The Sandman (TV series)

The Sandman
Genre	Fantasy drama Supernatural horror Superhero[1][2][3]
Based on	The Sandman by Neil Gaiman     Sam Kieth     Mike Dringenberg
Developed by	Neil Gaiman & David S. Goyer & Allan Heinberg
Starring	Tom Sturridge Boyd Holbrook Vivienne Acheampong Patton Oswalt
Music by	David Buckley
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	11
Production
Executive producers	Allan Heinberg David S. Goyer Neil Gaiman Mike Barker
Producers	Samson Mücke Iain Smith Alexander Newman-Wise Andrew Cholerton
Production location	United Kingdom
Cinematography	Will Baldy George Steel Sam Heasman
Editors	Daniel Gabbe Shoshanah Tanze Jamin Bricker Kelly Stuyvesant
Running time	37–64 minutes
Production companies	PurePop Inc. The Blank Corporation Phantom Four DC Entertainment Warner Bros. Television
Budget	$15 million (per episode)[4]
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05) – present (present)

The Sandman is an American fantasy drama television series based on the 1989–1996 comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. The series was developed by Gaiman, David S. Goyer, and Allan Heinberg for the streaming service Netflix, and is produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. Like the comic, The Sandman tells the story of Dream / Morpheus, the titular Sandman. The series stars Tom Sturridge as the title character, with Boyd Holbrook, Vivienne Acheampong, and Patton Oswalt in supporting roles.

Efforts to adapt The Sandman to film began in 1991, and floundered in development hell for many years. In 2013, Goyer pitched a film adaptation of the series to Warner Bros. Goyer and Gaiman were set to produce alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was planned to star and possibly direct. However, Gordon-Levitt exited over creative differences in 2016. Due to the prolonged development of the film, Warner Bros. shifted its focus to television. Netflix signed a deal to produce the series in June 2019, and filming lasted from October 2020 to August 2021.

The Sandman premiered on August 5, 2022, with a further episode premiering on August 19. It received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise going towards the casting, production design, costumes, faithfulness to its source material, visual effects, and performances, particularly those of Sturridge and David Thewlis.

Premise

Morpheus, the personification of dreams and one of the seven Endless, is captured in an occult ritual in 1916. After being held captive for 106 years, Dream escapes and sets out to restore order to his realm, The Dreaming.^[5]

Cast

Main

• Tom Sturridge as Dream / Morpheus, the personification of dreams and nightmares, and the ruler of the Dreaming.^[6][7]
• Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian, a nightmare who escaped the Dreaming.^[6]
• Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, the librarian of the Dreaming, and its caretaker in Dream's absence.^[7][6]
• Patton Oswalt as the voice of Matthew the Raven, Dream's emissary.^[8][9]

Co-starring

• David Thewlis as John Dee, Cripps's and Burgess's son, whose endeavor to find "truth" jeopardizes the world. Gaiman described Dee as a character "who could break your heart and keep your sympathy while taking you into the darkest places".^[8][9]
• Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, an occult detective. Coleman plays two versions of the character: the present day descendant based on John Constantine, and her identical eighteenth century ancestor Lady Johanna Constantine.^[8][9][10]
• Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar, the ruler of Hell. This series' incarnation of Lucifer is much closer to the character's original depiction in the comics than his depiction in the 2016 Lucifer television series. Neil Gaiman noted that it would be difficult to reconfigure the Lucifer version, portrayed by Tom Ellis, so he would fit back into The Sandman.^[6][11]
• Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, the personification of death and Dream's kinder, wiser sister.^[8][9]
• Ferdinand Kingsley as Hob Gadling, Dream’s friend who has lived for hundreds of years.^[12]
• Sandra James-Young as Unity Kinkaid, Rose's benefactor and great-grandmother who has recently awakened from a century-long slumber.^[8][9]
• Kyo Ra as Rose Walker, a young woman searching for her lost brother who becomes a prey of the Corinthian.^[8][9][13]
• Razane Jammal as Lyta Hall, Rose's friend and a widow mourning her husband.^[8][9]
• Melissanthi Mahut as Calliope, Homer's muse, and ex-wife of Morpheus / Dream.
• Arthur Darvill as Richard "Ric" Madoc, a struggling author who imprisons Calliope against her will.

