Good and evil faced off in Madison Square Garden on Saturday, as author Neil Gaiman and director Douglas Mackinnon accompanied stars David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Miranda Richardson and Jon Hamm to discuss Amazon's long-awaited adaptation of Good Omens. In a wide-ranging panel moderated by Whoopi Goldberg, Gaiman and the cast debuted a new teaser trailer for the show and discussed adapting the bonkers novel for television.
For Gaiman, seeing the show come together marks the fulfilment of a longstanding goal. He and co-author Terry Pratchett "failed to get a movie made almost immediately. We then handed over to Terry Gilliam, who failed to get the movie made almost immediately." They pair then considered adapting the novel for television, but were repeatedly told it was "too big and too weird."
Shortly before he died, Pratchett again urged Gaiman to try to get the show made. Gaiman started writing the first episode shortly after Pratchett passed away in 2016, and he knew from the start it would be a limited series. "Six episodes just felt right, it just felt like that kind of shape," he said.
Most of the cast were huge fans of Gaiman and Pratchett's work before joining the cast. "I should be over there, not here. Because I'm a fan," said Sheen. "To end up becoming friends with Neil and become a part of bringing this thing to the screen, it's like a dream come true," he said, adding sarcastically, "I just have to put up with these horrible actors."
Hamm was also a fan of Gaiman's work before joining the cast, so much so that he didn't need to know many details before agreeing to read for the role. "I don't care what the part is, I know it will be awesome, and I'm super excited to do it. I'm still very excited," he said. "Also, I've never been to a Comic Con. Which I guess is a person who... steals comics?"
Gaiman and Mackinnon are still hard at work editing the show, and declined to reveal a firm release date for the show during the panel. For now, completing the show is an all-day, everyday commitment. "One day, Douglas and I will leave each other and go back to our wives," said Gaiman with a laugh.
Good Omens comes to Amazon Prime TV in 2019. Check out the new trailer, which debuted on Saturday at NYCC, below.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Jen Glennon is a wide-ranging enthusiast of pop culture, who covers film, television, gaming and broader social trends. She particularly enjoys ... Read more
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