Latest news with #TheSandman
Metro
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Mind-bending' TV drama that had fans calling in sick races up Netflix chart
A mind-bending Netflix series that had fans lying to their bosses so they could binge the 'gut-wrenching' finale has raced up the Netflix chart. Part two of the second season of The Sandman, adapted from Neil Gaiman's beloved comic book series, dropped on Netflix on July 24. Since landing on the service, the second season has flown to #3 on the Netflix Top Ten and been viewed more than three million times. The second season focuses on Dream and his epic final journey as he seeks to rebuild his kingdom following his dramatic battle with Doctor John Dee. However, the show has been marred by accusations against Gaiman, which sent shockwaves through his fan base earlier this year. Despite that, the show has remained extremely popular with its fans, even causing them to 'call in sick' so they can watch it. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. Before it was released on the streaming platform, Sullyville said on Reddit: 'I called in sick. I just had an iced coffee. I'm here with you all waiting for the drop.' Taking to X, @DailyJakeSweet added: 'Well, it's over. The Sandman is over. I'm a mess I won't tell more to avoid spoilers but I'm happy that we were given such a great adaptation, with a fabulous cast. Also, I didn't stop crying, did I mention I'm a mess?' @LauraRival1 commented: 'I have no words, it's magnificent, this adaptation is a jewel with intense emotions. The actors are just perfect! Thank you all for bringing this story to life!' @howlnini also said: 'TheSandmanSeason2 a beautiful end to a beautiful show :) What a ride! I will remain seated for the final episode.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Despite the overwhelmingly positive reactions to the series, Netflix has already confirmed that this will be the last we see of Dream (Tom Sturridge). In an announcement that came in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations levied against Gaiman, who co-developed the show from his comics. Ahead of the season, Netflix released a teaser trailer for The Sandman season two, which did not mention Gaiman by name. Allan Heinberg, the Sandman showrunner, also avoided mentioning Gaiman or the allegations against him when he shared a statement about the show's conclusion. 'The Sandman series has always been focused exclusively on Dream's story, and back in 2022, when we looked at the remaining Dream material from the comics, we knew we only had enough story for one more season,' he told Netflix's Tudum. More Trending Several of Gaiman's upcoming projects have been cancelled or delayed in the wake of the allegations. Most notably, we're still waiting to find out when season 3 of the Prime Video show Good Omens will air, while Dark Horse Comics has cancelled Gaiman's Anansi Boys series. The Sandman season 2 part two is available to stream on Netflix. View More » An earlier version of this story was published on July 24. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: I'm a WWE expert – I'm shocked the Netflix documentary went so far MORE: These are the 10 best sci-fi films of all time according to film lovers MORE: Scottish police drama with 'palpable tension' races up Netflix top 10 chart
India Today
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- India Today
The Sandman Season 2 Vol 2 review: Of one final dream, legacy and letting go
'The Sandman' season 2, Volume 2, wrapped up on an emotional note. For those who have been following Tom Sturridge's haunting portrayal of Lord Shaper, the season's finale may have felt inevitable, but that didn't make it any less heartbreaking. The beauty of the series lies in its slow, deliberate build of emotions that leaves you with a bittersweet was the emotional investment worth it? Did the series feel adventurous enough? And does its message land as seamlessly as it intended to?advertisementYou must understand that 'The Sandman' is not your usual fantasy series. There are no flying brooms or spellbooks that glow on cue. It's magical, yes. But also meaningful. It demands attention every step of the way. Unless you are totally invested in the story, absorbing every detail and symbolic gesture, you might miss the emotional payoff waiting at the end. The God of Dreams, also known as Lord Shaper or The Sandman or The Dream of the Endless, has spilt his family's blood. As per the Norse rules, the Furies, also known as the Kindly Ones, will come for him the moment someone asks for his blood in vengeance. It has to happen. It's written. But, with all his greatness and majesty, will The Sandman be able to move past his destiny? Can he build an army to fight the Furies, or restructure the time in a way that doesn't make him look like the culprit any more?Vol 1 of the series, which premiered earlier this year, marked a shift from a craftily adventurous narrative to a heavier emotional arc - one that set Lord Shaper on a path of irreversible transformation. A journey that will alter not his destiny, but the future of his realm. The Dream of the Endless knows what's coming. At times, he fears it. At times, he endures it, and sometimes, he even welcomes it with open arms. Photo: Netflix The idea is clear: nothing