Netflix just renewed one of its best new shows — Sandman season 2 is coming

(L to R) Tom Sturridge as Dream, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, on a bench, in The Sandman
(Image credit: Netflix)

There’s some good news for any fans of The Sandman over on Netflix. Despite some uncertainty about whether the show would be renewed, Netflix has finally made a decision and renewed the show for that all-important second season (opens in new tab).

While The Sandman proved itself to be popular, hanging around in the Netflix top 10 for several weeks after release, the renewal was never a sure thing. Showrunner Neil Gaiman (opens in new tab), writer of the original Sandman comics, said Netflix was struggling to make a decision one way or the other because people weren’t binge-watching the show

See more

So while people were watching the show in great numbers, they were taking their time with it. The amount of early binge-watching has always been one of Netflix’s key metrics, and show-creators have pointed out that binged shows appear more popular to the Netflix decision-maker; Gaiman is one of them (opens in new tab).

See more

It’s unclear when Sandman’s second season will air, how many episodes there will be or who might be joining the cast. However, The Sandman Twitter account has been teasing some of Dream’s future adventures, including a return to Hell and a “family meal." 

That means season 2 could feature more of The Endless, and the first appearances of Destiny and Delirium. Not destruction, though. We may not see him until season 3 or possibly even season 4.

See more

As for what happens beyond the second season, we don’t know, and presumably neither does Netflix. The streamer’s reputation for being very cancel-happy doesn’t bode well for The Sandman’s future, and Gaiman has noted (opens in new tab) that “Sandman is a really expensive show.”

However, Gaiman has also revealed there are safeguards (opens in new tab), should the show be cancelled too early, which includes migrating to a totally different network (opens in new tab). And while he freely admits that those safeguards were developed in 2019, and may now be out of date, it’s still a little spark of hope. As we saw in Dream’s battle with Lucifer, hope is a powerful thing.

But we needn’t worry about that for now. Sandman is coming back for a second season, and that’s news that should be celebrated.

The Sandman's full 11-episode first season is available on Netflix right now. Multiple Tom's Guide writers enjoyed watching it, so it's well worth checking out if you haven't done already.

Tom Pritchard
Automotive Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's Automotive Editor, which means he can usually be found knee deep in stats the latest and best electric cars, or checking out some sort of driving gadget. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining that Ikea won’t let him buy the stuff he really needs online.