Neurodivergent? You Simply MUST Watch Good Omens

I’ll add my voice to the cacophony of zealots evangelizing on behalf of Neil Gaiman’s incredible television series, based on the novel he wrote with the late, beloved humorist Terry Pratchett. It’s charming, beautifully made, and perfectly absurd. I present as evidence this image of Jon Hamm, which I will not explain — you’ll simply have to find out in the first episode of season two, which came out last week on Amazon Prime.

If you’re intrigued by that image, trust me, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. What’s more, this show is perfect for neurodivergent brains, in particular those like me who live with the maddening condition of ADHD — more on that in a minute. First, here are the highlights: Good Omens season one is essentially a love story between an Angel (Michael Sheen) and a Demon (David Tennant), set during the events surrounding the Biblical Apocalypse. Frances McDormand plays the voice of God. If you watch it, she’ll explain everything far better than I can. There are witches, if you’re into that sort of thing, and Witchfinders, if not. Pratchett’s humor would have made Wodehouse jealous, and that’s on full display, but it’s leavened with Gaiman’s spooky, dreamlike vibe that always makes you wonder if Tim Burton will be in the cast. The show explores universal mysteries like the nature of consciousness, the true difference between good and evil, religious indoctrination, authoritarianism, love, and grief. It’s also littered with cheeky little in-jokes for a certain stripe of nerd, religious skeptics, and open-minded, warm-hearted Christians who don’t mind a well-meant joke at their expense. (Or a compound adjective, apparently.) There’s also David Tennant sporting increasingly ludicrous hairstyles, and running the gamut of Scottish regional accents one after another (often in the same two minute scene!) in what has to be the stealthiest sneak attack by a linguistic specialist in the history of the performing arts.

Anyway, did I mention I have ADHD? Those of you who share my experience already know, but for the benefit of others, allow me to briefly describe what it’s like: my brain is a TV with a broken remote. It changes channels without my permission, on a near constant basis, until it finds a channel that produces dopamine. Dopamine is necessary for things like deciding what to eat for lunch, and remembering what day it is, and noticing that thirty minutes have passed and you’ve got that interview coming up. My brain (bless her heart) doesn’t make and absorb enough dopamine to power those functions without some kind of stimulation. In short, I need to be doing six things at once, or I can’t do anything at all. It comes down to this: my brain is going to change channels no matter what I do. I’m at my most effective when the six channels on TV are all interesting enough to generate dopamine. I need to bounce from one fascinating puzzle to a creative task to a stimulating conversation to an absorbing read or my brain stops producing Executive Function Fuel. It’s exhausting, and most workplaces don’t accommodate for this type of neurodivergence. I’ve found I perform better working from home, with media going in the background that keeps my dopamine levels high while I’m trying to work.

Good Omens has enough layers in it to satisfy the dopamine needs of my particular type of brain. If you have ADHD, even if you’re not already a fan of fantasy genre shows, I suggest you check it out. Here are some of the simultaneous things my brain was tracking:

1. Biblical references, both subtle and overt, calling into question some of the prevailing beliefs about Christianity and its overarching narrative
2. The cast, their previous roles, which of their shows I should rewatch, where I would rank them in order of hotness (impossible)
3. All the charming stories I’ve read about Gaiman and Pratchett’s real-life friendship, wondering how much of it is being expressed here in the Aziraphale/Crowley relationship and how much comes from the obvious mutual respect and on-screen chemistry of Sheen and Tennant
4. The obvious mutual respect and on-screen chemistry of Sheen and Tennant
5. Miranda Richardson. Sometimes this one occupies me for a whole ten minutes
6. The music, which is somehow both decadent and whimsical. If you don’t watch the show, please at least go listen to the intro music. It makes me feel like a kid in a magical theme park
7. In some ways, this story reminds of the Tarot, which tells you a lot about the Bible

It’s rare for me to find a show that captures my attention so intensely that I don’t need to check my phone, or wonder about the grocery list and lose track of the dialogue, or go make a snack and forget I was even watching something. My neurotype means I need to voraciously devour something interesting every hour or so, if I want to have the juice I need to remember there’s laundry to fold. It sucks, if I’m being honest. The world isn’t exactly set up to be thrilling all the time. But when I find something that works, a genuine source of entertainment that can keep me in its grip, I return to it over and over.

If any of what I just said resonated with your own experience, you simply must watch Good Omens.