Neil Gaiman's The Sandman is done at Netflix

Another Neil Gaiman property has fallen, although the team behind the series claims that was always the plan. Netflix's The Sandman—adapted from Gaiman's popular comic book series—is officially ending after its upcoming second season, Variety reports.

This doesn't come as a surprise for a couple of reasons. Gaiman titles have been getting the axe left and right in the wake of horrific allegations of sexual assault published about the author by outlets like Tortoise Media and Vulture. This week, a U.K. musical based on Gaiman's novel Coraline permanently shut its doors. Disney and Netflix canceled their adaptations of The Graveyard Book and Dead Boy Detectives respectively, while Prime Video converted the upcoming third season of Good Omens into a single 90-minute episode with no involvement from the disgraced author. Gaiman was also dropped by Dark Horse Comics, which canceled its ongoing adaptation of his 2005 novel Anansi Boys. 

Curiously, The Sandman isn't specifically citing Gaiman as the reason for its departure. In fact, showrunner Allan Heinberg didn't mention the author at all in a statement about the show's end to Variety. "The Sandman series has always been focused exclusively on Dream’s story, and back in 2022, when we looked at the remaining Dream (Tom Sturridge) material from the comics, we knew we only had enough story for one more season," he said. "We are extremely grateful to Netflix for bringing the team all back together and giving us the time and resources to make a faithful adaptation in a way that we hope will surprise and delight the comics’ loyal readers as well as fans of our show."

Season one of The Sandman came out all the way back in August 2022, and the series didn't get its second season order until November of that year. Variety reportedly confirmed that the second season was meant to be the last prior to filming. The episodes will still premiere on the streamer sometime in 2025.

Gaiman denied the allegations, claiming that he "has never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever."

"I was emotionally unavailable while being sexually available, self-focused and not as thoughtful as I could or should have been," he wrote. "I am prepared to take responsibility for any missteps I made. I’m not willing to turn my back on the truth, and I can’t accept being described as someone I am not, and cannot and will not admit to doing things I didn’t do."