Good Omens fans got a good laugh this week from a petition created by Christian group Return to Order that called for Netflix to cancel the apocalyptic comedy-drama. The great thing is that the petition, signed by upwards of 20,000 people, was addressed to the wrong streaming service, as Good Omens is available on Amazon Prime.
The original petition has since been removed, but folks still haven’t let the slip-up go. In fact, Netflix themselves responded to the goof. In response to The Guardian’s write-up of the incident, the Netflix UK & Ireland Twitter account wrote: “ok we promise not to make any more.” Naturally, the tweet soon went viral, with nearly 40k likes at the time of writing.
ok we promise not to make any more https://t.co/TRPux36kcX
— Netflix UK & Ireland (@NetflixUK) June 20, 2019
Showrunner Neil Gaiman appreciated Netflix’s support and good humor as well, tweeting:
Best reply ever. #GoodOmens https://t.co/eiU8g7POMz
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) June 20, 2019
The goof is hilarious because it shows just how ridiculous the idea behind the petition is. Return to Order wrote that the show was “another step to make satanism appear normal, light and acceptable” and “mocks God’s wisdom.” Unsurprisingly, they also complained about the fact that God was portrayed as female, with the deity voiced by Frances McDormand.
It’s so ridiculous because Good Omens is such a genuinely good-natured series that, even with its subject matter, it isn’t even that offensive to religious folks. Gaiman has been retweeting and interacting with Christians, including pastors and priests, on social media who are big fans of the show and he even discussed how he wanted to treat the scene which depicts the crucifixion with the utmost respect.
Sadly, though Netflix has jokingly promised not to make any more, Amazon isn’t, either. Gaiman has made clear that the six-episode first season is it for Good Omens, as it completes the adaptation of the novel he wrote in 1990 with Terry Pratchett. At least you can rewatch it as many times as you want though, assuming you remember which streaming service it’s on.
