More than four years after its first release, “Good Omens” is making a triumphant return to Amazon. The film depends on the amicable interactions of its actors to take viewers on a delightful journey through the unusual, eons-long romance between an angel and a demon.
In truth, the second season’s six episodes barely have a plot other than to justify the reunion of Michael Sheen and David Tennant in paradise.
The Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman adaptation, which at times resembles a cheekier “History of the World” with guides from Heaven and Hell, once again includes Gaiman (“The Sandman”) as a producer alongside Douglas Mackinnon, who directed all the episodes.
The series gets an unrestricted run of space and time, traveling to Victorian England, World War II, or biblical times at the drop of a halo, despite the fact that Sheen’s angel Aziraphale and Tennant’s stern demon Crowley appear to have made their homes on Earth (particularly, in London).
This time, the main character is the archangel Gabriel, played by Jon Hamm, who occasionally goes unappreciated for his humorous abilities. Gabriel arrives at Aziraphale’s doorway naked and disoriented, with no memory of who he is or how he got there.
Aziraphale and Crowley are forced to work together as they try to figure out what happened and avoid the potential consequences of Gabriel’s situation after that rather unsettling turn of events attract the attention of representatives from both Heaven and Hell (as depicted here, each bogged down in their own versions of frustrating bureaucracy).
“Good Omens” has a goofy tendency that is wonderfully countered by an underlying sweetness and warmth resulting from the unexpected friendship shared by its mismatched center duo.
It is light to the point of weightlessness but continuously enjoyable. Furthermore, shouldn’t there be some hope for all of us if an angel and a demon can overcome the enormous chasm between them?
Beyond Sheen, Tennant, and Hamm, the program features a talented cast that includes Shelley Conn as Beelzebub, Derek Jacobi as the Metatron, also known as the voice of God, and Miranda Richardson as an especially irritable demon eager to cause havoc.
Granted, streaming services have a recent habit of keeping fantasy and sci-fi bets alive out of almost what amounts to stubbornness in the face of mediocrity, as evidenced by the recent second seasons of Apple’s “Foundation” and Netflix’s “Sweet Tooth” and the upcoming encore of Amazon’s “The Wheel of Time” in September.
“Good Omens,” in comparison, is a largely amusingly irreverent little distraction. Not that another season was urgently needed, but it’s good to have one with a program that, to paraphrase the band that sang about having pity for the Devil, actually has time on its side.
The second season of “Good Omens” debuts on Amazon Prime Video on July 28.
