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
Watch Now

Where To Watch

Stream On

Review this tv show

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling

User Reviews

view
per page
  1. CaptainAverage
    Aug 5, 2022
    10
    Whether you are a fan of the comics or not, you will weep for a gargoyle.

    What more do you need to know?
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. AlliDoisWatchTv
    Aug 5, 2022
    9
    really entertaining if youre open to these kinds of shows. haters are gonna hate it just has that vibe but if you liked the witcher youll def like this. Honestly this is probably netflix's best release of the year
  5. VonSeux
    Aug 5, 2022
    7
    Very exciting for fans of the comics, it's a dream to see this materialised as a big budget show. However, too much green-screens and cgi and adaptation decisions that reminds you frequently this is a "Netflix" production.
  6. Morcheema
    Aug 5, 2022
    4
    Show started with promise but quickly just felt like an episode of doctor who with gore effects enabled. 24/7 was the only truly interesting episode of the season, and it had the least screen time of Dream - speaks volumes.
  7. msmarvelfanboyy
    Aug 5, 2022
    0
    sooo boring, i hate it, netflix always with mid productions
  8. valoiz
    Aug 5, 2022
    10
    Great atmosphere, visuals and acting. Great cast and the protagonist do a great job on portraying an eternal proud, yet gentle-somehow emotional, being. Prolly will get some hate from those people who want and at the same time don’t want copy&paste from original material. Happy to see DC can still throw good series even if the DC movie universe keep failing.
  9. Overlord777
    Aug 5, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Boring and pretentious, probably will get cancelled after one season. Zero resemblance to the source material… Expand
Page:

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Most Discussed TV Season of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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
See all critic reviews »