By Adia Miller

In 1989 beloved fantasy novelists Neil Gaiman, author of Coraline and American Gods, collaborated with the prolific Terry Pratchett on the 1990 book Good Omens.

Though it initially received good reviews, the book was largely forgotten amongst the two authors’ better known works before earning the title of a cult classic with a resurgence in the early 2000s. In small online forums and group meetings to discuss the standalone novel, most who sought out the book were Gaiman/Pratchett fans or enthusiasts of satirical theological work.

The book follows the lower-level angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley, an angel who did not fall so much as saunter vaguely downwards, as they try to intercede the divine plan by averting the apocalypse. Diverging into several different stories that come together in the end, its use of witches, demons, angels, and the devil himself in a modern world captivated fans.

Eventually, the little book blew up with the release of Amazon Prime Video’s Good Omens series in 2019. Gaiman, who wrote and executive produced the show, said he came onto the series production which had failed multiple times before as an ode to Pratchett’s “last request.”

Season one was met with resounding success. Having followed the novel’s plot from start to finish, fans were unsure if the television series would work as a standalone miniseries, or if its obvious popularity held a promising future.

In 2021 Prime announced the TV series would be getting another season, four years after the first release. Fans were thrilled and started pondering the question, what will happen next?

While Gaiman and Pratchett worked on and scrapped a sequel to their novel, Gaiman confirmed that the second season will not be an adaptation of the discarded work but rather something original.

Gaiman is one of the rare authors who has openly embraced fandom. While he runs a Tumblr specifically to answer fans queries, he also knows how to keep tight-lipped. There are a few things we know for sure about the season to come.

Michael Sheen and David Tennant will be returning to their roles of Aziraphale and Crowley. Young fans know Sheen for his work in Twilight and The Underworld, and Tennant as Doctor Who and Barty Crouch, Jr., in the fourth Harry Potter movie.

Four other season one actors will be returning  under a different name including Mrs. Tracy, an archangel, and one of the satanic nuns. Benedict Cumberbatch as Satan and Frances McDormand as God are not returning.

Gaiman also revealed that the new season will focus more on the heavenly side of things with the first truly good angel, and features Crowley and Aziraphale tangled up in a new mystery that will lead to a third season whose outline does take inspiration from Gaiman and Pratchett’s sequel.

The season will focus more intimately on the characters, both new and old. Gaiman ended up summarizing season two with this NY Comic-Con Panel description: “There are some love stories in it; there’s a lot more heaven, a lot more hell.” The only thing that can truly explain what really to expect, though, is the iconic phrase: it’s ineffable.