Netflix’s The Sandman has been cancelled, with the show now ending with the upcoming second season. A report in Variety says this follows the series of serious sexual abuse allegations against the creator of the IP, Neil Gaiman.
This is the latest in a long line of his work to be pulled following the allegations. An in-development film based on The Graveyard Book has been paused by Disney, and a musical based on Coraline has been scrapped.
Production of the third series of Good Omens was paused in September 2024 following the allegations. In October 2024, it was announced that Gaiman would be leaving the production and the third series would be reduced to a single 90-minute movie-style episode.
In July 2024, five women accused Gaiman of sexual assault and abuse. All five were interviewed on the Tortoise Media podcast Master: The Allegations Against Neil Gaiman. One, using the pseudonym “Claire”, was also interviewed by The New York Times. Claire described non-consensual kissing and groping by Gaiman after meeting him at a book tour event, with Gaiman making a $60,000 payment to her in August 2022. A woman identified as “K”, who also first met Gaiman at a book signing, said that during their relationship he subjected her to painful sex that she “neither wanted nor enjoyed”.
In January 2025, New York magazine published a cover story detailing the allegations against Gaiman. This article, which was published online on Vulture, included interviews with four of the women who had previously spoken to Tortoise Media, as well as four more women.
Later the same month, Dark Horse Comics announced that they would cut ties with Gaiman over the allegations, including cancelling his ongoing comic adaptation of Anansi Boys.
Netflix released a new one-sheet for The Sandman confirming this is the end. The upcoming season will adapt the Season of Mists storyline from the comics. Cancellation of the show may actually be a relief to Netflix, as the show was expensive and had taken a while to find its audience.