For decades, The Sandman creator Neil Gaiman has shot down bad live-action adaptations of his seminal comic, awaiting the perfect pitch to come along. And in 2019, Netflix announced their super-ambitious adaptation on the “unfilmable” graphic novel. Their ambition is vindicated: Per The Wrap, The Sandman is currently the biggest streaming show on the planet. If that doesn’t merit a renewal, I don’t know what does.
The Sandman has been the #1 show on Netflix for three consecutive weeks at this point. In the last week (August 15-21) the series has been viewed for 77,240,000 hours, taking its overall total up to an astounding 274,220,000 hours. Moreover, the drop of viewership in week three was around 40%; while that doesn’t sound great, it’s actually really impressive for a new show.
If we turn to data provided by analytics firm Parrot Analytics, things look even more impressive. By their metrics, The Sandman is seeing “23.8 times the demand of the average series” since its premiere earlier this month. In second place over that same time period is Obi-Wan Kenobi (21.1x) and third is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (19.6x). It’s nice to see the top three shows all come from different providers: Netflix, Disney+ and Paramount+.
This all looks like good news for a renewal, although Netflix has developed a reputation recently for cancelling shows out of hand; look no further than Cowboy Bebop, which got the axe shortly after it premiered this year. That said, Netfix’s head of scripted series, Peter Friedlander, is confident that they can tell more of The Sandman. “We’re putting all of our chips in the middle,” he told Variety. “We really feel like this is an opportunity to tell a dark fantasy story that is completely different from anything else in the marketplace right now. We’re coming in bold.”
Neil Gaiman urges everyone to watch Sandman
Okay, given that Neil Gaiman is the creator of The Sandman, it’d be a little strange if he didn’t tell everyone to watch it. But with fans begging for a renewal, he keeps repeating himself. In order to get more seasons, The Sandman has to perform really well. So much that the figures we’ve seen so far still may not be enough. Yikes.
Because Sandman is a really expensive show. 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. https://t.co/m7VusGL2rW
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) August 21, 2022
Please watch The Sandman if you haven’t already. And if you have seen it, watch it again. We desperately need another season. There’s still so much more story to be told, with potential for up to five seasons.
The Sandman is currently streaming on Netflix.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels