About The Sandman TV Series.
The Sandman is based on the 1989–1996 comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. The series was developed by Allan Heinberg for the streaming service Netflix—with Heinberg, Gaiman, and David S. Goyer serving as executive producers—and is being produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television.
Like the comic, The Sandman tells the story of Dream, the titular Sandman. It stars Tom Sturridge as Dream, with Gwendoline Christie (as Lucifer), Vivienne Acheampong (as Lucienne), Boyd Holbrook (as The Corinthian), Charles Dance, Kirby Howell-Baptiste (as Death), David Thewlis (as John Dee, aka Doctor Destiny), Asim Chaudhry (as Abel), and Sanjeev Bhaskar (as Cain) in supporting roles.
Efforts to adapt The Sandman to film began in 1991 and floundered in development hell for many years. In 2013, Goyer pitched a film adaptation of the series to Warner Bros. Goyer and Gaiman were set to produce alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who was planned to star and possibly direct. However, Gordon-Levitt exited due to creative differences in 2016. Due to the prolonged development of the film, Warner Bros. shifted its focus to television. Netflix signed a deal to produce the series in June 2019, and filming began in October 2020.
Here is the series’ official synopsis:
“A rich blend of modern myth and dark fantasy in which contemporary fiction, historical drama and legend are seamlessly interwoven, The Sandman follows the people and places affected by Morpheus, the Dream King, as he mends the cosmic — and human — mistakes he’s made during his vast existence.”
The Sandman TV Series watch – news, leaks, insider info, and more.
Netflix releases surprise bonus episode of The Sandman. August 19, 2022
“A Dream of A Thousand Cats/Calliope,” a brand new, surprise bonus episode of “The Sandman,” featuring guest stars Sandra Oh, Michael Shannon, James McAvoy, David Tennant, the great Derek Jacobi, and many more. Like “The Sound of Her Wings” before it, “A Dream of A Thousand Cats/Calliope” combines two different “The Sandman” comic book stories for a single-episode story.
“Calliope,” directed by Louise Hooper and based on “The Sandman” issue #17, follows Richard Madoc, a one hit wonder novelist crippled by writer’s block who is offered a guaranteed cure — for a sickening and cruel price.
“A Dream of a Thousand Cats,” directed by Hisko Hulsing and based on “The Sandman” issue #18, tells the story of a wandering feline prophet with a startling message: Once, the world was ruled by cats, with humans their playthings and prey, until one day humans dreamed the current world into existence.
And the reviews are in. The Sandman is a Hit! August 15, 2022
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 86% with an average rating of 7.6/10, based on 94 critic reviews. The website’s critics consensus reads, “While it may hold few surprises for fans of the source material, The Sandman’s first season satisfyingly adapts an allegedly unfilmable classic.” Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 66 out of 100 based on 27 reviews, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.
The Sandman has enjoyed a massive couple of weeks on Netflix. The first couple of days on the service were enough to make the acclaimed new series the most-watched show on Netflix in its opening weekend. From August 1st to August 7th, The Sandman was streamed for a total of 69.5 million hours. From August 8th to August 14th, The Sandman was viewed for a whopping 127.5 million hours.
Netflix gives us a first look at Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer. October 16, 2021
During DC Fandome, Netflix revealed the first official look at Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) as Lucifer. In one photo we have Christie sporting a calm, devilish look while the other shows ominous-looking claws at the end of her wings.
The reveal was followed by this tweet:
Sandman First Look and new character posters released by Death actor Kirby Howell-Baptiste. September 25, 2021
Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who plays Death in the upcoming The Sandman TV Series, release not just a first look at the film, but new character posters too, giving us the official look at the main character, Dream.
Check out the new character posters in The Sandman pictorial gallery below.
The Sandman has finished principal photography. August 5, 2021
Neil Gaiman confirmed that Netflix’s The Sandman series has completed filming. He was asked for a status update on Tumblr to which he responded:
“Hmm. Well, we’ve finished principal photography on Season 1, and now we all have to be patient while VFX and suchlike are done, music is written and recorded, and so on. No, I don’t know any release dates, or even when the trailer will be released.
It feels like Sandman. I don’t know if that means that people who watch TV will like it-although I hope they will-but I suspect that if you like Sandman and you want to see it on the screen then you’ll also like this. (I also think Tom Sturridge will be a star after season on of Sandman drops).”
First look at The Sandman TV series arrives via short featurette from Neil Gaiman (July 16, 2021).
We’re still waiting for our first images and trailer from Netflix’s highly anticipated adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s visionary work of fantasy, The Sandman, but the streamer gave fans their first taste of what we’re in for today with a new behind the scenes video featuring Gaiman, as well as cast members Tom Sturridge and Gwendoline Christie. While the sneak peek didn’t include any footage from the series, it did give us a look at some of the show’s sets and props.
Neil Gaiman reviews story boards from Netflix’s The Sandman 
Clapperboard from Netflix’s The Sandman TV series 
Film clip from the set of Netflix’s The Sandman TV series 
Film clip from the set of Netflix’s The Sandman TV series 
Film clip from the set of Netflix’s The Sandman TV series 
Film clip from the set of Netflix’s The Sandman TV series 
Film clip from the set of Netflix’s The Sandman TV series
Netflix reveals more cast from The Sandman (May 26, 2021).
Netflix News page included a writeup from Neil Gaiman regarding the cast for The Sandman.
