Neil Gaiman fans collectively let out a huge sigh of relief after The Sandman officially received the green light for a second season at Netflix. The streamer confirmed the news on Twitter late Wednesday evening.
"There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus and the rest of them...Now it's time to get back to work. There's a family meal ahead, after all. And Lucifer is waiting for Morpheus to return to Hell," Gaiman said through a tweet on the official show account.
Yes, it’s true: The Sandman will return to NetflixSays @neilhimself: “There are some astonishing stories waiting for Morpheus and the rest of them…Now it’s time to get back to work. There’s a family meal ahead, after all. And Lucifer is waiting for Morpheus to return to Hell” pic.twitter.com/WKiWp7IDkkNovember 3, 2022
The story of The Sandman’s season 2 pickup is a bit muddied, as the news didn’t initially come from Netflix directly. Deadline reported the news after spotting a now-deleted tweet from the DC Comics official Twitter account confirming that The Sandman had been renewed: “The dream continues. [The Sandman] will return with new episodes based on multiple volumes of the Neil Gaiman graphic novel to explore even more stories of the Endless.”
After launching in August 2022, the 10-episode first season of The Sandman quickly rose in popularity, going from 69.5 million hours watched in its first week to 127.5 million in the second week. It continued to hold strong for several weeks beyond its premiere.
Then, later in the month, a surprise bonus episode was released featuring two of Gaiman’s most popular tales, A Dream of a Thousand Cats and Calliope. The bonus episode featured special appearances by Sandra Oh, James McAvoy, David Tennant and Michael Sheen.
Though it seemed like renewing The Sandman would be an easy decision for the streamer after the show remained in the Top 10 for weeks, the entertainment landscape has been full of surprises lately. Mere days before The Sandman announcement, Fate: The Winx Saga was cancelled after two seasons — and also after spending quite a bit of time in the Top 10 as well. There’s now a petition that has gathered over 23,000 signatures as of this writing demanding that the show be given a third season.
The Sandman graphic novels feature an endless (pun intended) supply of stories for writers to choose from, along with the tantalizing possibility of original spinoffs created for the streaming platform. Not surprisingly, then, the first season’s ending was left open-ended, offering resolution and a starting point for season 2.
The Sandman features an all-star cast that includes om Sturridge as Dream, Vivienne Acheampong, Patton Oswalt, David Thewlis, Boyd Holbrook, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman and Kirby Howell-Baptiste.
Stay tuned for more details about The Sandman season 2 as they become available.
