Good Omens (TV)

This page is about the TV fandom; you may also be interested in the Good Omens (book) fandom.
A much-anticipated series starring David Tennant and Michael Sheen was released on Amazon Prime Video in May 2019, kicking off a widespread Good Omens fandom revival that seemed to consume all of fandom. The TV series introduced many new fans to Good Omens and caused many long-time fans of the book to rediscover or revisit their love of the novel. It also prompted an explosion of fanworks, including fanfiction, fanart, and meta, some of which analyzed the differences in themes and tone between the book and TV series. 
This explosion of fannish activity was aided and abetted by actor Michael Sheen being an enthusiastic onlooker and participant in the fandom, responding to fans on Twitter when tagged, referencing and praising fanworks,Tweet by Michael Sheen, June 25, 2019 (Accessed December 27, 2019). and making unequivocal statements of support for fandom.Tweet by Michael Sheen, June 19, 2019. (Accessed December 27, 2019).Tweet by Michael Sheen, August 27, 2019. (Accessed December 27, 2019). Author Neil Gaiman, who wrote the TV series, also encouraged fans on social media and tirelessly responded to Asks of every kind about the book and show on his Tumblr.Tumblr response by Neil Gaiman, November 19, 2021. (Accessed May 18, 2022)
A second season of the series was announced in June 2021 and filming started in September 2021.Good Omens Season 2 Filming Begins, Screenrant Article, October 10, 2021.
The third and final season was announced December 2023.https://screenrant.com/good-omens-season-3-story-cast-neil-gaiman-plan/
== Synopsis and Characters ==
=== Season 1 ===
==== Characters ====
* Aziraphale
* Crowley
* Arthur Young
* Deirdre Young
* Hastur
* Ligur
* Thaddeus Dowling
* Beelzebub
* Sister Mary Loquacious
* Archangel Michael
* Adam Young
* Archangel Gabriel
* the voice of God
* Anathema Device
* Madame Tracy
* Witchfinder Sergent Shadwell
* Newton Pulsifer
* War
* Famine
* Polution
* Death
==== Synopsis ====
See the plot Synopsis and list of Characters on the Good Omens (book) fandom page.
=== Season 2 ===
==== Characters ====
* Muriel, angelic Inspector Constable
* Maggie, owner of the local record shop, tenant of Aziraphale, and love interest of Maggie
* Nina, owner of the coffee shop Give Me Coffee Or Give Me Death and love interest of Maggie
* Saraqael, archangel
==== Synopsis ====
As Neil Gaiman put it in an interview "Season two is kind of quiet and gentle and romantic", though the fandom might not necessarily agree with him.
The long anticipated second season is centered around the mystery of how the Archangel Gabriel (Aziraphale's former boss) has seemingly lost his memories and why he turned up on Aziraphale's doorstep entirely nude. While investigating Gabriel's amnesia Crowley and Aziraphale also embark on a mission to influence Maggie and Nina to fall in love in order to cover up a larger miracle they performed together. Heaven and Hell are also on the hunt for the missing Archangel and it is a race against the forces of Above and Below to discover what has happened to him and why.
=== Season 3 ===
Season 3 is expected to come out in 2025 at the earliest.
== Fandom ==
=== Season 1 ===
After the release of the TV miniseries, the fandom experienced a major boom. Book fans were happy with the adaptation, even those who hadn’t seen it:
In response to the fandom's boom, The Rec Center newsletter #180 on June 14, 2019, contained "fanfiction + explainer: good omens", a primer/fandom overview by guest editor Kira:
===Season 2===
====Fan Reactions====
The entire season had an overall positive reception from fans, but many were upset over how the season ended. Posting to social media with the use of crying reaction gifs after seeing the season finale were extremely common. There was also calls from fans to trust the process or keep the faith, and reminding other fans that although this hurt it was not the end of the story.
==== Fan Theories ====
Almost immediately following the release of Season 2, several fan theories were spawned to help explain Aziraphale's behaviour in the finale, see the Coffee Theory, and other minor inconsistencies throughout season 2, see The Magic Trick You Didn’t See: Being An Analysis of Good Omens Season 2.
==== Tropes Influenced by Season 2 ====
* Fix-it: because season 2 ended with Aziraphale and Crowley being separated and essentially broken up, there was a huge amount of fic trying to "fix" the ending. This may include ending rewrites where Aziraphale does not leave Crowley, or speculative fic of how they could possibly come back together. There are also some fics that explored what would have happened if Crowley had joined Aziraphale in Heaven, see the fic Factory Settings as an example.
* 1960's Femme Aziraphale & Crowley: after Gaiman stated that 1960's femme presenting Aziraphale/Crowley had been one of his ideas for S2 that didn't pan out, fans began to draw the pair of them as such.
