Out of the mountain of Neil Gaiman TV and film projects recently in process, Anansi Boys seemed like the most troubled earlier pick this year. Yet as many of the prolific comic book writer’s (former and ongoing) readers now know, Anansi Boys is almost the only project with a question mark beside it after others have been postponed, cut short, or cancelled.
The in-process TV series, which has been in the works for several years and intended for Prime Video/Amazon, is connected to (but not officially a spin off of) Gaiman’s American Gods novel through African trickster god Anansi, whose son, Charlie Nancy, also has a pain-in-the-butt (and previously unknown) brother that suddenly surfaces to wreak havoc in the Anansi Boys novel.
To briefly recap the show’s history, the six-episode series began filming in late 2021 and was in post production two years ago (as reported by Deadline), at which point co-showrunner Douglas Mackinnon abruptly exited. At around the same time, Mackinnon also departed Good Omens, leaving Gaiman as that series’ sole showrunner, a position that he no longer occupies.
Where does that leave Anansi Boys, and is there hope for the series surfacing?
No clue. In other words, it’s complicated.
Prime Video/Amazon has remained quiet on Anansi Boys updates for several months, and although filming has been complete on the project, its troubled status was no secret prior to the allegations dropping against Neil Gaiman. And that requires us to back up and review a frazzled situation.
A few months ago, Netflix cancelled Dead Boy Detectives due to flagging streaming numbers, although that call came amid mounting allegations of sexual assault against multiple woman as reported by the Tortoise Media podcast. Gaiman has denied the allegations against him, and investigations against the author continue in New Zealand.
The past few months, as well, saw Disney hit the breaks on developing a Graveyard Book movie, and although Netflix’s The Sandman will still release a second season in 2025, the streaming service notably never mentioned Gaiman throughout a customary featurette format for which he figured prominently while promoting the first season.
Most recently, Prime Video/Amazon scaled back Good Omens‘ third and final season to a 90-minute episode to bring the Aziraphale and Crowley story to an end. This followed Gaiman voluntary stepping away from the show.
As for who (if anybody) is now showrunning Anansi Boys, nobody is talking. And we definitely do not know if the project will ever surface on TV screens or streaming devices. Earlier this year, however, Dark Horse Comics announced that the story would be tackled as an individual comic series, although there’s no word on how that’s going in light of recent developments.
