The Sandman

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Aug 5, 2022
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
6.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 273 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 148 out of 273
  2. Mixed: 51 out of 273
  3. Negative: 74 out of 273
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User Reviews

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  1. the12thman
    Aug 19, 2022
    3
    I wanted to enjoy this show, but the woke propaganda is too much to handle. Literally everyone is gay. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when it's done in such a pandering manor I can't watch. God damn shame, could've been great.
  2. GamingNinja
    Aug 29, 2022
    3
    had some great parts then it became unwatcheble with everyone being different ethnicity and gay (literally). and no dont play the racist/homophobic card. these things just simply break immersion.
  3. Mikepakione
    Aug 12, 2022
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Too much woke trash ruins this season, dream deez nuts. Cylkdjdhdydte5e536w626eysudusuausiaiaos white is bad … Expand
  4. Dat_Lad
    Aug 5, 2022
    3
    I had low expectations and I have not been let down. I am currently slogging through the third episode and, I may revisit this review, if I manage to finish the whole show.
    It is worth mentioning, that I am a massive Sandman comics fan and I have quite an emotional connection with the source material. The way it was „improved” has not irked me, cause it was exactly as one would expect in    I had low expectations and I have not been let down. I am currently slogging through the third episode and, I may revisit this review, if I manage to finish the whole show.
    It is worth mentioning, that I am a massive Sandman comics fan and I have quite an emotional connection with the source material. The way it was „improved” has not irked me, cause it was exactly as one would expect in the current year, given the company that has released the show. In a way, „predictable” is a very apt word for the show. It is a typical Netflix slop, wearing a skinsuit of its brilliant source material. There’s a lot of CGI, subwoofer sound effects and questionable casting choices. The dialogues are as one would predict in the current year, ticking all the boxes. The race and gender swaps are as one would predict in the current year, ticking all the boxes.