Recurring

• Joely Richardson as Ethel Dee (née Cripps) / Madame Daudet, Burgess's fiancée and the mother of John Dee^[8][9]
  • Niamh Walsh as young Ethel Cripps.^[8]
• Nina Wadia as the Fate Mother
• Souad Faress as the Fate Crone
• Dinita Gohil as the Fate Maiden
• Gianni Calchetti as the Death Stalker, a serial killer.
• Asim Chaudhry as Abel, a resident of the Dreaming based on the Biblical Abel.^[6][7]
• Sanjeev Bhaskar as Cain, a resident of the Dreaming and Abel's brother based on the Biblical Cain.^[6][7]
• Mason Alexander Park as Desire, the personification of desire, and Morpheus' sibling.^[8][9]
• Cassie Clare as Mazikeen of the Lilim, a devoted ally of Lucifer Morningstar.
• John Cameron Mitchell as Hal Carter, Rose's friend and host of the bed and breakfast. Hal also moonlights as a drag queen and cabaret performer.
• Stephen Fry as Gilbert / Fiddler's Green, a mysterious gentleman who becomes Rose's bodyguard.^[8][9]
• Mark Hamill as the voice of Mervyn Pumpkinhead, a chain-smoking janitor whose head resembles a jack-o'-lantern.^[14]
• Donna Preston as Despair, the personification of despair, Morpheus' sister and Desire's twin.^[8][9]
• Lloyd Everitt as Hector Hall, Lyta's deceased husband whose ghost hides from Death in The Dreaming.
• Eddie Karanja as Jed Walker, Rose's younger brother and the ward of Gault who protects him from his abusive foster parents via The Dreaming.
• Andi Osho as Miranda Walker, Unity's granddaughter and Jed and Rose's mother, and Gault, an escaped nightmare from the Dreaming.
  • Ann Ogbomo portrays Gault's true form, who seeks to become a Dream, protecting children from abuse.
• Cara Horgan and Daisy Badger as Chantal and Zelda, guests at Hal's B&B.
• Lily Travers and Richard Fleeshman as Barbie and Ken, guests at Hal's B&B.
• Sam Hazeldine and Lisa O'Hare as Barnaby and Clarice, Jed's foster parents. Barnaby is physically abusive towards Jed, and terrifies Clarice into compliance.
• Kerry Shale, Danny Kirrane, and Jill Winternitz as Nimrod, Fun Land, and The Good Doctor, a trio of serial killers.
• Lenny Henry as the voice of Martin Tenbones, a magical, doglike creature who appears in the dreams of Barbie.^[15]

Guest

• Bill Paterson as Dr. John Hathaway
• Laurie Kynaston as Alex Burgess, Roderick Burgess' son.
  • Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as young Alex Burgess.
  • Benedick Blythe as older Alex Burgess.
• Charles Dance as Sir Roderick Burgess / Magus, an aristocratic occultist.^[6]
• Meera Syal as Erica, a vicar known as "Ric the Vic" who seeks out Johanna Constantine's help with a demonic possession.
• Claire Higgins as Mad Hettie, a 280-year-old homeless woman and acquaintance of Johanna Constantine.
• Sarah Niles as Rosemary, a good Samaritan woman who helps John retrieve his ruby.
• Martyn Ford as Squatterbloat, a demon
• Munya Chawawa as Choronzon, a demon-duke of Hell
• Deborah Oyelade as Nada, a prehistoric African queen who was once romantically involved with Morpheus.
• Ernest Kingsley Jnr as Kai'ckul, an aspect of Dream seen through the eyes of Nada.
• Sam Strike as Todd
• Emma Duncan as Bette Munroe, a waitress and one of John Dee's victims.
• Steven Brand as Marsh Janowski, a diner staff and one of John Dee's victims.
• Laurie Davidson as Mark Brewer, a diner guest and one of John Dee's victims.
• Daisy Head as Judy, a diner guest and one of John Dee's victims.
• James Udom as Garry, a diner guest and one of John Dee's victims.
• Lourdes Faberes as Kate Fletcher, a diner guest and one of John Dee's victims.
• Samuel Blenkin as Will Shaxberd, an aspiring playwright.
• Ian McNeice as a bartender
• Ben Wiggins as Carl, Rose's friend and house-sitter.
• Lewis Reeves as Philip Sitz, a man pretending to be "The Boogieman".
• Roger Allam as the voice of Lord Azazel, a Duke of Hell.
• Peter de Jersey as Mr. Haldewell, Unity Kincaid’s solicitor
• Derek Jacobi as Erasmus Fry, a writer of Greek mythology and the original captor of Calliope.

"Dream of a Thousand Cats" features the voices of Sandra Oh as The Prophet, Rosie Day as The Tabby Kitten, David Gyasi as The Grey Cat, Joe Lycett as The Black Cat, Neil Gaiman as The Skull Crow, James McAvoy as Golden-Haired Man, David Tennant as Don, Georgia Tennant as Laura Lynn, Michael Sheen as Paul, Anna Lundberg as Marion, Nonso Anozie as the Wyvern, Diane Morgan as the Gryphon and Tom Wu as the Hippogriff.

