Prime Video Halts Production of Good Omens Season 3 Due To Neil Gaiman Allegations
Good Omens marks the third streaming and film project in the last week to get the axe by studios as Amazon Prime Video moves to cut ties with Neil Gaiman.
The mainstream entertainment media did their best to ignore the Neil Gaiman allegations, but more kept coming, and this most recent Tortoise podcast, where listeners can hear audio of Neil Gaiman trying to bribe one of his accusers with hush money, appears to be the final straw for streaming corporations that were milking his properties for content. For the third time in a week, a Neil Gaiman show gets shut down, this time, Prime Video’s Good Omens.
The first allegations against Neil Gaiman were hit from the Tortoise podcast, an investigative journalism outlet named for the Tortoise and the Hare fable, leaning toward “slow and steady wins the race.” They are well-known for doing deep dives on situations and gathering all the information to ensure accuracy before reporting.
During their first round of podcasts on Neil Gaiman, they revealed two women who accused the American Gods author of sexual assault—one who was his granddaughter’s age and acting as the babysitter/nanny of his child at the time. Neil Gaiman responded by saying they only cuddled in a bathtub, making the situation sound suspicious.
A third woman came out by revealing her therapy sessions after years of alleged manipulation by Gaiman, but then Tortoise revealed fourth and fifth accusers with very similar stories. The last may be the worst of all, as the woman alleges that Neil Gaiman blackmailed her by forcing her to do sexual acts in exchange for maintaining a place to live for her and her three daughters on his New York Estate.
Finally, a sixth accuser has come forward, alleging that Gaiman used and manipulated her when she worked for him as a massage therapist. This woman, who does not identify herself but has a current YouTube channel name that goes by CFR, posted a reaction to the Tortoise interviews a month ago detailing her experience with the Sandman creator.
After all of this hit the public, the media was still largely silent about Neil Gaiman, but when Tortoise released a new podcast revealing one of his accusers getting hush money from the Sandman creator and then having two of his other victims confirm that they were paid off by him and received NDAs, his TV and movie work abruptly came to a halt.
Last week, it was announced that Netflix would cancel his TV show, Dead Boy Detective, after only one season, despite critical acclaim. While they didn’t mention the allegations, Netflix typically at least gives two seasons to shows to let them find their footing.
Then, Disney canceled a production of The Graveyard Book, putting it on hold and specifically mentioning the allegations as part of the reason why.
This week, however, Good Omens, a show that has had some success on Amazon’s Prime Video, announced that its third and final season would halt productions. Deadline reported that production stopped and the show would be canceled despite season 2 ending in a cliffhanger. This marks the biggest blow to Neil Gaiman’s media empire yet.
Rumors are already swirling that Netflix will do the same with The Sandman. The show has already been hit with delays, and a release date has not been confirmed for its second season. With so many other studios ending Neil Gaiman’s projects, it appears as if these rumors are likely to be confirmed.
What do you think of Good Omens getting canceled due to the Neil Gaiman allegations? Leave a comment and let us know.
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And nothing of value was lost.
Including the bathtubs.
Nice work, Jon. You are relentless... and effective.