Fantasy fans got a bit of good news on Thursday, when we learned that Neil Gaiman will adapt Good Omens for TV. Gaiman made the announcement at a "memorial event for [co-author Terry] Pratchett at the Barbican." Pratchett died of Alzheimer's in March 2015.
Gaiman and Pratchett published Good Omens in 1990. The book follows demon-angel duo Crowley and Aziraphale, who set out to handle the apocalyptic arrival of the Antichrist. They have to find him first, of course.
Shortly before Pratchett's death, his assistant, Rob Wilkins, asked Gaiman if he would adapt Good Omens for TV. Gaiman replied, "Terry and I had a deal that we would only work on Good Omens things together ... Everything that was ever written — bookmarks and tiny little things — we would always collaborate, everything was a collaboration. So, obviously, no."
This is not to say that there has not been a Good Omens adaptation in the past. In 2014, BBC Radio 4 broadcast a six-episode radio play based on Gaiman and Pratchett's book. The Good Omens radio play was written, directed, and produced by Dirk Maggs, who was also responsible for bringing The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Neverwhere to the airwaves. BBC Radio 4's adaptation featured a fandom-ensemble cast that included Spaced's Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap, Merlin's Colin Morgan, Sherlock's Louise Beasley and Phil Davis, and Game of Thrones' Clive Russell and Harry Lloyd, as well as cameos from Gaiman and Pratchett.
But what changed Gaiman's mind about adapting Good Omens for TV? As it turns out, Wilkins presented Gaiman with a posthumous letter from Pratchett, in which the Discworld author gave Gaiman his blessing and asked him to forge ahead alone.
The project has dwelled in development hell since 2002. Various incarnations have included Monty Python alums Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, Johnny Depp, and the late Robin Williams. Gaiman announced that the Good Omens TV adaptation will be a six-part series, but that's all we know so far.
Image: Giphy
