Netflix's 'The Sandman' Will End With Its Second Season

Our time in The Dreaming is ending, likely earlier than many of us expected. Netflix has confirmed that its forthcoming second season of The Sandman will be the series last. Based on the award-winning series of the same name, The Sandman follows the story of Morpheus, informally known as Dream, one of seven immortal beings known as the Endless, who are essentially personifications of various human aspects of reality. The series' first season saw Dream taken prisoner by a moral occultist and held prisoner for much of a century before escaping and searching for his stolen totems of power.

The news of The Sandman's end was initially reported as an outright cancelation, with the implication the decision to end the series after only two seasons was likely tied to the multiple sexual assault allegations leveled at creator Neil Gaiman. The accusations have thus far derailed Good Omens' third season, reducing it to a single feature film; rung down the curtain on Coraline — A Musical; and put a pause on future projects such as Disney's The Graveyard Book adaptation and any further comics published via Dark Horse Comics. Gaiman has issued a blanket denial of any alleged wrongdoing.

But, according to Variety, the series was always meant to conclude with its second season. "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,” showrunner Allan Heinberg, who replaced Gaiman in the role, said in a statement. “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.”

While this might seem like a highly convenient excuse for Netflix to deploy, considering it is one of the only production studios that didn't just outright cancel Gaiman's show out of the box, it may be closer to the truth than previously acknowledged. Despite hitting Top Ten viewership levels with Season 1's debut, Netflix took months to commit to a second season. Moreover, despite the headline writers calling it a "Season 2 renewal," Netflix's actual wording did not use the term, nor would the streamer give a defined episode count; both hesitations were attributed to the show's price tag per episode. 

Variety reports it confirmed with sources Netflix determined Season 2 would be the last before filming began in 2023, prior to the strike, and more than a year before the 2024 accusations began to emerge.

While it is still far and away the most successful global streaming service, Netflix has become increasingly stingy with its big-budget series. Almost anything scripted that isn't named Virgin River or Bridgerton* has only run for a few seasons at most. Stranger Things concludes with Season 5; The Crown tried to end with five but then returned to six because the "every two seasons" casting changes required it. Even Squid Game, one of the biggest successes the streamer has ever had, is wrapping it up after three seasons, and it's a stretch to call it that, considering that the final two are pretty obviously a single season split in half.

(Ed Note: *I refuse to believe Bridgerton, currently renewed through Season 4, will run Rimes' claimed eight seasons until I see Season 8 debut on the service with my own eyes and not a minute beforehand.)

Early The Sandman Season 2 set reports indicated the show was adapting stories from across the comics' run, including Season of Mists, Brief Lives, and the special issue "The Song of Orpheus."  There's still no word on when this now-final season will arrive on our screens, merely that it's slated for a 2025 premiere. The series stars Tom Sturridge (Irma Vep) as Dream, with Kirby Howell-Baptiste (Cuprits) as Death, Mason Alexander Park (Quantum Leap) as Desire, Donna Preston (Good Omens) as Despair, Adrian Lester (Renegade Nell) as Destiny, Esme Creed-Miles (The Doll Factory) as Delirium, and Barry Sloane (Passenger) as Destruction. 

Other cast members returning for Season 2 include Patton Oswalt (What We Do in the Shadows) as Matthew the Raven, Vivienne Acheampong (Everything Now) as Lucienne, Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) as Lucifer Morningstar, Jenna Coleman (The Jetty) as Johanna Constantine, Ferdinand Kingsley (Silo) as Hob Gadling, Stephen Fry (Heartstopper) as Gilbert, Asim Chaudhry (The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin) as Abel, Sanjeev Bhaskar (Unforgotten) as Cain, Razane Jammal (Doubt) as Lyta Hall, and Vanesu Samunyai as Rose Walker.

The Sandman Season 1 is currently streaming on Netflix.