“You all know that Tom Sturridge (he/him) is Dream of the Endless, Gwendolyn Christie (she/her) is Lucifer, Sanjeev Bhaskar (he/him) and Asim Chaudhry (he/him) are Cain and Abel, Charles Dance (he/him) is Roderick Burgess, Vivienne Acheampong (she/her) is Lucienne, and Boyd Holbrook (he/him) is The Corinthian.
But there are more parts to be announced. And I thought it would be fun to tell you about some of them, and the thinking behind them.
DEATH – Dream’s wiser, nicer, and much more sensible sister. Significantly harder to cast than you might imagine (well, than I imagined, anyway). Hundreds of talented women from all around the planet auditioned, and they were brilliant, and none of them were right. Someone who could speak the truth to Dream, on the one hand, but also be the person you’d want to meet when your life was done on the other. And then we saw Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s (she/her) audition and we knew we had our Death.
DESIRE – Dream’s sibling and everything you want, whatever you want and whoever you are. Desire is also trouble for Dream. Families are complicated. We had barely started looking when Mason Alexander Park (they/them) reached out on Twitter, and threw their hat into the ring. We were thrilled when they got the part.
DESPAIR – Desire’s twin, Dream’s sister. She is the moment when all hope is gone, the bleakest of the Endless. Donna Preston (she/her) will be playing her, and her performance is chilling and sad. You feel her pain.
JOHANNA CONSTANTINE – Eighteenth Century occult adventuress, John Constantine’s great-great-great grandmother. This Sandman character became so popular that she even had her own spin-off series. I created her to fill the role that John Constantine does in the past. When we broke down the first season, given that we knew that we would be encountering Johanna in the past, we wondered what would happen if we met a version of her in the present as well. We tried it and the script was sparkier, feistier, and in some ways even more fun. So having written her, we just had to cast her. Jenna Coleman (she/her) gave us the Johanna of our dreams – tough, brilliant, tricky, haunted and probably doomed.
ETHEL CRIPPS – Roderick Burgess’s love, John Dee’s mother, is a small but vital role in the comics, but she became more important as we told our story. In the 1920s and 30s, she is played by Niamh Walsh (she/her): a betrayed and determined young woman seeking to survive. In the present day, now a woman of a hundred identities and a thousand lies, she’s played by the brilliant Joely Richardson (she/her).
JOHN DEE – Ethel’s son is dangerous. He was driven mad, long ago. Now he’s out and on a quest for Truth that may destroy the world. We needed an actor who could break your heart and keep your sympathy while taking you into the darkest places. We were lucky that David Thewlis (he/him) took the part.
Now we’re shooting The Doll’s House, the second big Sandman storyline. It’s the story of:
ROSE WALKER – a young woman on a desperate search for her missing brother, who finds a family she didn’t know that she had, and a connection to Dream that neither of them can escape. We needed someone young who could make you care as she ventures into some very dangerous places. Boyd Holbrook’s Corinthian is waiting for her, after all. Kyo Ra (she/her) achieves that as Rose.
LYTA HALL – Rose’s friend, a young widow mourning her husband Hector. Rose doesn’t know that Hector has started showing up in Lyta’s dreams, though. Or that strange things are happening. Razane Jammal (she/her) is Lyta, and she’s terrific.
UNITY KINKAID – Heiress, Rose’s mysterious benefactor. She has spent a century asleep. Now she’s awake, having missed out on her life. She’s played by Sandra James-Young (she/her).
GILBERT – Rose Walker’s debonair protector. A dab hand with a paradox and a sword cane. Stephen Fry (he/him) is a National Treasure, and we forget sometimes that he’s also a remarkable actor. Seeing him in costume and make up on the dailies made me blink: it was as if the comic had come to life.
MATTHEW – Dream’s trusted emissary. A raven. I expected our animals to be CGI, and was both taken aback and thrilled when the dailies started coming in, and there was Dream talking to… well, a raven. But ravens don’t really talk. The question was, could we find an actor who could make you care about a dead person who was now a bird in the Dreaming – one who isn’t certain what’s going on, or whether any of this is a good idea? And could we find a voice performer who was also the kind of Sandman fan who used to stand in line to get his Sandman comics signed? The answer was, we could if we asked Patton Oswalt (he/him). And Patton was the first person we asked, and the first person we cast, the day before we pitched The Sandman to Netflix.”
Netflix teases some of the cast from The Sandman (January 28, 2021).
Netflix today revealed some of the cast for The Sandman in a series of Tweets.
It Begins… TOM STURRIDGE is DREAM, Lord of the Dreaming. (1/6)
Dream will be joined by VIVIENNE ACHEAMPONG as LUCIENNE, chief librarian and trusted guardian of Dream’s realm. (2/6)
CHARLES DANCE is RODERICK BURGESS, Charlatan, blackmailer and magician. (3/6)
ASIM CHAUDHRY is ABEL & SANJEEV BHASKAR is CAIN, The first victim and the first predator. (4/6)
BOYD HOLBROOK is THE CORINTHIAN, escaped nightmare. (5/6)
More news from The Sandman soon. But for now, sweet dreams, my lovelies. (6/6)
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In-Article Image Credits
Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer in Netflix Sandman via NetflixThe Sandman TV series logo via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
Film clip from the set of Netflix's The Sandman TV series via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
Film clip from the set of Netflix's The Sandman TV series via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
Film clip from the set of Netflix's The Sandman TV series via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
Film clip from the set of Netflix's The Sandman TV series via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
Film clip from the set of Netflix's The Sandman TV series via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
Clapperboard from Netflix's The Sandman TV series via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
Neil Gaiman reviews story boards from Netflix's The Sandman via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
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The Sandman TV series logo via Netflix with usage type - Editorial use (Fair Use)
