The Netflix series “The Sandman,” an adaptation of the famous fantasy comic series written by Neil Gaiman, will end after the upcoming season 2. This may come as a surprise to some fans, as the massive 10-volume comic series sure seemed like it’d need more than two seasons to wrap everything up. But according to Variety, who broke the news of the show’s cancellation, Netflix insiders are claiming they planned to end the show with season 2 (airing later this year) for awhile now:
“Sources close to ‘The Sandman’ were already telling Variety the pricey series, produced by Warner Bros. Television for Netflix, was expected to end with its second season when production was underway in summer 2023. The reveal of Season 2 characters that were cast in May 2024 further indicated the series was jumping to the end of the comics much sooner than fans anticipated.”
There is some truth to that: The news that season 2 would include characters like Ruby, who didn’t show up until volume 7 in the comics, certainly did surprise a lot of fans. It’s also true that “The Sandman” is an expensive show to make. That may be why Netflix waited two months after season 1 to finally greenlight season 2, despite the first season receiving strong viewership numbers.
However, given the unlikelihood that season 2 has the time to do justice to all of volumes 4 through 10 (and how season 1 didn’t even finish covering the first three volumes), it seems more likely that the show’s cancellation is the result of Neil Gaiman’s real-life actions. Gaiman was accused of sexual assault by five women in a July 2024 podcast series; in January 2025, New York Magazine published a more in-depth and harrowing account of Gaiman’s alleged acts of violent sexual assault and misconduct, some of which allegedly occurred while his son was in the room.
Most Neil Gaiman adaptations have been canceled or postponed
If the allegations against Gaiman are the real reason for Netflix canceling “The Sandman” before season 2 even airs, it would not be the first Gaiman-involved project to receive similar treatment. In October 2024, Amazon Prime Video announced that the planned “Good Omens” season 3 would now be condensed into a single 90-minute movie, with Gaiman no longer involved creatively with the project. It was a major change considering that Gaiman was billed as a creator, executive producer, and showrunner of the first two seasons.
In September 2024, Disney paused production of a movie adaptation for “The Graveyard Book,” a kid’s book published by Gaiman in 2008. On January 29 this year, a U.K. stage production of “Coraline,” based on Gaiman’s 2002 kids’ book of the same name, was scrapped entirely. The play’s production issued a statement alongside the announcement reading, “After careful consideration, we feel it would be impossible to continue in the context of the allegations against its original author.”
“The Sandman” showrunner Allan Heinberg, meanwhile, has maintained that the upcoming second season was intended to be its last. “‘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,” he told Variety on Friday. “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.”
