With excellent reviews (88%) and an audience score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, The Sandman has been one of Netflix’s most popular series in recent years. The first season of the fantasy horror series, released in 2022 and based on Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel of the same name, also achieved outstanding streaming numbers.
Now comes the not entirely unexpected end: As reported by Variety, Netflix has announced the series’ cancellation after the already produced second season, which is set to premiere later this year. Showrunner Allan Heinberg cited a simple lack of source material as the reason:
*”The series The Sandman has always focused solely on the story of Dream/[Morpheus]. When we reviewed the remaining Dream material from the comics in 2022, we realized that we only had enough stories for one more season.
We are very grateful to Netflix for bringing the team back together and providing us with the time and resources to create a faithful adaptation that we hope will surprise and delight both longtime fans of the comics and fans of our series.”*
With a high budget of $165 million, even the renewal for a second season was uncertain for a long time. It was only months after The Sandman’s debut that the streaming service gave the green light for more episodes. But even though The Sandman has been canceled, there is still plenty of content on Netflix to satisfy hungry fans.
Netflix Remains Silent on Serious Allegations Against Creator Neil Gaiman
Neither Netflix nor showrunner Allan Heinberg addressed the serious allegations against creator Neil Gaiman in connection with the cancellation news. Instead, a rather flimsy explanation was put forward for ending the production after season 2, despite its potential for great streaming success. And: If a studio or streaming service wants to, they can stretch even a foreword into an entire season.
For a publicly traded company, this is a puzzling decision, though from a business perspective, it makes sense: The majority of the audience is unaware of the sexual misconduct allegations against Gaiman. The saying goes, “Let sleeping dogs lie.”
The serious accusations first surfaced in the summer of 2024, when five women spoke in the podcast The Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman about allegedly violent sexual assaults. In January of this year, New York Magazine (via Vulture) published new abuse allegations from four additional women. As a result, Dark Horse Comics terminated its collaboration with Gaiman.
By the end of last year, Amazon had already announced that the third season of Good Omens, based on Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s novel, would be its last and would consist of a single 90-minute episode.
No formal charges have been filed in court so far, but the comic author addressed the allegations in a lengthy statement. He said he had followed recent developments with “horror and dismay” and had now decided to respond to the serious accusations:
“Some of the terrible stories being told now simply never happened, while others have been so distorted that they no longer bear any resemblance to the truth. I am willing to take responsibility for any missteps. But I am not willing to turn my back on the truth; and I cannot accept being portrayed as someone I am not; and I cannot and will not admit to things I have not done.”
Gaiman, a father of four, did confirm in his response that he had been in contact with women in a sexual context. These events may have contributed to his divorce from his wife Amanda in 2022. It is now reported that the author has sought the help of a crisis manager.
