The long-awaited adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens finally debuted on Amazon back in May, with Gaiman himself penning the scripts and serving as showrunner. Gaiman created the show to honor his late friend, as Pratchett requested a Good Omens TV show prior to his death. Countless viewers responded well to the new show, but some weren't too happy about the show's take on Biblical themes. The Christian campaign known as "Return to Order" began a petition for Good Omens to be cancelled... by Netflix.
Yes, the petition asked people to sign so they could tell "Netflix that we will not stand silent" about the "blasphemous" TV show. The problem? Good Omens is currently available exclusively on Amazon. As one might expect of the man who co-authored the apocalyptic comedy and then adapted it for television, Neil Gaiman is very much enjoying the petition. His social media response to the petition is proof enough that he's definitely not offended. Take a look!
Neil Gaiman's initial response to the petition comes across as amused but not too invested in the effort to get Good Omens cancelled, which makes sense. For one thing, Good Omens has never been presented as an ongoing series that will run for multiple seasons. For another, how is he supposed to take it seriously when the petitioners are trying to appeal to the wrong streaming service?
Of course, the post that Neil Gaiman reacted to already did a pretty solid job of making fun of the petitioners. The person who wrote notes on the petition defending the show is all-in on Frances McDormand voicing God, pointed out that the petition got a very key part of the plot 100% wrong, and noted the popular belief that Crowley and Aziraphale are more than just supernatural BFFs. Something tells me Gaiman's response didn't deter the group, though, as the petition stayed up.
That wasn't Neil Gaiman's only response, though, as he weighed in again only a couple hours after first becoming aware of the petition via Twitter.
The petition has since been taken down from the Return to Order website, but when Neil Gaiman saw the screenshot on June 19, there were more than 20,000 signatures from folks who want Netflix to cancel Amazon's series. For his part, Gaiman hoped that nobody would tell the petitioners that they messed up about the platform. I'm just going to go ahead and guess that most of the people who signed -- and perhaps some of those behind the petition -- didn't actually watch the show.
If anything, the petition may have guaranteed that more people check out Good Omens on Amazon. The effort gained a lot of attention after people realized there was a group targeting Netflix for an Amazon show, and it's entirely possible that some folks who may not have heard of Good Omens before (presumably having missed all the Queen-tastic trailers) decided to check it out after all the buzz. Unfortunate for Return to Order if that's the case!
Neil Gaiman restrained himself from posting more of his own tweets regarding the petition, but he wasn't done poking fun at it after just those two. In the day since he first posted about the fiasco on his Twitter, he's been retweeting comments mocking the petition, supporting the show, and just sharing thoughts on what happened.
Clearly Neil Gaiman isn't the only person amused by the petition, and one Twitter user took the joke even further and suggested punishing HBO for Netflix's failure to cancel Good Omens should be the next course of action. Considering this tweet gained upward of 1,200 likes since Gaiman retweeted it, I'd say plenty of people are with the original poster!
Another Twitter user pointed out that the petitioners may have had reason to believe their efforts were successful. Here's how he put it:
Is it a coincidence that Good Omens can't be found on Netflix following the launch of the petition?! I think not! Mostly because it was never on Netflix, but it's definitely worth imagining the reactions of any petitioners who checked Netflix and seemed to discover their success.
Some other Good Omens viewers found they could sympathize with the petition against the show, but not because it was "blasphemous." Here's how one person feels about it:
Personally, I can relate to Sarah Parcak's stance. With the series only running for six episode, I wish I could un-watch it and then experience watching it for the first time all over again. That Neil Gaiman retweeted a post that featured "More plz" could give reason to hope for more, but I'm guessing the forces of Heaven and Hell in the Good Omens universe are done on the small screen. Only time will tell, though!
Another viewer does seem to believe that Good Omens is blasphemous, but for non-Biblical reasons. Check it out:
In response to the fact that it was members of a Christian campaign that kicked off the petition, others of the Christian faith reached out to share their very different feelings about Good Omens. Not everybody considered the riffs on Bible stories to be blasphemous, but rather entertaining and substantive in other ways.
For one person, the relationships between unlikely characters were overwhelming in a good way:
A Christian pastor who identifies as "theologically conservative" weighed in as well, and Neil Gaiman was apparently so pleased with the comment that he felt it merited a retweet. It certainly was a kind and encouraging message:
If you're not one of the 20,000 who signed the Good Omens petition but also haven't watched it yet, you can find all six episodes streaming on Amazon. You can check Netflix all you want, but you definitely won't find the shenanigans of the demon Crowley and the angel Aziraphale as they try to avert the apocalypse!
Actors David Tennant and Michael Sheen were 'dancing together' for the show, according to Neil Gaiman, and Sheen himself shared why he sees the Crowley/Aziraphale relationship as like The Beatles. Be sure to check it out! If you share your feelings about it on Twitter, maybe Gaiman will see what you have to say!
