Trailer for the second season of Good omens.
We loved Prime Video’s 2019 TV adaptation Good omens, the classic 1990 satirical fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman and the late Terry Pratchett. Stars David Tennant and Michael Sheen were perfectly cast as a demon and angel who join forces to avert Armageddon. But is it possible to recapture that magic in a second season, especially when it was originally intended to be a six-part limited series? The official trailer has just been released and we hope the answer is yes.
(Spoilers for S1 below.)
As I wrote before, Good omens is the story of an angel, Aziraphale (Sheen), and a demon, Crowley (Tennant), who gradually become friends over the millennia and team up against the forces of both Heaven and Hell to save the Earth from the demise. They’ve grown rather fond of the Earth and all of its people with their many frailties, you see – not to mention the perks our big blue orb brings, like sleek electronics and quaint little restaurants where they know you. The supernatural couple doesn’t really want the Antichrist – an 11-year-old boy named Adam (Sam Taylor Buck) who has grown up unaware of his crucial role in the apocalypse to come – to put an end to that.
Good omens was a great success and received mostly favorable reviews, including from Ars. As I noted in my review, Gaiman’s obvious deep, fierce love for the project (he served as executive producer) made the series a joy to watch. Tennant and Sheen had great onscreen chemistry and brought their respective characters to life. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect counterpart to Tennant’s brash irreverent demon than Sheen’s sweetly anxious angel brooding over his divided loyalties. Their friendship was at the heart of the story and in many ways mirrors that of Gaiman and Pratchett. Marrying the dark vision of the former and the light comedic sensibility of the latter yielded the best of both worlds in the novel.
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That first season perfectly encompassed all the events of the book. So I was skeptical at first when rumors spread that a second season was in the works. In June 2021, the news was official, with Gaiman explaining on his blog that he and Pratchett had in fact already mapped out a sequel for Good omens way back in 1989, just before the novel was published. Still struggling authors, they shared a room at the World Fantasy Convention in Seattle. Because of the jet lag they were awake late, so an idea for a sequel was born. They were determined to write it together. But then Gaiman published the first one Sandman graphic novel, and Pratchett unleashed the Discworld series, “and there was never a good time” after that.
In fact, parts of the sequel ended up in S1 (“that’s where our angels came from”). Pratchett died in 2015 and never saw their combined vision come to life on television. But he had been clear about his desire for a TV adaptation. “He wanted the story to be told, and if that worked, he wanted the rest of the story to be told,” Gaiman wrote. So here we are, eagerly awaiting S2.
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Of course, Sheen and Tennant both return. Jon Hamm is also back as the delightfully villainous Archangel Gabriel, the ultimate not-too-bright bureaucrat, along with Doon Mackichan and Gloria Obianyo as Archangels Michael and Uriel, respectively. Miranda Richardson delighted viewers as part-time medium and courtesan Madame Tracy; she’s also back for the second season, but in a new role as the demon Shax. New cast members include Maggie Service as Maggie, Nina Sosanya as Nina, Liz Carr as Angel Saraqael, Quelin Sepulveda as Angel Muriel and Shelley Conn as the demon Beelzebub (played in S1 by Anna Maxwell Martin).
According to the official premise:
Having been on Earth since The Beginning, and with the Apocalypse thwarted, the duo return to the easy life among mortals in London’s Soho. That is, until the Archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) unexpectedly shows up at the door of Aziraphale’s bookstore with no memory of who he is or how he got there. While Crowley doesn’t know why the archangel has come to the bookstore, Aziraphale is eager to solve the mystery behind Gabriel’s condition. However, hiding the Archangel from both Heaven and Hell quickly disrupts their lives in unforeseen ways. To solve this mystery, thwarting heaven and hell in the process, the duo needs more than a miracle; they will have to rely on each other again.
The trailer opens, as it should, as Crowley steps into Aziraphale’s bookstore. “I’m back,” he says. Shax tells Crowley that Gabriel has disappeared, and he shows up at the bookstore stark naked. The two friends decide to hide him until they can figure out what’s going on. Heaven sends the Angel Muriel to Earth to investigate, and the Angel reports that nothing is wrong, only Aziraphale (“the Traitor”), his “grumpy friend” Crowley, and the Angel’s assistant – Gabriel in disguise. It seems that the hapless Muriel eventually becomes an ally, even sneaking Crowley into Heaven. And did Aziraphale accidentally start a war? “Oh, hell won’t like that,” Crowley chuckles.
The second season of Good omens will premiere on Prime Video on July 28, 2023.
List of image on YouTube/Prime Video