    The original comic storyline is relentlessly blended into a script that is both hectic and sluggish. The showrunners rush straight off the gate blending comic episodes one to five into just the first two episodes. The time saved on character development is spent on charmlessly introducing many altered characters. Anybody, who has seen more than one Netflix show, will easily recoginse them all. They are the typical cast of corporate archetypes, wearing some semblance of persons mentioned in the Sandman comics.
    The main character is played by an actor, who looks great on stills and handles well Morpheus’s aloofness, bar his gravitas. A pleasant stand-out so far is the Cain and Able’s actors, whose storyline follows the original well thus far and are as one would imagine them reading the comic. Rest of the characters are either ephemerae with little screen time, or charisma voids readng the Netflix script, not bothered with the setting all that much, Charles Dance, for example, belongs to the former cathegory. For an actor mentioned all over the promotional material, he gets less than five minutes of presence in the entire show leaving it with a whimper. Constantinette is the example of later. She is a token girlboss, damned be the setting. Her presence is justified by showing the original constantine as a drunk, bumbling loser laying on the floor in stupor. She also puts out a stereotypical cockney accent, has a gun and has a house full of artifacts pertaining to daemons, so she is THE Constantine in the show. Also, as opposed to the comic Constantine, she has no moments of weakness or levity. She is always coldly in total control of every situation she is in.
    As said previously - predictable.
    She is one of many swapped characters, and I can only expect such quality in the future ones too, would I decide to continue watching. A character, I am hopeful for is Dr D. While some of his particulars were changed likely due to copyright disputes, he plays a bitter madman quite well thus far. An absolute nightmare (!) is the Corynthian. He makes an excellent lesser villain appearing later in the comic, where his aura of threat and dread is built by his sparse appearances - only to visit horrible (PG 18+ and a media outrage) violence upon others. In the show, he is the major vilain, and a sort of evil Yoda/Gandalf type of character, who appears to give the villain of the episode (and likely the viewer) exposition on what in the hell is happening and summarise character’s motivations. Also, as opposed to being a gruesome monstrosity of the original, he is just a dude. Kind of wacky, bumbling type of bloke, wearing a funny hat to boot. We know he is evil, cause he explicitly says he has an evil plan and he flashes his monstrous eyes, even though he takes no action to prove it. Well, he comes to villains’ houses gives them quick rundowns on story thus far. Ah, and yes. He gets girlbossed too. Big time.
    Warts and all, he seems to be doing a crucial service to new viewers. No person, without the knowledge of the original, would physically be able to follow the plot. It is a convoluted mess with an avalanche of bland characters doing things for reasons in places. Speaking of places, good half of them are Netflix-quality CGI and more than half of them (especially the physical ones) are in the absolute abyssal darkness. I believe the lightman needs to either be fired, or given a raise. Due to his work, Netflix could hire just five actors to play everybody in the same office room and no viewer would notice the difference. The savings man offers, may deserve him a larger cut of the revenue.
    If I was to extrapolate, from what I have seen thus far, I believe the show will go down the Witcher route and become a Netflix background play#4134 subverting the expectation and roaming free of the original material.
    All in all, I am still debating, whether to continue watching or not. On one hand hand, I do not want to remember my beloved series as what it had been made into. On the other hand,the corporate Sandman does what he does best. Puts people to sleep.    … Expand
  5. dreamerth
    Aug 6, 2022
    3
    very good cast, strong cinematography and all the stuff a budget can get you but the story/plot/writing feels... bad. I would have liked see more ambitious and actual nightmares rather than personifications, more ambitious prosthetic/additions to the actors to make them look less human/normal, more realism in the stakes. Idk. Just feels too unbelievable to have just a bunch of ordinaryvery good cast, strong cinematography and all the stuff a budget can get you but the story/plot/writing feels... bad. I would have liked see more ambitious and actual nightmares rather than personifications, more ambitious prosthetic/additions to the actors to make them look less human/normal, more realism in the stakes. Idk. Just feels too unbelievable to have just a bunch of ordinary looking people supposedly be the kings and queens of dreams/desires/death etc, and for all their conversations to be low hanging fruit jokes and meta gags....… Expand
  6. wiqela
    Aug 6, 2022
    3
    Could be an awesome series - but they decided to DEI it to death. What's so wrong about sticking to source material these days? Whatever happened to honoring the authors vision?
    Tuned out after 15minutes when it got too heavy handed. Shame.
  7. Klose000000
    Aug 6, 2022
    2
    Ужасное шоу. Помимо привычных для современных сериалов проблем с повecткой, данный сериал невероятно скучный, и это самое плохое. Без кнопки перемотки невозможно это смотреть. Хотя может в этом и была задумка, создать сериал с Морфеем от которого реально в сон клонит)Ужасное шоу. Помимо привычных для современных сериалов проблем с повecткой, данный сериал невероятно скучный, и это самое плохое. Без кнопки перемотки невозможно это смотреть. Хотя может в этом и была задумка, создать сериал с Морфеем от которого реально в сон клонит)
  8. Paper_Kay
    Aug 5, 2022
    2
    If the godawful CGI won't kill it for you, the narration surely will: every scene is explained, except for the plot patches that can't be explained, because they are not in the source material. The costumes make no sense, the titular character only has one expression (and his famous hair is so lacking...) and I have no idea how come, but all of it seems like a bad copy of a copy of aIf the godawful CGI won't kill it for you, the narration surely will: every scene is explained, except for the plot patches that can't be explained, because they are not in the source material. The costumes make no sense, the titular character only has one expression (and his famous hair is so lacking...) and I have no idea how come, but all of it seems like a bad copy of a copy of a videotape, cinematographically.. The only good bits are from the comics (which are still some of my favourite comic books ever)... just assembled really weirdly. I don't get it. They had a running start and a huge budget and they ended up making a bland cartoon. This could have been so, so good. It just isn't.… Expand
  9. turdlemckay
    Aug 13, 2022
    2
    I quit watching so it might get better but I'm not a fan of the style the casting or the cgi.
  10. FrenchPresident
    Aug 16, 2022
    2
    I feel like i rewatched "game of throne" last season again, The first 3 episodes are Amazing 10/10, then.. it's getting worst & worst each episodes... I gave up episode 9. It's such a shame to have such a nice start and to waste it like that. My others biggest problem is the quotas. There is 80% Lgbt couple and 80% Black/Asian actors, like ok it's cool but dont push it to hard. Its gettingI feel like i rewatched "game of throne" last season again, The first 3 episodes are Amazing 10/10, then.. it's getting worst & worst each episodes... I gave up episode 9. It's such a shame to have such a nice start and to waste it like that. My others biggest problem is the quotas. There is 80% Lgbt couple and 80% Black/Asian actors, like ok it's cool but dont push it to hard. Its getting cringe..… Expand
