TV Bits: 'Good Omens', 'Oklahoma!', 'Deadwood', 'Brave New World', 'Utopia'

In this edition of TV Bits:

In the words of @NeilHimself, this behind-the-scenes look proves that the making of #GoodOmens was even madder than you can imagine. pic.twitter.com/BimbtimWAU

— Good Omens (@GoodOmensPrime) April 17, 2019

Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens is coming to Amazon as a new series, and a new behind-the-scenes look highlights how crazy the show is going to be. "It's quite possibly even madder than you imagine," Gaiman says in this video. The video also showcases the big cast – David Tennant, Michael Sheen, Jon Hamm, Anna Maxwell Martin, Josie Lawrence, Adria Arjona, Michael McKean, Jack Whitehall, Miranda Richardson and Nick Offerman. There's something for everyone here in this story of the apocalypse. Good Omens premieres May 31, 2019.Oklahoma!, the 1943 Broadway musical that was also turned into a film in 1955, is becoming a TV series...somehow. Deadline reports John Lee Hancock and Bekah Brunstetter are writing a new present-day adaptation for Skydance Television. The show will "be set in America's heartland and include music by the legendary team of Rodgers & Hammerstein as well new tunes as it is reimagined for a contemporary audience." The original musical was set in 1906. Musical TV shows aren't common, but they're not unheard of, either. Cop Rock was famous, or perhaps infamous, as a musical series. And the musical comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend earned rave reviews and attracted a passionate fanbase. Will that same thing happen with Oklahoma? Who knows. The original musical tells the story of "farm girl Laurey Williams and her courtship by two rival suitors, cowboy Curly McLain and the sinister farmhand Jud Fry."

The Deadwood movie is finally happening, and almost the entire original cast is back. But according to star Timothy Olyphant, it wasn't an easy decision. Speaking with TV Line, the actor, who plays constantly frowning lawman Seth Bullock, said he felt an odd sense of pressure when the opportunity arose. Thankfully, he decided to come back:

"My mindset was, "S–t. I guess I'm going to have to make some kind of decision here." It was a very curious process. I did not expect to be in the position to actually have to make a decision; I just assumed it would go away. It's a curious [thing] deciding on whether to do a job when all of your old friends have already committed to it and you kind of think, "Well, I've never been in a position to be such an a–hole." But it was [ultimately] a really wonderful process with [series creator/writer] David Milch and [director] Dan Minahan and [HBO]'s Carolyn Strauss. I had a lot of conversations with them. The whole process was quite rewarding."

The Deadwood movie premieres on HBO May 31.

Alden Ehrenreich is going from a galaxy far, far away to a Brave New World. The Solo: A Star Wars Story actor will lead a TV adaptation of Aldous Huxley's novel, according to Deadline. The show was originally developed for Syfy, but is now being considered for the NBCU streaming platform, set to launch in 2020. Here's the show's synopsis:

As citizens of New London, Bernard Marx and Lenina Crowne have only ever known a rigid social order, a perfect pharmaceutical called Soma, and a culture of instant gratification and ubiquitous sex. Curious to explore life beyond the strictures of their society, the two New Worlders embark on a vacation to the Savage Lands, where they become embroiled in a harrowing and violent rebellion. Bernard and Lenina are rescued by John the Savage (Ehrenreich), who escapes with them back to New London.

The arrival of John, a subversive outsider, in the New World, threatens to disrupt the stability of New London's utopian society.

Brave New World has been highly influential in the sci-fi genre, and has inspired a wide variety of titles – including Demolition Man, believe it or not. Sadly, I don't think this new series will feature the three seashells.Utopia, a new series from Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn, has found a new cast member in John Cusack. This will be Cusack's first series-regular role, in which he'll play (per THR), Dr. Kevin Christie – "Charismatic and media-savvy, he has a brilliant biotech mind and a philanthropic outlook. Christie altruistically wants to change the world through science." Cusack joins a cast that includes Sasha Lane, Rainn Wilson, Ashleigh LaThrop, Desmin Borges, Farrah Mackenzie and Christopher Denham. The series, which is a remake of the 2013 British series of the same name, follows a group of young adults who "meet online and are mercilessly hunted by a shadowy deep state organization after they come into possession of a near mythical cult underground graphic novel. They discover the conspiracy theories in the comic's pages may actually be real and are forced into the dangerous, unique and ironic position of saving the world." At one point, David Fincher was set to make the series with Flynn for HBO, with Rooney Mara set to star. The HBO/Fincher version ultimately fell apart, though, when HBO balked at Fincher's proposed $9 million budget. Flynn will serve as showrunner of this version, which will debut on Amazon.