TV Shows

Neil Gaiman Explains Why Netflix Hasn’t Renewed The Sandman for Season 2 Yet

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Netflix’s The Sandman only debuted earlier this month, but fans of the series, based on the comics written by Neil Gaiman have already been eagerly awaiting news that a second season of the series is in the works. Thus far, that announcement hasn’t come just yet and now, Gaiman is explaining why — as well as encouraging fans about what they can do to help encourage the streamer to renew. On Saturday, Gaiman wrote on Twitter that The Sandman is a “really expensive show” to make and that the existing season needs to perform strongly to be considered for renewal.

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“Because Sandman is a really expensive show,” Gaiman wrote in response to a fan who commented that they didn’t understand why there was any question of whether there would be a second season. “And for Netflix to release the money to let us make another season we have to perform incredibly well. So yes, we’ve been the top show in the world for the last two weeks. That still may not be enough.”

Viewership for The Sandman has been fairly steady since its premiere. The first three days of the show’s debut saw it streamed for over 69.48 million hours across all of Netflix’s subscribers and then week two of The Sandman saw the numbers nearly double. The series did dip from the number 1 spot on the streamer briefly due to the new season of Never Have I ever and a new limited series, Echoes, but the recent release of a surprise bonus episode pushed it back into the top spot.

Gaiman in another post on Twitter encouraged fans to watch the series to help with its odds of being renewed.

“If we get a second season,” he wrote when a fan asked about a particular chapter of the story coming to the series in the future. “(Please encourage all your friends to watch Sandman. Encourage all your friends who have begun to watch Sandman but got distracted by life to finish watching Sandman.)”

The Netflix synopsis for The Sandman is as follows: “There is another world that waits for all of us when we close our eyes and sleep — a place called the Dreaming, where The Sandman, Master of Dreams (Tom Sturridge), gives shape to all of our deepest fears and fantasies. But when Dream is unexpectedly captured and held prisoner for a century, his absence sets off a series of events that will change both the dreaming and waking worlds forever. To restore order, Dream must journey across different worlds and timelines to mend the mistakes he’s made during his vast existence, revisiting old friends and foes, and meeting new entities — both cosmic and human — along the way.”

The Sandman is now streaming on Netflix.