Bringing the words of the iconic Discworld and Stardust authors to your ears, the Good Omens radio play will star Colin Morgan, Louise Brealey and more.
Good Omens is one of the best pieces of collaborative fiction written in our lifetime.
Esteemed British authors Terry Pratchett (the Discworld series) and Neil Gaiman (Stardust, American Gods) released the hilarious novel in 1990, and now a talented team is bringing it back in the form of a radio play.
Radio plays are making a comeback in the U.K. (actually, they never really left) by bringing young, popular stars into the mix to attract new audiences: Good Omens will star Merlin‘s Colin Morgan and Sherlock‘s Louise Brealey, alongside lead actors Peter Serafinowicz and Mark Heap.
It has also been announced that both Gaiman and Pratchett will have cameos in the play.
A series of brand-new promotional images show off the cast, released via Radio Times:
Speaking to Radio Times about the play, Colin Morgan described the story as “pure escapism.” He also believes it’ll live up to our expectations, saying, “I think everybody can get something from it. I think fans of Terry and Neil will be extremely pleased.”
The novel (the full title of which is Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch) is about the birth of Satan’s son, the impending apocalypse, and the attempts of the angel Aziraphale and the demon (Anthony J) Crowley to save the world. And yes, it’s as amazing as it sounds.
Yesterday, we also learned the release date for Good Omens, announced by Neil Gaiman on Twitter:
I have borrowed Aziraphale's flaming sword to let you know that Good Omens starts on Dec 22nd on BBC Radio 4. Look! pic.twitter.com/ST81u6tnBv
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) November 27, 2014
The first episode will air on Radio 4 at 11 p.m, on December 22. The series will consist of five 30-minute episodes, leading up to a one-hour finale.
This is the second of Gaiman’s novels to be adapted for radio. The recently released Neverwhere featured the voice talents of Benedict Cumberbatch, Natalie Dormer, James McAvoy and Anthony Head.
Colin Morgan’s former Merlin castmate Alexander Vlahos is also hot on the radio play scene, starring in The Confessions of Dorian Gray adaptation series.