  11. facagravata
    Aug 6, 2022
    1
    Well, what really amazes me is the hubris of the writers, producers and directors. I mean, here we have this work of art which captured the attention and love of millions of readers, which stood the test of time, which won several awards, which has been translated to dozen of languages, but no, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg believe they should just change a little bit the order ofWell, what really amazes me is the hubris of the writers, producers and directors. I mean, here we have this work of art which captured the attention and love of millions of readers, which stood the test of time, which won several awards, which has been translated to dozen of languages, but no, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg believe they should just change a little bit the order of things, show us an antagonist we can root against from the very beginning, remove all the gore and horror, misinterpret the very foundations of the mystery of it all, and give us a slap of too much CGI and too much reveal in the first scene. Everything is out of place, everything is at least a little bit... wrong. The narrative is jumbled and the biggest loss is that of mood. For one of the most renowned examples of well constructed atmosphere in comics, this adaptation is really a let down. Congratulations, I was expecting to be disappointed, from what I'd already seen from the trailers, but "disappointment" is too weak a word for what I feel right now. This is dumbing down taken to an art form. I feel sorry for Neil Gaiman, he doesn't deserve this.… Expand
  12. eikinkloster
    Aug 8, 2022
    0
    Sandman was how I learned to love American superhero comics. I read it in my teens, first borrowing from a friend, and later I bought all the collected bundles I could find. It played right into my interest in the occult of the time, and fed it. Sandman felt like something adult, deep, philosophical. Every other superhero comics felt shallow, mainstream.
    It had a hefty dose of the    Sandman was how I learned to love American superhero comics. I read it in my teens, first borrowing from a friend, and later I bought all the collected bundles I could find. It played right into my interest in the occult of the time, and fed it. Sandman felt like something adult, deep, philosophical. Every other superhero comics felt shallow, mainstream.
    It had a hefty dose of the unusual, black, gay, trans, foreign, and yet, felt mostly English, Anglo-Saxon, despite the author's Jewishness. This series, instead, is all about those unusual, and in the exact amount that's been established for fantasy since the Merlin BBC series and the Warcraft movie. It feels like a post apocalyptical world in which White and straight people had their time and were done with. If that has always been Neil Gaiman's intention, then I feel I was duped back in 1989. But it's ok. Now it's out in the open; now we can work to salvage whatever is still salvageable.    … Expand
  13. aantik4444
    Aug 17, 2022
    0
    "F**king t**t - is that the way people spoke in 1926? "Bring cash" - what else could they have brought in 1926? Their credit cards? Or maybe pay in bitcoin?
  14. raporgi
    Aug 10, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Looks like Metacritic is deleting reviews! Story is boring, weak and pretentious. What works in a compressed form like comics does not work in live action. Characters just stand around and talk. That's all they do. It's all exposition and constant yapping. The source material itself is weak and appeals to the childish or people who dont want to read or think too hard. Its campy and even cringe at times. They changed Preludes and Nocturnes for pacing issues and Dolls house just ends a with an @$$ pull deus ex machina to sort things out. Neil Gaiman is extremely overrated. There I said it.… Expand
  15. Nobilis1984
    Aug 21, 2022
    0
    It would be a good show that would also look passable.
    No, it’s not. You have to sprinkle the woke stuff again and mismanage characters from the comic to do justice to a small group.
    That’s when the white old professor turns into a black lesbian woman.
    Why Netflix? Stop this ****
    Just stick to the template of the comic book, and it’s all right.
  16. daniel_
    Aug 15, 2022
    0
    In the end it´s a very lame story and very lame acting. But I enjoyed seeing Stephen Fry again. And one remark: using a distorted picture the whole time is no artistic style, it´s just annoying.
  17. MichaelPraytor
    Aug 20, 2022
    0
    They made DCs John Constantine a woman, gay, and gave her an interracial relationship to boot. Anyone saying it's faithful to the comics has never read the comics, and the writing is motivated by woke politics. Wanted to enjoy this but it is impossible.
  18. Trunkis
    Aug 11, 2022
    0
    Why can't Netflix just stick to the source material? They could have had a superb show but completely ruined it! Another problem that I really couldn't get over is the fact that they had to make it "woke". The characters were clearly described and Netflix simply ignored that to appease the "woke" crowd. I think it's time for Netflix to wake up and realize why they're losing so many subscribers.
  19. Maleficento
    Aug 11, 2022
    0
    Sandman is one of the most iconic comic book series ever made.
    This Netflix live action implementation has great production, props, music, ambiance......but has generally poor actors and actresses and has been completely distorted to accomodate woke concepts.
    The Constantine comic book series is another iconic one. The stories connect a few times. Constantine, John, is a self-centered,    Sandman is one of the most iconic comic book series ever made.
    This Netflix live action implementation has great production, props, music, ambiance......but has generally poor actors and actresses and has been completely distorted to accomodate woke concepts.
    The Constantine comic book series is another iconic one. The stories connect a few times. Constantine, John, is a self-centered, unethical and at times amoral anti-hero. He strives to do good through mostly evil ways. The character hints at bissexuality.
    Is this enough to the people writing the script? Nope.
    Enter JOHANNA Constantine. Yes, a woman. A lesbian one, at that. And very ethical and moral too. Dabbles with demons, but she's a good girl. After all, women can't be evil except when forced to be so by men, the scourge of the Earth....
    If aliens got to Earth and watched this they would be certain of two things regarding sexuality: half of the population is not heterosexual - and the other half would be bisexual if allowed to do so.
    Don't get me wrong, I advocate live and let live. But there is no country in the world with that proportion of non heterosexuals.
    Then there is the historical revisioning.
    During the XIV to XVI centuries black people in the UK (and Europe in general) did not occupy positions of importance, nor were them among the well-to-do or even rich.
    Portraying them so is a disservice to kids - and to black people, as their plight in European lands is at least severely diminished, if not erased.    … Expand
  20. Cutloso
    Aug 11, 2022
    0
    There are so many things wrong with this series, but the biggest one is that it is profoundly boring.

