Neil Gaiman Has Reportedly Offered to Step Away From Good Omens
It’s certainly not a bad omen.
Good Omens might be in big trouble. The Amazon Prime Video series based on the novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett has become a wholesome fan-favorite full of biblical lore and ineffable husbands, but production of its third and final season is starting to look shaky.
However, there looks like there’s some hope for fans, though it means a huge change to how the show works — and possibly even to how it will end. But is it enough to kickstart production? It’s all up to Amazon now.
Earlier this week, Deadline reported pre-production on Good Omens Season 3 was suspended. It comes soon after Disney paused a planned adaptation of Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, citing (among other factors) the sexual abuse allegations made against him. There’s no given reason for the suspension of production, but it’s likely to also be related to the allegations.
Novelist-turned-showrunner Neil Gaiman has offered to take a step back in the production of Good Omens Season 3.
However, this may only be temporary. According to a new report from Deadline, Gaiman has offered to take a step back from his role as creator, writer, showrunner, and executive producer in order to let production continue. It’s not an admission of guilt — Gaiman still denies all allegations — but it is a way for the series to continue pre-production ahead of the scheduled filming start in January.
Amazon is reportedly still considering Gaiman’s offer, but there’s still a lot unknown. We don’t know what a “step back” means: since Gaiman wears so many hats in production, it could mean hiring an outside showrunner, giving someone else control of the scripts from this point, or just serving as executive producer.
Hopefully, this report means fans will still get the last chapter of Arizaphale and Crowley’s story.
But this is absolutely a positive update for Good Omens fans. Regardless of Gaiman’s culpability, the cast and crew of Good Omens — not to mention the fervent fanbase — shouldn’t be punished for real-world events. There’s only one season left for the show, and considering the cliffhanger that Season 2 ended on, the third season is absolutely necessary for the story to be complete.
Good Omens may be Neil Gaiman’s project based on a book he co-wrote, but it can absolutely still work without him — if Amazon is willing to take that chance.