Episodes

No.	Title	Directed by	Teleplay by	Original release date
1	"Sleep of the Just"	Mike Barker	Neil Gaiman & David S. Goyer & Allan Heinberg	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
While attempting to apprehend a nightmare known as the Corinthian, Morpheus, also known as Dream, is captured in an occult ritual by British aristocrat Roderick Burgess, who was attempting to capture Death. Roderick steals Morpheus's totems of power: his helm, a pouch of sand, and a ruby; all of which are eventually taken by Roderick's resentful lover Ethel Cripps, who is pregnant with Roderick's child. Morpheus's imprisonment causes an epidemic of "sleepy sickness" which lasts for 106 years. In 2021, Roderick's son, Alex, is an old man who continues to keep Morpheus imprisoned and is cared for by his partner, Paul. After Paul "accidentally" erases part of the runes keeping Morpheus bound, Morpheus reaches into the dream of one of his guards to destroy his cage, allowing him to escape, condemning Alex to an eternal sleep. Adapted from The Sandman #1 ("Sleep of the Just").[16]
2	"Imperfect Hosts"	Jamie Childs	Allan Heinberg	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
Morpheus returns to the Dreaming, his kingdom and the source of dreams. There, he finds his palace in ruins due to his prolonged absence. Morpheus visits Cain and Abel, a pair of dysfunctional brothers, to retrieve their pet gargoyle Gregory, which will restore his power enough to summon the Fates. Morpheus successfully summons the Fates who inform him of the whereabouts of his equipment; the pouch of sand is in the possession of exorcist Johanna Constantine, his helm in the hands of a demon in Hell, and the ruby used by Ethel's son John Dee. Morpheus sets off on his quest to retrieve his items with assistance from his advisor Matthew the Raven. Back in the Dreaming, Morpheus sends a baby gargoyle to Cain and Abel to replace their previous companion. Adapted from The Sandman #2 ("Imperfect Hosts").[17]
3	"Dream a Little Dream of Me"	Jamie Childs	Jim Campolongo	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
Morpheus tracks down Constantine, asking for the return of his pouch. However, Constantine remembers that she left it at her ex-girlfriend's apartment. They team up to track down the girlfriend whose home has been warped by the abuse of the powder. Constantine exorcises to cure the girlfriend of her addiction but is left distraught when Morpheus is reluctant to put her down. Seeing Constantine's guilt, Morpheus finally agrees to put her ex-girlfriend to rest before departing. Meanwhile, Ethel, whose life has been prolonged by a protection amulet, travels to an institution in Buffalo, New York, to visit John, who has a dark obsession with Morpheus's ruby. She passes the protection amulet to John, immediately ages and dies. John then uses the amulet's powers to escape the institution. Adapted from The Sandman #3 ("Dream a Little Dream of Me").[18]
4	"A Hope in Hell"	Jamie Childs	Austin Guzman	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
To retrieve his helm, Morpheus descends into Hell where he meets Lucifer Morningstar, the realm's ruler. He finds the demon with the helm, but in order to get it back, the demon challenges Morpheus to a game of wits. Morpheus chooses to represent himself in the challenge, but the demon chooses Lucifer as his champion. Morpheus eventually wins the challenge by invoking hope, a concept which Lucifer recognizes as unbeatable, and is able to regain the helm. Before he leaves, Lucifer promises to one day kill Morpheus. John is offered assistance by a good Samaritan and retrieves the ruby, but not before Morpheus discovers its whereabouts and the fact that John has altered the item to attune to his own wishes and nobody else's. John passes the protection amulet to his terrified rescuer, deciding that he no longer needs it. Adapted from The Sandman #4 ("A Hope in Hell") and #5 ("Passengers").[19]
5	"24/7"	Jamie Childs	Ameni Rozsa	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
John, now in possession of the ruby, takes refuge in a local diner. There, he uses the ruby’s power to prevent the patrons and staff (and the world at large, shown via the television) from being able to lie, eventually driving them to murder each other or commit suicide. Morpheus arrives and transports John to the realm of dreams, where John appears to use the ruby's power to defeat Morpheus. Crushing the ruby in his hand, John exults in his victory, before Morpheus reveals himself and tells him that by destroying the ruby, its power was released back into its true master, Morpheus. Taking pity on John, Morpheus returns him to the institution, seemingly in a state of long-term sleep. Elsewhere, Morpheus's sibling Desire plots against him. Adapted from The Sandman #6 ("24 Hours") and #7 ("Sound and Fury").[20]