    The people behind The Sandman found a way to make cosmic struggles only marginally more amusing than watching paint dry. The other obvious problem is the lack of fidelity with the source material. Fans of Gaiman's original graphic works are not going to be happy with the changes    There are so many things wrong with this series, but the biggest one is that it is profoundly boring.

    The people behind The Sandman found a way to make cosmic struggles only marginally more amusing than watching paint dry.

    The other obvious problem is the lack of fidelity with the source material.

    Fans of Gaiman's original graphic works are not going to be happy with the changes that have been made in this interpretation because they have been provided many significant reasons to be displeased.

    It's actually difficult to believe Gaiman is as comfortable with this reimagining of his work as he claims.

    Regarding the other contents... The costume and set design are intricate and very beautiful.

    Alas, it is not good enough to carry the story.

    Put another way, if this were being assessed the way you judge a painting, you'd like it a lot more.

    The acting is challenging to review because the quality is very inconsistent.

    Without naming names, some members of the cast were clearly not selected based on their acting abilities.

    In the end, this is a tragic misstep, made with an intellectual property that had enormous potential.

    Tragically, it will only be remembered as another example of writers refusing to respect the much loved stories and fans they seek to exploit for profit.

    Why studios continue to adopt this approach when it inevitably fails remains a mystery to me.    … Expand
  21. KamenRiderDark
    Aug 11, 2022
    0
    Check out the Audible production for the REAL experience!
    I got all of 5 minutes into the first episode to realize this wasn't for me at all. Pair that with my awareness of the woke nonsense thrown into this production and it's just a hard pass.
    If you are legitimately interested in the Sandman story and want to truly experience the masterpiece that it is, listen to the star studded full    Check out the Audible production for the REAL experience!
    I got all of 5 minutes into the first episode to realize this wasn't for me at all. Pair that with my awareness of the woke nonsense thrown into this production and it's just a hard pass.
    If you are legitimately interested in the Sandman story and want to truly experience the masterpiece that it is, listen to the star studded full cast audible reading of the graphic novel and I promise you will NOT be disappointed.
    Don't waste your time on this series. Get the audiobook, turn off your tv, close your eyes and get swept away!    … Expand
  22. Cuquer
    Aug 11, 2022
    0
    Like the worst of series, The Sandman draws you in in the first couple of episodes, then draws out characters in a tedious and lengthy manner before evolving into a children's TV series. By the eighth episode I was skipping through each episode for any sign of improvement. Sadly there was none!
  23. Mauraer
    Aug 11, 2022
    0
    Well, let's take a look at the series and see what it wants from the viewer. The series is about a man who travels in time and is looking for things that were taken from him. Well, good news for the viewer. So far, we are dealing with a flawless mystery. It's as if he changes his approach and insists on insulting the viewer no matter what, so episodes 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the final episodesWell, let's take a look at the series and see what it wants from the viewer. The series is about a man who travels in time and is looking for things that were taken from him. Well, good news for the viewer. So far, we are dealing with a flawless mystery. It's as if he changes his approach and insists on insulting the viewer no matter what, so episodes 7, 8, 9, and 10 of the final episodes make this work look awful and disgusting as much as possible, but it shows it very clearly. In my personal opinion, don't waste time on such garbage. Time is more valuable than these things.
    I also read about the new Lord of The Rings series which I had been looking forward too but I can already tell is going to be horribly woke as well.
    When is this trend going to end? So sad.

    Well this show is nothing like that.

    It is just cheesy and overtly camp nonsense with a lot of terrible actors who have been completley miscast.

