Fans of Neil Gaiman might have to wait until 2018 for season two of American Gods, but BBC has a special Christmas present in store in the meantime: a six-part radio drama based on Gaiman’s 2005 novel Anansi Boys (via io9).
Set in the same universe as American Gods, Anansi Boys tells the story of Charles “Fat Charlie” Nancy, who travels to Florida after the death of his father, only to discover that his father was an incarnation of the West African trickster god Anansi and that he has a secret brother, Spider, who has inherited Anansi’s powers. While not directly confirmed, it is implied that Fat Charlie’s father was the same “Mr. Nancy” from American Gods, played to great acclaim in the TV series by Orlando Jones.
The Anansi Boys radio drama has been adapted by Dirk Maggs, who previously adapted Gaiman’s Neverwhere and How the Marquis Got His Coat Back, as well as the Gaiman/Terry Pratchett novel Good Omens, for BBC Radio 4. It is set to star Jacob Anderson (best known for his role as Grey Worm of the Unsullied on Game of Thrones) as Fat Charlie, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as Spider, Adjoa Andoh as Birdwoman, and Lenny Henry as Mr. Nancy.
Henry’s inclusion in the radio drama is a special treat, as he played in pivotal role in the original novel’s development. Gaiman has said that the novel’s inspiration began with a conversation at Henry’s house about how there are no horror films with black leads, which inspired Gaiman to write one, though, as Gaiman told Radio Times, “It wasn’t a film, but a novel, and it wasn’t horror but a strange mixture of mythic family comedy, romance and crime drama (with some scary bits).” Gaiman consulted Henry while writing the novel, and Henry also narrated the Anansi Boys audio book, so he has literally been Mr. Nancy’s voice from the beginning.
The six-part radio drama premieres on BBC Radio 4 on Christmas Day at 11:30 p.m. GMT, and will be available to stream on the BBC website shortly afterwards.
In an appearance on Nerdist’s Alpha Book Club earlier this year, Orlando Jones stated that an Anansi Boys TV series is also in the early stages of development by team behind the American Gods TV series.
Are you going to listen to the Anansi Boys BBC radio drama? Let us know in the comments!
Images: BBC
Read more about Neil Gaiman’s stories!
- Everything we know about the Good Omens series so far.
- An illustrated release of Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere.
- A brand new Neil Gaiman comic is coming to Dark Horse.