6	"The Sound of Her Wings"	Mairzee Almas	Lauren Bello	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
Morpheus, now aimless after obtaining his tools, is visited by his sister, Death, and accompanies her as she escorts the deceased to the afterlife. Death attempts to show Morpheus the possibility of finding purpose and fulfillment in his duties as ruler of the Dreaming. In a flashback to the Middle Ages, Morpheus and Death visit a tavern where they encounter Hob Gadling, a commoner who vocally wishes to never die. Death agrees to spare Gadling for as long as he wishes. Hob and Morpheus continue to meet each other once every century. Hob maintains that no matter which turns his life takes, he still does not wish for death. Hob hypothesizes that Morpheus continues to meet with him because he is lonely and friendless, which greatly offends Morpheus. Due to Morpheus's capture by Burgess, he is unable to attend his regular meeting with Hob. When their usual location is sold, Hob chooses a new tavern a block away, hoping that Morpheus will find him. The two reunite in the present day. Elsewhere, Desire continues their plans. Adapted from The Sandman #8 ("The Sound of Her Wings") and #13 ("Men of Good Fortune").[21]
7	"The Doll's House"	Andrés Baiz	Heather Bellson	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
In 2015, Rose Walker and her brother Jed are separated when their parents divorce. In 2021, following the death of both parents, Jed is placed in the foster home system, despite Rose's attempts to locate him and claim legal guardianship. Rose is unknowingly a Vortex, a being who naturally attracts and manipulates dreams, and Desire and their twin sister Despair conspire to use Rose against Morpheus. Aware of Rose's nature, Morpheus plans to use her to track three errant residents of the Dreaming who are still at large. Rose and her friend Lyta Hall travel to England to meet Unity Kinkaid, a wealthy recovered victim of sleep sickness. Unity reveals that she is Rose's biological great-grandmother. Unity offers to fund Rose's search for Jed, and Rose and Lyta travel to Florida. Unable to locate Jed in either the Dreaming or the waking world, Lucienne and Morpheus deduce that the rogue dream Gault has severed Jed's consciousness from the Dreaming. Rose approaches Lucienne and Morpheus in the Dreaming for assistance in finding Jed. Meanwhile, the Corinthian, hunting for Rose, is invited as the guest of honor for a serial killer convention. Adapted from The Sandman #10 ("The Doll's House") and #11 ("Moving In").[citation needed]
8	"Playing House"	Andrés Baiz	Alexander Newman-Wise	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
Despite Lucienne's protests, Morpheus agrees to help Rose locate Jed. During the day, Rose and the other guests at the bed and breakfast post signs around Cape Kennedy, which attracts the attention of the Corinthian. That night, Morpheus and Rose travel through the dreams of the guests, eventually crossing into Jed's dreams, which Gault has manipulated to provide an emotional escape from his abusive foster father. Morpheus rebukes and punishes Gault for stepping outside her duties, though Gault maintains that she disobeyed because she believed it was in Jed's best interest. Meanwhile, Lyta seemingly reunites with her deceased husband Hector in the Dreaming. Hector attempts to convince Lyta to stay in the Dreaming and have a baby with him, and when Lyta wakes up, she is visibly pregnant. The Corinthian locates Jed and murders his foster parents, kidnapping Jed to lure Rose to the serial killer convention. Adapted from The Sandman #12 ("Playing House") and #15 ("Into the Night").[citation needed]
9	"Collectors"	Coralie Fargeat	Vanessa James Benton	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
