The Sandman Just Made An Incredible Milestone On Netflix

It looks like The Sandman is hitting some pretty important metrics on Netflix and has already been a total win

By Doug Norrie | Published

the sandman

The Sandman has made quite the impression on Netflix since it hit the streamer late last week. The foray into the dream world with all the darkness and pathos fans were looking for with this adaptation has been a major hit and has actually outperformed expectations on that front. It’s looking like Netflix has another big, fan-favorite property on its hands now with the numbers suggesting this could be one of its best pieces of original programming yet. Variety has it that The Sandman was watched for 69.5 million hours through its first three days on Netflix, landing it in the number one spot. This is fantastic news for the series that fans have eagerly been awaiting for some time now. 

The close to 70 million hours of streaming for The Sandman in the first three days is impressive considering this series might not have some of the broad base appeal of other shows that have landed in the top rankings for Netflix. And though it likely won’t hit the stratosphere of engagement like Stranger Things, Squid Games, or Bridgerton, The Sandman’s early gains point to a series that will likely be a staple on the streamer for years to come. After all, it’s been a fan-favorite story in the printed pages and has plenty of source material to work with for future seasons.

Based on the Neil Gaiman comic book of the same name, The Sandman follows Morpheus/ Dream who is one of the Endless, who oversee different realms. In addition to Dream, they include Death, Delirium, Despair, Destiny, Desire, and Destruction. Dream is played by Tom Sturridge in the Netflix series and the show picks up after he’s been out of the mix for the Dreamworld for quite some time. It’s up to him to restore order while we also learn about this world in general. His performance has been praised right off the bat and it was clear from even early looks at The Sandman that they had chosen perfectly with this casting. He looks every bit the wraith-y part of the character. 

Others in The Sandman include Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian, a rival of Morpheus and the one who sets the story in action when we first pick up with the character. There’s also Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones) as Lucifer and Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, an occult detective who is based on the John Constantine character. She is a descendant of that dude. 

The Sandman has received considerable praise from critics for its first season on Netflix. It’s sitting at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes with an 86% Audience Score. Most felt it faithfully kept to what Neil Gaiman had set out to do with the original comic book. It makes sense considering Gaiman is on here as a creator for the series along with David Goyer and Allan Heinberg. It will be interesting to see where the final numbers for The Sandman come after the first 28-day window. We are a few weeks away from that.