Gaiman and Pratchett's Good Omens to premiere with Amazon Prime in 2018

Neil Gaiman's TV adaptation of Good Omens (Transworld), written with Sir Terry Pratchett, has been picked up by Amazon Studios for worldwide release in 2018.

The TV adaptation, a project undertaken by Gaiman at the late fantasy writer's request, was first announced at Pratchett's memorial at the Barbican Theatre in April 2016. Written entirely by Gaiman and co-produced with BBC Studios, it consists of six one-hour episodes to be aired first on Amazon Prime Video and on the BBC shortly after its premiere.

The studios made the announcement it had greenlit the comedy series for global release yesterday (19th January). It is set in 2018 "when the Apocalypse is near and Final Judgment is set to descend upon humanity", according to Amazon. 

A description for the series from Amazon further reads: "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."

The adaptation follows almost 30 years since the book's original publication in 1990, with development for the series beginning back in 2011 when Pratchett was part of the process. Larry Finlay, m.d. Transworld, commented to The Bookseller: "We couldn’t be more excited by the news that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s brilliant book Good Omens is being adapted by BBC Studios, with a script by Neil Gaiman. It will bring the original book to a vast new audience.”

Gaiman is an executive producer for the series, as well as showrunner. Further executive producers are Caroline Skinner, known for her work on "Doctor Who", Chris Sussman, head of commedy for BBC Studios, Rob Wilkins, once Pratchett's assistant and who worked on "Choosing to Die", and Rod Brown for Narrativia

Gaiman commented: “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.”

Joe Lewis, head of comedy and drama at Amazon Studios, said: "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. We’re excited to be working with BBC Studios to bring Neil’s and Terry Pratchett’s incredible book to life and to Prime members everywhere.”

Sussman at BBC Studios added: “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.”