Netflix Won't Call The Sandman Season 2, Uh, The Sandman Season 2
When "The Sandman" announced it was being renewed for a second season, you may have noticed that they didn't actually call it season 2. They referred to it as "a continuation of 'The Sandman' world," not clarifying the number of episodes or exactly how much of the source material would be covered. For most adaptations, this would be an easy question, but because "The Sandman" comics are split into volumes of varying length and structure, there are a lot of different approaches the show can take.
Speaking to Netflix's head of scripted series Peter Friedlander, a reporter at Variety offered a theory for why the word "season" was never used: "It's not called season 2 because it's going to be handled more in line with the comics, where it's 'volumes' and based on the story in the issues, rather than being labeled as a season? Is that it?"
It's a theory that might not seem to make sense at first. Although the comics are split into volumes, the volumes are still numbered, so you'd think that wouldn't have any effect. But what makes the comics unique is the way it features collections of one-off stories that are displaced from the rest of the series. Whereas most of the comics follow a straightforward timeline, volumes 3, 6, 8 (and bits of volume 2) span across anywhere from thousands of years in the past to completely different dimensions. Choosing when and how to adapt these stories must be a little difficult.
Friedlander's response to the theory was vague, although it makes sense considering how early they are in production. "There are decisions that haven't been made, but we are considering batching approaches," he explained. "Everything's on the table when it comes to 'Sandman.' It's an innovative show."
Mostly just a technicality
One thing we know is that although it's the norm for Netflix to refer to the splits in its shows as seasons, they're not shy about switching titles up. If you click on the show "Inside Job" on the Netflix homepage, for instance, you'll see the episodes are split between "Part 1" and "Part 2." Meanwhile, the seasons of "Avatar: The Last Airbender," are referred to as books, just as they are in the show's opening credits. Both of these batches of episodes basically function as a regular season of television, so it's unlikely any of this will have much of an effect on the actual content of "The Sandman."
Fans are also wondering another question: will the show continue to release more surprise episodes separately, as they did back in August? "Dream of a Thousand Cats/Calliope" was a fantastic episode dropped a few weeks after the rest of the season, and it was great, leaving viewers wanting more. When asked whether would keep doing episodes like this, Peter Friedlander gave another vague response to Variety:
"The Sandman always follows his own path ... The show, I think, was so popular because it was such a discovery and it was such an invention. That's what we're trying to honor as we continue to tell this story, and it shouldn't follow any path other than its own."
Although we have no concrete answer on whether to expect more special episodes, we can be confident that the next batch of "Sandman" episodes will at least cover "Season of Mists," one of the most exciting and ambitious volumes in the entire series. Whatever this new chapter in the show's story is called, we know we've got a lot to look forward to.