Neil Gaiman has reportedly offered to step back from Good Omens' third season

Neil Gaiman has offered to step back from the third season of Good Omens in the midst of sexual assault allegations against him, reports Deadline. Gaiman serves as showrunner for the Amazon Prime Video series, which is an adaptation of the 1990 novel of the same name he co-wrote with Terry Pratchett. On Monday, it was reported that production on the third and final season had been put on pause following a number of women coming forward with allegations of misconduct.

Gaiman has denied the allegations against him (“and is said to be disturbed by them,” per Deadline), and his offer to step back is specifically not an admission of wrongdoing. However, the outlet reports “that Gaiman has made an offer to Amazon and producers to take a back seat on the latest season so that it can continue amid crisis talks over the Terry Pratchett adaptation’s future.” The series, which stars Michael Sheen and David Tennant, was prepping to begin filming in Scotland before Prime Video pressed pause. 

In July, Tortoise Media released a podcast in which two women detailed allegations of assault by Gaiman. Since then, three more women have come forward with their own experiences. The stories include accusations of sexual coercion, power imbalance, and in at least one case, being silenced with an NDA. Some of the women were significantly younger than Gaiman at the time of their encounters. In more than one case, the women were employees of Gaiman (a former nanny and groundskeeper). 

Since the allegations against Gaiman have emerged, several projects with his name attached have been shut down. Last week, it was announced that Disney wouldn’t be moving forward with its adaptation of The Graveyard Book. Previously, Netflix canceled the short-lived Dead Boy Detectives, a spin-off of Sandman. Sandman is currently still moving forward with a second season at the streamer.