Lucienne and Matthew deduce that Lyta's pregnancy is the result of Rose's increasing power, which threatens to break the barriers between the Dreaming and the waking world. The Corinthian calls Rose with Jed, sharing their location at the "cereal convention." Rose travels to the hotel to meet them, accompanied by Gilbert, a fellow guest at Hal's B&B and a self-styled "gentleman." Lyta continues to meet Hector in her dreams, and finds that her pregnancy is advancing at a rapid rate. Morpheus notices increasing damage to the Dreaming, which Lucienne attributes to Rose, though Morpheus is unsure of her theory. Morpheus finds Lyta and Hector in the Dreaming and realizes that the Vortex has allowed Hector's spirit to inhabit the Dreaming, in lieu of him passing on to the afterlife. Morpheus banishes Hector from the Dreaming and informs Lyta that her unborn child will one day belong to him, as it was conceived in the Dreaming. Rose and Gilbert arrive at the hotel and search for Jed. While searching, the Corinthian and Gilbert recognize each other, causing Gilbert to flee to the Dreaming, where he is revealed to be a personified Fiddler’s Green, one of the other rogue Dreaming residents. Gilbert relays the Corinthian and Rose's location to Morpheus. Adapted from The Sandman #14 ("Collectors").[22]
10	"Lost Hearts"	Louise Hooper	Jay Franklin	August 5, 2022 (2022-08-05)
Morpheus interrupts the Corinthian's keynote speech to the serial killer convention, but the Corinthian shows Morpheus that Rose's power enables him to defend himself against his creator. Morpheus informs Rose of the great danger she poses to the waking world, prompting Rose to temporarily restore the Dreaming and allowing Morpheus to unmake the Corinthian. Morpheus punishes the convention attendees with clarity about their crimes, allowing Rose and Jed to leave unharmed. That night, Rose confronts Morpheus in the Dreaming. Rose is ready to sacrifice herself to save her friends and brother, but Unity joins them in the Dreaming and convinces Rose to transfer the Vortex into her, allowing Morpheus to end her life. Morpheus realizes that Desire impregnated Unity to pass the Vortex to her descendant, in an attempt to have Morpheus spill family blood. Morpheus confronts Desire, warning them against further schemes. Morpheus remakes Gault as a good dream, and endeavors to act as a more benevolent ruler of the Dreaming. In the waking world, Lyta gives birth to a son, and moves with Rose, Jed, and Hal back to New Jersey. After being reproached by the Dukes of Hell, Lucifer ponders revenge on Morpheus. Adapted in part from The Sandman #14 ("Collectors")[22] and #16 ("Lost Hearts").[23]
11	"Dream of a Thousand Cats"	Hisko Hulsing	Catherine Smyth-McMullen	August 19, 2022 (2022-08-19)
	"Calliope"	Louise Hooper	Catherine Smyth-McMullen	August 19, 2022 (2022-08-19)
Late one night, a Siamese cat holds a gathering of other cats to tell her story about her encounter with Morpheus. A long time ago, she met a tomcat with whom she gave birth to a litter of mixed-breed kittens. This displeased her owners, who took the kittens and threw them into a river, traumatizing the Siamese cat. In desperation, the cat dreamed of meeting Morpheus, in the form of a black cat, and begged him for a solution. Morpheus presented her with a parallel universe in which cats were the dominant species over humans until the humans fought back by dreaming, recreating reality and turning their masters into the cats that mankind sees them as today. Upon finishing her story, the Siamese cat urges the other cats to perform the same enlightenment so that they may reclaim their status as the rulers of the earth. Struggling author Richard Madoc visits Erasmus Fry, an elderly former writer who has imprisoned a Greek muse named Calliope in his house. Fry transfers ownership of Calliope to Madoc, who discovers that by raping her, he receives inspiration. He does this more than once, despite his promises, until it becomes obvious he never intends to let her go. Calliope sends a desperate plea to Morpheus, her former husband, whom she has not seen since the tragic death of their son Orpheus. Upon receiving her plea and learning what has happened to her, Morpheus becomes enraged and confronts Madoc. When he refuses to release Calliope, Morpheus punishes Madoc with an uncontrollable stream of ideas. Madoc soon does free Calliope, who asks Morpheus to lift his curse from Madoc. Morpheus does so, but Madoc finds himself unable to remember Calliope, Morpheus or any of his ideas. Calliope vows to make sure that what happened to her doesn't happen to her sister Muses. She and Morpheus share a tender goodbye as she expresses the hope that sometime in the future, she can visit him in his realm and they'll be able to grieve their son properly. Adapted from The Sandman #18 ("Dream of a Thousand Cats") and #17 ("Calliope").[24]

