Jon Hamm to Portray Archangel Gabriel in New Amazon Series GOOD OMEN

Amazon and BBC Two today announced Emmy and Golden Globe award winning actor Jon Hamm (Mad Men, Baby Driver, Bridesmaids) will be joining the cast of GOOD OMENS, in the role of the archangel Gabriel - the primary messenger of God. The six-part television adaptation of the best-selling novel by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is currently in production and will be released by Amazon Prime Video in over 200 countries in 2019, exclusively for Prime Members. It will be followed by a run on BBC Two in the UK.

The character of Gabriel has a fleeting role in the original novel but showrunner Neil Gaiman explains why he is being developed in the screenplay:

"Once we had finished writing Good Omens, back in the dawn of prehistory, Terry Pratchett and I started plotting a sequel. There would have been a lot of angels in the sequel. When Good Omens was first published and was snapped up for the first time by Hollywood, Terry and I took joy in introducing our angels into the plot of a movie that was never made. So when, almost thirty years later, I started writing Good Omens for TV, one thing I knew was that our angels would have to be in there.

The leader of these angels is Gabriel. He is everything that Aziraphale isn't: he's tall, good-looking, charismatic and impeccably dressed. We were fortunate that Jon Hamm was available, given that he is already all of these things without even having to act. We were even more fortunate that he's a fan of the books and a remarkable actor."

Jon Hamm says: "I read Good Omens almost twenty years ago. I thought it was one of the funniest, coolest books I'd ever read. It was also, obviously, unfilmable. Two months ago Neil sent me the scripts, and I knew I had to be in it."

Good Omens was commissioned for Amazon Prime Video and for BBC Two by Patrick Holland, Controller, BBC Two; Shane Allen, Controller, BBC Comedy Commissioning and BBC commissioning editor Gregor Sharp. It is being produced by the comedy team at BBC Studios, the BBC's commercial production arm, Narrativia and The Blank Corporation, in association with BBC Worldwide.

Good Omens will launch globally on Prime Video in over 200 countries and territories in 2019 including in the UK, where it will also air on BBC Two at a later date. BBC Worldwide distributes rights for Good Omens internationally, after the series premiere on Prime Video. The series will be brought to the screen by the highly acclaimed director/executive producer Douglas Mackinnon, whose credits include Knightfall, Dirk Gently, Doctor Who, Outlander and the standalone Victorian episode of Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, winner of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie last year.

About the Authors Neil Gaiman is the award-winning author of books, graphic novels, short stories, and films for all ages, including the Oscar-nominated Coraline. Some of his most notable titles include the ground-breaking Sandman comics series, The Graveyard Book (the only book ever to win both the Newbery and Carnegie medals), and The Ocean At The End Of The Lane, the UK's National Book Award 2013 Book Of The Year. The television adaptation of his novel American Gods was released in 2017 and the film adaptation of his short story How to Talk To Girls At Parties follows later this year. Born in the UK, he now lives in the United States.

Terry Pratchett was the acclaimed creator of the global bestselling Discworld series, the first of which - The Colour of Magic - was published in 1983. As a young journalist, Neil Gaiman was the first person ever to interview him. Terry's books have been widely adapted for stage and screen, and he was the winner of multiple prizes, including the Carnegie Medal, as well as being awarded a knighthood for literature. He died in March 2015.

Variety reports that Jon Hamm has SIGNED on to Amazon and the BBc's adaptation of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman novel GOOD OMEN. The MAD MEN actor will portray archangel Gabriel, the primary messenger of God, in the upcoming six-part series. Production is currently underway.

The series cast also includes Michael Sheen as angel Aziraphale and David Tennant as the demon Crowley. Jack Whitehall, Michael McKean, Miranda Richardson, and Adria Arjona round out the cast.

Speaking on the character of Gabriel, Gaiman explained, "He is everything that Aziraphale isn't," he said. "He's tall, good-looking, charismatic and impeccably dressed. We were fortunate that Jon Hamm was available, given that he is already all of these things without even having to act."

GOOD OMEN is set to premiere on the Amazon Prime Video streaming service in 2019, followed by a broadcast on The UK's BBC Two.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos

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