Netflix has announced its streaming series The Sandman will end after its impending second season. A statement from Netflix attributes the series’ end to an artistic decision. The entire statement, credited to showrunner Allen Heinberg, reads as follows:
“The Sandman series has always been focused exclusively on Dream’s story, and back in 2022, when we looked at the remaining Dream material from the comics, we knew we only had enough story for one more season. We are extremely grateful to Netflix for bringing the team all back together and giving us the time and resources to make a faithful adaptation in a way that we hope will surprise and delight the comics’ loyal readers as well as fans of our show.”
Netflix’s statement notably makes no mention of the elephant in the room: a series of allegations accusing Sandman creator Neil Gaiman, who wrote the original 80-issue comic that the streaming series is based on, of assault and abuse. Multiple other projects based on Gaiman’s work have also been canceled in recent weeks.
That said, Netflix has a habit of ending even its most popular shows after only two or three seasons, so there’s still a solid chance that The Sandman would have ended sooner than fans of the show and its revered comic book source material may have wanted under better circumstances.
Prior to all of this, the cast and crew of Netflix’s adaptation of The Sandman previously pulled off the seemingly impossible by delivering on many of the comic’s best and most memorable moments, and most importantly capturing the ephemeral, literary spirit of the comic. The second season is still set to premiere on Netflix some time later this year.
For what else to watch, check out our guides to the best Netflix movies and the best anime on Netflix.