman (Peacock Season), Andi Osho (Line of Duty), and Alex Norton (The Count of Monte Cristo). David Tennant’s son and father-in-law, Ty Tennant and Peter Davison, will also be joining the cast of Season 2. Tennant will be playing a character named Ennon while Davison will play Alistair.
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