Production

Development

As a film

Attempts to adapt The Sandman, an American comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics from 1989 to 1996, had languished in development hell since the 1990s.^[25] Inquisitr wrote that "Sandman's nature as a comic has been a very unique and life-changing experience for many and that made it very difficult and challenging to translate into the small and big screens."^[26]

Gaiman was first asked about a film adaptation by DC's corporate sibling Warner Bros. in 1991, an offer to which he was apprehensive.^[5] Development on a film adaptation began in 1996,^[26] with Roger Avary attached to direct and Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio writing the script. Elliot and Rossio's script merged the first two Sandman storylines, Preludes & Nocturnes and The Doll's House, into a single story. While Gaiman enjoyed the script, Avary was fired due to creative issues with executive producer Jon Peters.^[5] Following this, William Farmer wrote a screenplay in 1998, which Gaiman did not like and called it "not only the worst Sandman script I've ever seen, but quite easily the worst script I've ever read."^[26] His script featured radical differences from the source material, such as casting Dream as a villain and making him Lucifer Morningstar's brother.^[5]

After reading Farmer's script, Gaiman became doubtful that The Sandman would be adapted to film. In 2007, he remarked that he would "rather see no Sandman movie made than a bad Sandman movie", but added that he "[felt] like the time for a Sandman movie is coming soon. We need someone who has the same obsession with the source material as Peter Jackson had with Lord of the Rings or Sam Raimi had with Spider-Man."^[26] He said that he could see Terry Gilliam directing the adaptation: "I would always give anything to Terry Gilliam, forever, so if Terry Gilliam ever wants to do Sandman then as far as I'm concerned Terry Gilliam should do Sandman."^[27] In 2013, DC Entertainment president Diane Nelson said that a Sandman film was a project she considered a priority, considering the prospect as rich as the Harry Potter universe.^[28]

David S. Goyer, who had worked on the Dark Knight Trilogy,^[5] pitched a Sandman adaptation to Warner Bros. in 2013,^[29] and by February 2014 was set to produce the film alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gaiman, with Jack Thorne writing. Warner Bros. planned for Gordon-Levitt to star and possibly direct.^[30] The film was set to be produced by New Line Cinema as part of a slate of films based on properties published under DC's Vertigo imprint, separate from the DC Extended Universe.^[31][a] Eric Heisserer was hired to rewrite the film's script in March 2016;^[32] immediately afterwards, Gordon-Levitt departed due to disagreements with Warner Bros. over the creative direction of the film.^[33] The following November, Heisserer turned in his draft but departed, stating that the project should be an HBO series instead of a film: "I … came to the conclusion that the best version of this property exists as an HBO series or limited series, not as a feature film, not even as a trilogy. The structure of the feature film really doesn't mesh with this."^[34]

Transition to television

Due to the prolonged development period of the film, in 2010 DC Entertainment shifted focus onto developing a television adaptation. Film director James Mangold pitched a series concept to HBO while consulting with Gaiman on an unofficial basis, but did not materialize due to a "political turf war at WB".^[35] It was reported in September 2010 that Warner Bros. Television was licensing the rights to produce a TV series, and that Supernatural creator Eric Kripke was their preferred candidate to adapt the saga.^[5][36] Gaiman later revealed that he disapproved of Kripke's take, and development on the television adaptation halted because Goyer's film was progressing smoothly.^[5]

Around 2018, Gaiman was working on the television adaption of Good Omens, the book he had co-written with Terry Pratchett, when Goyer approached him again about a television adaption of The Sandman. By that point, Goyer had several additional successful screenplays including The Dark Knight trilogy. Goyer connected Gaiman to screenwriter Allan Heinberg, a fan of Gaiman's work. While Heinberg initially refused his offer to work on the series as he initially perceived it as "unfilmable", Goyer managed to convince him to do so as he was planning to adapt the comics as a series. Heinberg became the showrunner and executive producer, and collaborated with Gaiman, who was also an executive producer, while creating the series.^[37]

In June 2019, Netflix signed a deal with Warner Bros. to produce the series and gave it an order of eleven episodes,^[25] the first ten of which were initially released together,^[38] and the eleventh as a bonus episode.^[24][39] According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warner Bros. pitched the series to multiple networks—including HBO, which declined to move ahead with it due to its massive budget. Netflix "snapped it up" as part of its attempts to obtain big intellectual properties and attract subscribers.^[25] The series was developed by Gaiman, Goyer, and Allan Heinberg, who also serve as executive producers.^[40][41][42] Gaiman said he would be more involved than he was with the 2017–2021 television adaptation of his American Gods (2001), but less than he was with the 2019 adaptation of Good Omens (1990).^[5]

Writing

The creative team sought to faithfully adapt the source material, beginning with the first season adapting Preludes & Nocturnes, The Doll's House,^[b] and the first two issues of Dream Country.^{[5][9][44][24]} The creators made significant narrative changes from the source material with Gaiman's approval, and also received feedback while creating the sets, with Heinberg saying "everything gets Neil’s eyes and his feedback". The team was inspired by the art from the comics, with the props and sets being created to be faithful to the comics. The series features changes intended to modernize the source material for a contemporary audience. For example, it begins in 2021 rather than 1989, with Dream now having been imprisoned for 105 years instead of 75 years. Other characters were similarly updated, as "... if we were creating this character now, what gender would the character be? ... who would they be? What would they be doing?".^[44][45] Changes included expanding the role of The Corinthian into being the Big Bad for the first season, altering various characters and storylines, and removing references to other DC Comics characters such as Martian Manhunter and Mister Miracle. John Dee was not depicted as Doctor Destiny and John Constantine was reimagined as a female character, Joanna Constantine. Gaiman opted to remove references to the DC Universe as the overall Sandman series moved away from the initial ties with the DC Universe, as well as avoid potential implications that the series would tie into other DC Comics adaptions in the future.^[44][46] The role of Matthew was also expanded in the series for Morpheus to have someone communicate his thoughts with, which was depicted as thought bubbles in the comics and impractical to do in live-action.^[44] However, Gaiman also felt that upon re-reading the comics, he "in a weird way did all the work" as he thought the comics "had kind of been rather ahead of its time", with Heinberg adding "The Sandman comics were leagues ahead of everybody in the late '80s in terms of the depiction of women, race, sexuality and gender". He also said "we knew we wanted to expand the world and make some changes" while creating the series.^[44][47]

