Neil Gaiman’s Anansi Boys Series Casts Malachi Kirby To Play Dual Leads
History Channel
By Vanessa Armstrong/Sept. 17, 2021 3:00 pm EST
Two Brothers, One Actor
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Gaiman, who is also co-writing the six episodes with Lenny Henry, shared in an earlier statement his impetus for writing the 2005 book:
Based on Gaiman’s novel of the same name, Anansi Boys follows Charlie Nancy, a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father. But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that his father was Anansi: trickster god of stories. And he learns that he has a brother. Now his brother, Spider, is entering Charlie’s life, determined to make it more interesting but making it a lot more dangerous.
“Anansi Boys” began around 1996, from a conversation I had with Lenny Henry about writing a story that was diverse and part of the culture that we both loved. I wrote a novel, an (I hope) joyous and funny book about a dead god and his two sons, about birds and ghosts and beasts and cops, based in Caribbean and African tales. It was my first number one NYT Bestseller, and went on to become a beloved and award winning book.
