THE small-screen adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novel Anansi Boys will be shot in Scotland, it has been announced.
Amazon Prime is transforming the 2005 novel into a six-episode limited series, with Gaiman and comedian Sir Lenny Henry credited as executive producers and writers.
The novel follows the sons of Mr Nancy, an incarnation of West African trickster god Anansi, as they discover each other and embark on an adventure in the wake of his passing.
The series is a stand-alone story and not a sequel or spin-off to the novel American Gods, despite Mr Nancy appearing as a character in that book.
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Anansi Boys is one of several Gaiman stories recently adapted for television, following the Netflix version of graphic novel The Sandman and Amazon’s Good Omens programme starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant.
The upcoming Anansi Boys production will be shot at First Stage Studios in Leith, after it was announced that the second series of Good Omens would also be filmed in Scotland.
Douglas Mackinnon, Hanelle M Culpepper, Hilary Bevan Jones of Endor Productions and Richard Fee of Red Production Company will also serve as executive producers.
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Isabel Davis, executive director at Screen Scotland, said: “It’s phenomenal that Amazon Studios, Douglas Mackinnon and Neil Gaiman are bringing a second production to Scotland.
“It’s having a transformative impact on the local industry and Screen Scotland has been delighted to work with the production and the team at First Stage Studios to support it coming to Scotland, including sourcing crew, locations, support for traineeships, and identifying new and diverse talent, alongside a world class team from Scotland and beyond.”
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