Goyer, Heinberg, and Gaiman met at Gaiman's house to discuss the first season, in which they came up with the story for the first episode in two days. They often discussed "Why is it essential that we tell the story of The Sandman right now?", with Heinberg stating that the answer "has informed every creative decision we’ve made since: The Sandman is an exploration of what it means to be human. To be mortal and therefore vulnerable. Capable of being hurt, but also capable of loving and being loved. The Sandman is the story of an honorable, arrogant king who slowly—very slowly—learns how to love. How to be a loving friend, a loving brother, a loving father."^[37] Goyer summarized the series as "a story about a god who, over the course of the story, sheds his godhood and becomes mortal and learns what it means to be mortal ... It’s a story about a really fucked-up dysfunctional family. The Endless, even though they are godlike beings, they all have their petty squabbles. Some of them hate each other. Some of them love each other. It’s just that when they have fights, entire worlds and universes suffer" and called it a melodrama. He opted to include the standalone issues in the series in which Morpheus did not appear, as he felt that it was "One of the things that’s wonderful about Sandman" and felt those issues did not involve Morpheus, but was set in that world. He added that Morpheus was sometimes a protagonist and catalyst for events in the series. He described Morpheus as a character who "cares about humanity in the abstract, but not in the specific". Gaiman also felt that the Sleeping Sickness epidemic in the series was "incredibly apt" due to "some incredibly dreamlike moments because we were shooting during a pandemic".^[48]

In an interview for Den of Geek, the creators of the series indicated that "Work on writing a second season of The Sandman has already begun".^[49]

Casting

Patton Oswalt, a longtime Sandman fan, was the first actor who was cast in the series; he was cast as the voice of Matthew the Raven the day before The Sandman was pitched to Netflix.^[9] In September 2020, Tom Sturridge entered negotiations to portray Dream, after screen testing alongside Tom York and Colin Morgan,^[50] while Liam Hemsworth and Dacre Montgomery were under consideration for the role of the Corinthian.^[51] Casting news was kept tightly under wraps and was not publicly released when the first season began filming.^[52] According to Boyd Holbrook, the casting process was long, recalling that he auditioned around January 2020 but did not receive any further information until September.^[53] In January 2021, Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Vivienne Acheampong, Holbrook, Charles Dance, Asim Chaudhry, and Sanjeev Bhaskar were announced to be starring in the series.^[54] Sturridge had been unfamiliar with the source material but became a devoted fan after he was cast.^[55]

In May 2021, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Mason Alexander Park, Donna Preston, Jenna Coleman, Niamh Walsh, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, Kyo Ra, Stephen Fry, Razane Jammal, Sandra James Young, and Oswalt were added to the cast.^[8] The second casting announcement was met with backlash from a section of the Sandman fanbase, with some criticizing the casting of black actors, like Howell-Baptiste as Death, as characters traditionally depicted as white in the comics.^[56][57] Mehrul Bari of The Daily Star felt that while the backlash against the casting announcement was clearly "rooted in flagrant phobias", some of the casting choices seemed like "stunt casting" that continued tokenism in Netflix productions and comic book adaptations.^[57] For example, Bari noted that aside from Death, the rest of the Endless, including Dream, were still played by white actors.^[57] Gaiman dismissed the backlash and suggested that fans critical of casting the non-binary actor Park as Desire had not actually read the Sandman comics (in which Desire is androgynous).^[56]

Filming

The series was originally to begin filming towards the end of May 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[45] In September 2020, Gaiman revealed on his Twitter that filming was expected to begin in October "lockdown permitting".^[58] Filming commenced on October 15, 2020.^[59] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, filming for the first season was limited to the United Kingdom.^[60] Holbrook began shooting his scenes in December 2020. Production for the first season was expected to last until June 2021.^[53] In August 2021, Gaiman revealed on his Tumblr account that the first season had wrapped filming.^[61]

Post-production

The comic series' cover artist, Dave McKean, came out of retirement to design the end-credits sequences for each episode.^[55]

Release

The series was released on August 5, 2022,^[62] and consists of ten episodes.^[38] An eleventh episode was released on August 19 as a "two-part story collection".^[24][39]

