Neil Gaiman has certainly made a name for himself over at Amazon, with two of his best-selling books, American Gods and Good Omens, already having been adapted into series by the studio. But now, it’s been announced that another one of his books will become a six-episode limited series from Amazon. Anansi Boys, the 2005 fantasy novel, will be starting production this year in Scotland.
From the content alone, many people are calling this a spin-off of American Gods, but Amazon has made a point of saying this will be a stand-alone series and not a sequel: “the book’s story was originally developed in conversation between Gaiman and Henry with the series adaptation reuniting the collaboration between the pair.” Gaiman is also quite excited about this new adaptation, even posting on his Twitter account about it.
I’ve been hinting for, well, over a year now, that there are two big TV shows I’m making. Last month, we announced Good Omens 2.
Here’s a clue to what the other one might be… pic.twitter.com/0x4HaZWS9s
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) July 21, 2021
Anansi Boys follows the story of Charles “Fat Charlie” Nancy, whose wedding preparations are disrupted when he learns that his father, Mr. Nancy, has died in Florida. Fat Charlie is unsure how to feel about it since Mr. Nancy had estranged himself as a father and caused Charlie quite a bit of embarrassment over the years, particularly in the nature of his death. But upon his death, Charlie discovers that Mr. Nancy was an incarnation of the West African spider god, Anansi, aka the trickster god of stories. Charlie also discovers that he has a brother, who inherited their father’s magical bloodline, though the two have never met before.
Mrs. Higgler, an old family friend, tells Charlie that he can contact his brother by simply talking to any common spider. So one night, back home in England, he drunkenly tells a spider that it would be nice to see his brother. The next day, his brother, named Spider, shows up at his door and is shocked to learn of their father’s passing. He disappears into a photograph and leaves Charlie to return to his normal work routine. Sometime later, Spider uses his magical abilities to make himself look like Charlie and starts to radically mess around with Charlie’s personal life, especially at work. So, Charlie asks for help from the ancient gods to get rid of his brother.
The story of Anansi Boys goes from there, chronicling the complicated relationship between Spider and Fat Charlie as they process their father’s death and accept their family bloodline. It’s a fantastical story full of comedy, adventure and ancient lore that makes any story richer and more vibrant. The reason many people claim this new adaptation to be a spin-off is that Mr. Nancy was a relatively big character in American Gods. Nevertheless, Anansi Boys will be primarily following his sons, though who knows if the infamous Mr. Nancy will make an appearance. The story of Anansi Boys takes place after American Gods, in which Mr. Nancy is alive and well.
In American Gods, Mr. Nancy stays true to his godly stereotype – he provides a constant source of comedy and helps Shadow Moon by providing the stories that contextualize all the magical beings and happenings around him, especially Mr. Wednesday. Without his presence, Shadow would have been very confused during the events of the series. Now, viewers get a chance to find out more about this character, as the Anansi Boys book delves more into his background and how he became the trickster god of stories. Hopefully, the limited series will include some of this detailed backstory.
Though a premiere date has not yet been determined for Anansi Boys, production will be underway this year. Hanelle M. Culpepper, Jermain Julien and Azhur Saleem have already been announced as directors.
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