The Sandman crushed it in the ratings—Netflix, please renew this show

If you like sci-fi and fantasy TV, you’re living in an age of riches right now. House of the Dragon has beaten the odds and began its life on HBO about where its predecessor Game of Thrones left off: as a cultural phenomenon. Stranger Things 4 was all anyone could talk about for a while, Amazon has spent a historic amount of money bringing to life The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and Netflix did the impossible and adapted Neil Gaiman’s high concept comic The Sandman, and did it in a way that both pleased diehard fans and attracted new ones.

All but one of those shows is already guaranteed to be coming back for a new season. But we’ve heard nothing about a second season of The Sandman, which upsets me, since I’m a big fan of the comic, loved the show, and saw it catch on among audiences. The thing occupied the number one spot for several weeks, and even now is in the top 10 over a month after its release on August 5. I know the show is expensive to make, but obviously it found an audience; what more to do you want, Netflix? Do you want me to draw you a diagram? Because I will.

Maybe this will convince you: Nielsen — an analytics company that’s been the most respected player in the game for decades — released its streaming numbers for the week of August 8 to 14, per Deadline. The Sandman, which came out on August 5, handily beat the competition. Take a look at the top 10:

1. The Sandman (Netflix) – 11 episodes, 1.386 billion minutes of streaming
2. Uncharted (Netflix) – film, 1.185B min.
3. Stranger Things (Netflix) – 34 episodes, 1.123B min.
4. Day Shift (Netflix) – film, 982M min.
5. Virgin River (Netflix) – 42 eps., 934M min.
6. Locke & Key (Netflix) – 28 eps., 919M min.
7. Bluey (Disney+) – 112 eps., 917M min.
8. NCIS (Netflix) – 354 eps., 764M min.
9. Cocomelon (Netflix) – 18 eps., 702M min.
10. Lightyear (Disney+) – film, 700M min.

Wherein I beg Netflix to renew The Sandman for a second season

True, we already knew that The Sandman was popular, but seeing it this high in the Nielsen ratings is like getting a royal seal of approval, since they take their time and always put out reliable numbers (as opposed to the streaming services self-reporting stuff, which you can never be entirely sure about).

Also, not that this really matters, but from August 8 to 14, there were only 10 episodes of The Sandman available; the 11th wasn’t released until later, which is even more impressive, right? Imagine how many more minutes there would have been with an extra episode available from the jump.

So basically, Netflix, buddy, please please please renew The Sandman. The audience is there, the material is excellent, and there’s a ton of it left; the first two seasons adapt the first two volumes of Gaiman’s comic, with eight left to go. Do it for me, right?

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