Marketing

Gaiman, Heinberg, and the cast promoted the series at the San Diego Comic-Con in July 2022, where an official trailer debuted.^[55] Charles Pulliam-Moore of The Verge felt the trailer confirmed the series would retain the comic's "focus on the macabre" and featured "a sense of scale... that's hopefully going to be consistent throughout the show".^[63]

Reception

Audience viewership

The Sandman ranked at number one globally on Netflix's Top 10 titles three days after its release with 69.5 million hours viewed.^[64] In its first full week of streaming, The Sandman remained the most-watched show on Netflix's weekly Top 10 list of the most-watched TV shows, with 127.5 million hours viewed between August 8–14.^[65] The Sandman remained the most-watched English-language TV show on Netflix for the third time in a row between August 15-21.^[66] The show had been watched over 328 million hours in total by August 28.^[67]

Critical response

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 87% with an average rating of 7.6/10, based on 97 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "While it may hold few surprises for fans of the source material, The Sandman's first season satisfyingly adapts an allegedly unfilmable classic."^[68] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[69]

Amelia Emberwing of IGN gave a score of 9 out 10, praising the cast performances, particularly Sturridge's. She also praised the production values of the series, and felt that the series adapted its source material well, though was unsure if viewers who were unfamiliar with the source material would enjoy the series.^[70] The Guardian's Rebecca Nicholson gave it a four out of five stars and summarized it as "transportive, playful at times, and certainly grand." She also praised the performances, their delivery of dialogue, its faithfulness to source material, and singled out the episode "24/7" as one of the best episodes of the year, though she expressed concerns as to how fans unfamiliar with the source material would enjoy the series.^[71] Judy Berman of Time also gave a positive review, praising its production design and casting, while also highlighting the standalone episodes, calling the series "easily one of the best small-screen comic adaptations ever made."^[72] Similarly, Glen Weldon of NPR also gave a positive review, highlighting its accuracy to the source material and felt that its changes improved the narrative of the series, writing "the changes introduced into the adaptation offer intriguing new variations on now-familiar themes without erasing what we love". He also praised its visuals and the performances, especially Sturridge's, whom he felt "captures the competing aspects of Morpheus that are forever roiling under his impassive surface — his haughtiness, his wounded vulnerability; his stiffness, his longing for connection. Also, his brittle anger, his ability to — almost, not quite, but almost — laugh at himself".^[73] Iana Murray writing for GQ Magazine praised David Thewlis for his performance and opined that his portrayal of John Burgess, "delivers perhaps the show's standout performance."^[74] At Variety, Caroline Framke praised the narrative structure of the series and story, writing that it "metes out its material with an economical approach (no episode runs over 54 minutes)", but criticized some of the visual effects and use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and felt it did not replicate the art from the comics. However, she did state that the episode "24/7" had the best visuals in the series.^[75]

In a mixed review, Karama Horne of TheWrap called the series "visually stunning" and further praised its costumes, sound design, and the cast performances, while criticizing its pacing and noting that its "anthology style of storytelling" caused the plot to suffer, especially towards the season's end.^[76] Giving the series a B- grade, Sam Barsanti of The A.V. Club called The Sandman a "generic fantasy series" that is too faithful to its source material, "doing what is essentially the bare minimum in replicating an acclaimed work of art and transferring it into a different medium", though he praised some of the performances.^[77] CNN's Brian Lowry felt that the performances were "blunted by the narrative structure and dream-like storytelling". He gave a more critical review, praising its visuals, but noting the faithfulness to the source material as both a good and bad thing. He said that the "meticulous detail in replicating the look and tone [of the comic] doesn't create much emotional investment", noting the "episodic" chapters in the series which he thought negatively affected its pacing, but also felt that it would satisfy fans familiar with the source material.^[78] Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Angie Han also noted its faithfulness to source material, and thought the series "prioritizes fidelity over creativity" which she thought "makes for a decent echo of the comics — but it stops well short of becoming a classic in its own right". She was mixed towards the changes in the series, saying they were "not too bad, and sometimes they're good", and praised the episode "The Sound of Her Wings" as the best in the series. She summarized her thoughts on the series by writing "it’s difficult not to notice that for a series all about the power of dreams to spark creativity, to inspire our best selves or our worst ones, to change the course of a life or a universe, The Sandman itself feels a bit short on imagination".^[79] In a negative review, Kelly Lawler of USA Today gave the series 1.5 out of 4 stars, calling the first season "a total failure", criticizing its pacing and its story, which she felt was "a pile of stories and moods randomly tossed on top of each other".^[80]

Notes

References

External links

• The Sandman at IMDb 
• The Sandman on Netflix