* Beelzebub/Gabriel: since Beelzebub/Gabriel went canon in season 2, there was an increase of inclusion of the pairing in fanworks, usually in the background of Aziraphale/Crowley stories, but also fanworks focused solely on them increasedBased on AO3 results comparing Beelzebub/Gabriel fanworks on the site using the otp:ture filter, there were 537 works before the airing of season 2, and in August 2024 there were 777
===2024 news of Neil Gaiman's sexual misconduct===
There have been multiple accusations of sexual assault committed by Neil Gaiman; for information on the accounts of the incidents, and panfandom reactions to the news, please see the Neil Gaiman article.
* reactions to anouncement that Gaiman offered to step back from showrunning s3: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/659177.html?thread=4067133929#cmt4067133929 
* https://old.reddit.com/r/neilgaimanuncovered/comments/1fdh8d2/making_a_complaint_to_bbc_studios/
* changes/cessation in Gaiman's interactions with Good Omens fandom
=== Finale ===
=== Pairings ===
The juggernaut pairing in Good Omens fandom is Aziraphale/Crowley. The pairing had a variety of names previously, but post-show “Ineffable Husbands” became the most popular, later on there was a push to use the smush name Aziracrow, because it was more inclusive of their fluid gender presentations, but most fans seem to use the terms interchangeably. Since airing, the series and the original novel have been referred to as a "6000 year slow burn", and this tag also began appearing on works featuring the Aziraphale/Crowley pairing. Season 2 made Aziraphale/Crowley explicitly canon, bringing much joy to the fandom. 
Season 1 of TV fandom brought some attention to minor pairings that had not been very common previously, such as Beelzebub/Gabriel and Hastur/Ligur. These pairings can often be side pairings in Aziraphale/Crowley stories, but there are a small number of fanworks focused on them exclusively. 
After season 2, there is also the introduction of the canon femslash pairing of Maggie/Nina. The second season also made the pairing of Beelzebub/Gabriel canon, to the surprise of many, but to the delight of the ship's fans.
=== Challenges ===
:See also List of Good Omens Challenges
* Good Omens Minisode Minibang 
* Good Omens: Spooky Bang 
=== Communities ===
* List of Good Omens Communities
* Do It With Style Events
== Fanwork Examples ==
===Art===
:See also :Category:Good Omens Art:
* one more by hattersarts (June 2, 2019)
* time to save the world i guess by rhymewithrachel (Jun 5, 2019)
*Aziraphale/Crowley (behind the scenes season 1) by hg_aneh (2022)
*why so glum mr crowley have a cupperty by geezmarty (2023)
===Fic===
* Repossession (Good Omens story) by dreamsofspike (2019)
* Princes of the Universe series by Lyowyn (2019)
* Slow Show by mia_ugly (2019)
* Strange Moons series by racketghost (2019)
* Demonology and the Tri-Phasic Model of Trauma: An Integrative Approach by Nnm (2019)
* What We Make of It (Shotgun Wedding) by charlottemadison (2019)
* Factory Settings by Anonymous (2023)
* A Letter from “Crawly” to Azirapil by mostlydeadlanguages (2019), which included a letter etched on clay in correct cuneiform.
===Vids===
* Under Pressure by Spellbound (2019)
* Heaven Is a Place on Earth by Rebecca Hanson (2019)
* "Elevator to Hell" by Laizy-boy (2019)
* how you get the girl (Maggie/Nina) by luodair (2023)
* Rewrite the Omens by Swalka (2023)
====Frame Projects====
* LET THERE BE FRAMES (Oct 2023)
* EVERY Frame Matters (Aziraphale/Crowley kiss) (2023)
* While We Dance (#EveryFrameWhileWeDance) (Nov-Dec 2023)
===Zines===
:For a full listing of zines on Fanlore see :Category:Good Omens Zines
*Our Omens
*I Like Pears
*Here’s to The Next Time
*In Love with My Car
*A Nice and Accurate Colouring Zine
*Of Feathers & Wings
*The Days of Their Lives zine
*Ye Saga Continues
*Dark Omens Zine
*Good Omemes
*It Began in a Garden
*Good Omens for Palestine
===Meta===
May duplicate examples on the Good Omens (book) fandom page.
* by an anon at thegoodomensdumpster
* by thecuriousreader
* by fuckyeahisawthat
*The Magic Trick You Didn’t See: Being An Analysis of Good Omens Season 2 by ariaste
== Example Art Gallery ==
Some examples of fanart influenced by the television series:
File:Ineffable husbands by gaypompeii.png|ineffable husbands by gaypompeii (2019)|alt="illustration of Aziraphale and red haired Crowley sitting at a table, Azirphale has a book and Crowley a glass of wine""
File:Good omens by irenhorrors.jpg|Good Omens by IrenHorrors (2019)|alt="illustration of winged Aziraphale and red haired Crowley, dressed in Victorian era clothing"
File:Anathema by Discord888.png|anathema by Discord888 (2019)
File:Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ( Good Omens ) by akimao.png|Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ( Good Omens ) by akimao (2019)
== Links ==
* Good Omens (TV) on Archive of Our Own
* Good Omens group at DeviantArt
* Fanrun Good Omens conventions and associated events by The Ineffable Con
==Notes and References==
===Notes===
===References===
Category:Neil Gaiman
*