‘The Sandman’ showrunner Allan Heinberg is opening up about the decision to end the Netflix series after just two seasons.
The dark-fantasy series, based on the DC Comics of the same name, first streamed in August 2022.
Netflix soon renewed the show for a second season and announced that it would release it in three parts.
The first six episodes debuted on the streaming platform on July 3, while episodes 7 to 11 will arrive on the platform on July 24.
The final bonus episode, ‘Death: The High Cost of Living’, will premiere on July 31.
It has been confirmed that ‘The Sandman’ will end with the conclusion of season 2, despite showrunner Allan Heinberg acknowledging that he had conceived the idea for a third season.
During a recent interview, Heinberg said that the show was cancelled after two seasons as the DC comics changed the story arcs of Sandman a.k.a. Dream of the Endless, played by Tom Sturridge.
Read more: ‘The Sandman’ Season 2 lands mixed reviews, scores lower on Rotten Tomatoes
“We learned making season one that we were only going to focus on the stories where Dream was the protagonist. In the comic book, it has more of an anthology structure. There are long story arcs where he may appear in one or two scenes, but there are other people’s stories,” he said in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.
“We realised that the audience, for a serialised drama, needs a character that they can follow and root for throughout the entire run of the show. Anthologies are very difficult to pull off [because] every time you introduce a new cast of characters, you have to earn the audience’s trust, love and rooting interest,” he added.
According to Allan Heinberg, the audience’s attraction was towards Sandman throughout season 1, which led them to change tactics.
“Their interest was always held when Dream was either onscreen or the subject of the scene. But anytime we drifted into other people’s storylines, they got confused and lost interest because it’s called The Sandman and they thought the show was about the Sandman, which we all understand,” he said.
Heinberg revealed that he had planned the Netflix show as a three-season project before the decision to axe the show after two seasons.
“I had always thought of The Sandman as a three-season show with 11 episodes in each season, and initially I had crafted season two to end with Orpheus’ death and Dream’s response to it. And then the third season was going to be The Kindly Ones [the ninth and penultimate installment of the original Sandman comics], and everything that comes after,” he said.