Slip into a beautifully tailored waistcoat and don those bad-boy shades: it’s almost time for Good Omens to begin once more.
David Tennant and Michael Sheen are set to reprise their roles as angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley in the screwball comedy that takes a fairly standard end-of-the-world type of plot and add satanic nuns, witches’ prophecies and hijinks that include escaping from one’s captors via the internet.
Of course, despite the presence of its four horsemen, the Apocalypse itself was narrowly avoided at the end of season one, but with the battle between Heaven and Hell set to heat up once more, here’s everything you need to know about season two.
What happened in season one?
Hoo, boy. What didn’t happen in season one? Sticking fairly faithfully to the source material, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel of the same name (Gaiman also served as scriptwriter to the series), Good Omens’ first season followed unlikely and slightly reluctant friends Crowley and Aziraphale as they attempted to avert the oncoming apocalypse at the hands of the Antichrist.
The only problem was that nobody knew where the Antichrist was. In fact, he’d been swapped at birth with another child and was now living a rather unassuming life in the British countryside under the alias of Adam Young, with no idea that he’d been marked out for, erm, greatness.
Over the course of the first season, Crowley and Aziraphale find themselves on the run from both Heaven and Hell, who both want the final war to come so they can take part in the massive battle to end all battles. Fortunately for the pair, they manage to locate Adam and restore the world – and their former lives – before all is lost for good.
Is there a trailer?
There is indeed: it dropped on June 7, and shows the pair reuniting amid new drama: after the events of season one, the Archangel Gabriel (Jon Hamm) has vanished... and has somehow appeared in Aziraphale’s shop.
The forces of Heaven are scouring the planet to find him - but Gabriel doesn’t want to be found. The rest of the trailer looks like chaos, with car chases, trips to Heaven and Hell, zealous angel officials and even a potential romantic subplot for Crowley and Aziraphale...
What else do we know?
Not an awful lot, because season two goes off the beaten track. There is no book sequel to Good Omens, which means what could happen is anybody’s guess.
Fortunately, there is a synopsis: “season Two of Good Omens explores storylines that go beyond the original source material to illuminate the uncanny friendship between Aziraphale, a fussy angel and rare book dealer, and the fast-living demon Crowley,” it reads.
“Having been on Earth since The Beginning, and with the Apocalypse thwarted, Aziraphale and Crowley are getting back to easy living amongst mortals in London’s Soho when an unexpected messenger presents a surprising mystery.”
Very excitingly, Prime Video has released the series two opening credits, calling it “a special gift, because you all have been oh so patient with us”.
A special gift, because you all have been oh so patient with us. 😇😈 #GoodOmens #Crowley #Aziraphale pic.twitter.com/MCxhYAhZ61
— Good Omens (@GoodOmensPrime) May 31, 2023
As might be expected, it is a choc-a-bloc with Easter eggs for avid fans to pick up on, including the pair going up into the heavens, striding across a battlefield and ambling through a churchyard. Intriguingly, a bombed-out London also features in the title credits: perhaps the Apocalypse is set to make a reappearance?
The pair are even pictured descending into hell. “If you look closely, a character from the series one titles is trying to escape hell again!” Peter Anderson, whose team created the sequence, told Polygon over email. Colour us intrigued.
Who will be starring?
Apart from the obvious candidates, it looks like most of the season one cast will be coming back. Top of the list is Jon Hamm as the smarmy archangel Gabriel, Doon Mackichan as Michael and Gloria Obianyo as Uriel.
There will also be some returning faces in new roles: Miranda Richardson will play the demon Shax, while Nina Sosanya will return as Nina (having previously played one of the aforementioned satanic nuns). And in terms of completely new faces, Liz Carr is lined up to play angel Saraqael.
When is it out?
Good Omens is set to air on July 28 on Prime Video.
