Courtesy of Netflix
'The Sandman,' Netflix's adaptation of Neil Garman's widely acclaimed comic book series, still has yet to be renewed for a second season. That's after it topped Netflix's charts for more than a month. Fans are scared. Netflix has a long history of canning its most successful shows. They've left piles of corpses in their wake, including the beloved 'Dark Crystal.' If they can hack away at a Jim Henson classic, there's no telling what they'll do.
On August 24, Neil Gaiman posted on Twitter that the show's chances of renewal are 'Getting higher every day...' We don't really know what goes on behind the scenes, but this could be a good sign. On August 17, it was reported that Parrot Analytics, a well-known entertainment data site, listed 'The Sandman' as the most popular show in streaming worldwide. At the time of writing this, it is currently 19.9X more popular than the average show. This sounds compelling, but we have to remember this is Netflix we're talking about. They can be ruthless when it comes to renewals. Neil Gaiman himself has made it clear that they have a lot of hurdles to pass if they want the show to perform well enough to be renewed. On Aug 21, he wrote, 'Yes, we've been the top show in the world for the past two weeks. That may still not be enough.'
Courtesy of Netflix
On August 19, Netflix dropped a bombshell on fans, who have been anxiously refreshing their browsers waiting for signs of hope. They released a surprise episode of the series titled, 'Chapter 11: Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope.' The episode is a two-part standalone--part animation, part live-action--telling the story of a Muse and a group of telepathic cats. Many believed that it was a sign that Netflix was seriously considering a second season, but what they didn't realize was that 'The Sandman' was originally meant to have 11 episodes. In fact, Neil Gaiman told Variety that he almost gave away the secret, letting the cat out of the bag so to speak. It makes sense considering the amount of time that went into making the series. There's plenty of CGI in all of the episodes, and animation certainly can't be pulled out of a hat.
Courtesy of Netflix
While speaking with Den of Geek in an interview released July 30, executive producer David S. Goyer confirmed that the season 2 scripts were already being written. The season will encompass the comic's Season of Mist storyline, focusing on Lucifer. In an interview with Radio Times, Neil Gaiman confirmed that it will also contain stories from Dream Country and A Game of You. Whether or not they will receive an adaptation remains to be seen, but fans can always fall back on the original material.