Amazon Studios today announced it has greenlit Good Omens, an hour-long limited comedy series based on Neil Gaiman’s (American Gods) and Terry Pratchett’s (Colour of Magic) acclaimed novel of the same name. Set to debut in 2018 on Prime Video, the six-part Good Omens miniseries has been entirely written by Gaiman, who will also serve as showrunner. BBC Studios is co-producing the series with Narrativia and The Blank Corporation and in association with BBC Worldwide for Amazon Prime Video and the BBC.
Good Omens will be a global release and available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video for members to watch via the Prime Video app for popular smart TVs, Fire TV, Fire Tablets and Android and iOS phones and tablets. The show will also be available on PrimeVideo.com for Prime Video members in more than 200 countries and territories. The show will also broadcast on the BBC in the UK, following its premiere on Prime Video.
Good Omens takes place in 2018 when the Apocalypse is near and Final Judgment is set to descend upon humanity. According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter Witch (the world’s only completely accurate book of prophecies), the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.
So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing, Atlantis is rising, and tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be going according to Divine Plan. Except Aziraphale, a somewhat fussy angel, and Crowley, a fast-living demon—both of whom have lived amongst Earth’s mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the lifestyle—are not actually looking forward to the coming war. And… someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist.
“Spanning not only the universe but also the entirety of time, Neil Gaiman has created a story that may be the largest ever told on television,” said Joe Lewis, Head of Comedy and Drama, Amazon Studios. “We’re excited to be working with BBC Studios to bring Neil and Terry Pratchett’s incredible book to life and to Prime members everywhere.”
Neil Gaiman, writer, said: “Almost thirty years ago, Terry Pratchett and I wrote the funniest novel we could about the end of the world, populated with angels and demons, not to mention an eleven-year old Antichrist, witchfinders and the four horsepeople of the Apocalypse. It became many people’s favourite book. Three decades later, it’s going to make it to the screen. I can’t think of anyone we’d rather make it with than BBC Studios, and I just wish Sir Terry were alive to see it.”
Chris Sussman, Head of Comedy, BBC Studios said, “Good Omens has always been one of my favourite books, and it’s hugely exciting not just to be able to bring it to life, but to do so with scripts from Neil Gaiman himself. It feels like a good time to be making a comedy about an impending global apocalypse.”
Executive Producers of the series are Neil Gaiman, Caroline Skinner (Doctor Who), and Chris Sussman (Fleabag) for BBC Studios; Rob Wilkins (Choosing to Die) and Rod Brown (Going Postal) for Narrativia. Gaiman will adapt the novel for the screen.
Filmmaker Terry Gilliam previously attempted to mount a Good Omens movie in the early 2000s, with Robin Williams and Johnny Depp in the lead roles. Gilliam’s fellow Monty Python member Terry Jones announced in 2011 that he was planning a TV version, although his recent illness has prevented movement.