    And also some cringey and pointless cabaret singing moments sprinkled in because sure, why the hell not.

    There are some good actors and a few scenes that were OK but overall this was just a bad, campy pantomime.

    Shame.    … Expand
  24. Clutcher
    Aug 11, 2022
    0
    The sandman fails to deliver a good comic adaption. Netflix, as always, tries to push their w0k3 agenda on everyone, changing characters etc.
    This show was so damn terrible, I can't believe it. Save your time and watch something else or read the comic books. Hope Netflix one day will understand, that their agenda is wrong and annoying.
    No acting can save this show. It is sad to see    The sandman fails to deliver a good comic adaption. Netflix, as always, tries to push their w0k3 agenda on everyone, changing characters etc.
    This show was so damn terrible, I can't believe it. Save your time and watch something else or read the comic books. Hope Netflix one day will understand, that their agenda is wrong and annoying.
    No acting can save this show. It is sad to see another comic adaption ruined.    … Expand
  25. vgmkyle
    Aug 22, 2022
    0
    Where do I begin! Phony, fake, irredeemable, stupid, woke - I guess these are the adjectives I would use. AND I don't think anyone is surprised. I'll just keep writing off this unoriginal crap low until this dumb woke bs concludes and we get the original version of the story that people actually want to see.
  26. mickrussom
    Aug 16, 2022
    0
    garbage. how far iq has dropped in a mere 20 years. between the capecrap/cape**** and garbage like this its sad to see this could even qualify as 'entertainment'
  27. OlivierPiel
    Aug 6, 2022
    0
    All these expensive and beautiful visuals are not just undermined, but utterly ruined by a plot, a writing and dialogues that insult the intelligence of an average man like me.
  28. HipstersBane
    Aug 11, 2022
    0
    A story used to push a narrative
    This show was interesting for a couple of minutes until every episode dived deeper into shoveling a bunch of woke ideology down your throat. From what I've heard about the comic that inspired this show, it was fantastic and all the creators needed to do was follow the comic script, however, this show is sadly just a twisted version of the comic to shove in    A story used to push a narrative
    This show was interesting for a couple of minutes until every episode dived deeper into shoveling a bunch of woke ideology down your throat. From what I've heard about the comic that inspired this show, it was fantastic and all the creators needed to do was follow the comic script, however, this show is sadly just a twisted version of the comic to shove in as much wokeness as they can. Another Netflix show is ruined because is east of focusing on the actual story to entertain, they focused on what political ideas they wanted to push and forced the story to go in that direction. All and all, this show had so many problems that were added to it because the story was driven by political views rather than creativity.    … Expand
  29. simosh
    Aug 5, 2022
    0
    It was a fast decision to stop watching this show. I know nothing about the source material and just hopped in. The show tried not one second to take me with it and after showing off some predictable characters it got boring. After some more boring steps the show seemed to be about a poor rich boy with a evil father and the boy finding his lover. I stopped after 20 minutes since I'mIt was a fast decision to stop watching this show. I know nothing about the source material and just hopped in. The show tried not one second to take me with it and after showing off some predictable characters it got boring. After some more boring steps the show seemed to be about a poor rich boy with a evil father and the boy finding his lover. I stopped after 20 minutes since I'm obviously not the target audience for boring crap.… Expand
  30. ElMasheen
    Aug 9, 2022
    0
    Too woke to be good. los primero 3 espisodios son tragables pero es too woke. lame.
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Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Most Discussed TV Season of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
66

Generally favorable reviews - based on 28 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 28
  3. Negative: 2 out of 28
  1. The Atlantic
    Reviewed by: David Sims
    Aug 23, 2022
    75
    At its best, the show is strong fantasy entertainment that functions as a great introduction to Gaiman’s writing. But the barrier to entry is high, and the cost of jumping into such an intricate saga might be too much for some.
    Read full review
  2. Decider
    Reviewed by: Joel Keller
    Aug 5, 2022
    60
    While not our cup of tea, we definitely see how appealing The Sandman would be to fans of Gaiman and his work. We’re just not sure it’s particularly accessible to those of us who are new to the story.
    Read full review
  3. The Detroit News
    Reviewed by: Tom Long
    Aug 5, 2022
    75
    “The Sandman” stands out visually. A parade of fine actors — Joely Richardson, Charles Dance, Stephen Fry — weave in and out, with David Thewlis particularly strong as an escaped mental patient. Still, the show remains comic-book thin on character and plot conveniences are everywhere. “The Sandman” dreams of being more than it is, but it’s still pretty good.
    Read full review
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