in this universe is permanent, and journeys must be taken, irrespective of what lies at their end. Vol 2 offers a mature, thoughtful closure. This is not a fantasy world for children. In Vol 2, time and destiny collide in complex ways, characters reappear from earlier episodes, and new ones join the narrative - building towards a finale that is both inevitable and surprising. It's a season of grand emotion and opportunities, hinting that every end is also a a standout twist, we see the return of Boyd Holbroom as The Corinthian. Only this time, he's changed. He's more passionate about his duties, more reliable, more emotional and, dare we say - more charming than ever. His chemistry with Johanna Constantine (Jenna Coleman) is electric. Together, they represent so much about second chances, unlikely connections, and the leap of faith it takes to believe in something again. The father-son dynamic that season 2 tries to portray from the beginning, also finds its closure. Photo: Netflix While 'The Sandman' goes heavy on melodrama - and we don't mind any of it - it continues to dazzle with its visual imagination. The skies are starrier, the castles more glorious. The costumes, the creatures, the dreams are majestic - a masterclass in visual storytelling and limitless stays with you, though, are not just the images, but the questions about the purpose of your life, the legacy that you are so ardently trying to build, and a question: when you are gone, will your story be worth telling? It is perhaps the most serendipitous expression of what gives your life meaning, and how others perceive Vol1 furthered the idea of Dream of The Endless being nearly invincible, Vol 2 strips that illusion away. It shows that no story is immune to an ending - whether we like how it turns out or not. 'The Sandman' doesn't care about comforting its viewer, it exists to tell a wholesome story, being unafraid to say that nothing really lasts the series shifts its arcs quite abruptly sometimes, and the climax, too, feels slightly stretched, especially when we already know where it's going. But you never feel cheated. The greatest stories always contain a bit of nuance, sometimes fiction as truth, the 'what if' moments, the emotions you have already lived, but also a promise of what could be or could have been. In 'The Sandman', you find all of that, and more.'The Sandman' is currently streaming on Netflix.- Ends
Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
5 top new shows to stream this week on Netflix, Peacock and more (July 28-Aug. 3)
The summer heat isn't letting up — and neither is your watchlist. With new shows premiering on Netflix, Peacock and other streaming services, now's the perfect time to cool off inside with something worth bingeing. This week's TV lineup delivers a little bit of everything. Jason Momoa goes full warrior mode in the sweeping historical saga "Chief of War," while "Twisted Metal" season 2 brings back post-apocalyptic mayhem. For reality fans, "Perfect Match" returns with its most drama-inducing cast yet, including contestants from outside the Netflix bubble. Here are our top picks for new TV shows to watch this week. Stand-up comedian Leanne Morgan turns real-life heartbreak into sitcom gold in a new comedy based on her hit Netflix special, 'I'm Every Woman,' and co-created by Chuck Lorre. It's about picking up the pieces — while experiencing a hot flash or two — after your husband of 33 years leaves you. Morgan plays a grandmother suddenly thrust back into the dating pool. She leans on her loud, loving family, including sister Carol (Kristen Johnston), as she discovers it's never too late for a fresh start. All 16 episodes premiere Thursday, July 31 at 3 a.m. ET on Netflix 'The Sandman' season 2 aired its series finale last week, but this bonus 12th episode is a treat for fans that turns the spotlight on Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste). It's adapted from Neil Gaiman's 1993 comic about the one day every hundred years when Death walks the world as a mortal. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Her companion this time around is Sexton (Colin Morgan), a suicidal teen who's not exactly thrilled to be alive. Episode premieres Thursday, July 31 at 3 a.m. ET on Netflix The stakes are even bloodier on this post-apocalyptic action comedy. John Doe (Anthony Mackie) and Quiet (Stephanie Beatriz) are diving headfirst into Calypso's no-mercy demolition derby, where one wish is up for grabs … if they can outdrive a bunch of lunatics. Cars will burn, clowns will kill and Anthony Carrigan will be smirking as the world goes up in flames. Dollface and Mr. Grimm crash back in for more mayhem, plus there's a scrappy kid in the mix. Episodes 1-3 premiere Thursday, July 31 at 3 a.m. ET on Peacock Jason Momoa goes full warrior-poet in this gritty, sweeping historical epic set during Hawai'i's fight for unification in the late 1700s. He plays Ka'iana, a high-ranking chief who returns home and gets swept into the brutal campaign to unite the islands. But soon, he begins to question what he's actually fighting for. Momoa co-created the series with Thomas Pa'a Sibbett and directed the finale episode. The Polynesian cast includes Cliff Curtis, Temuera Morrison, and newcomer Kaina Makua. Episodes 1-2 premiere Friday, Aug. 1 at 12 a.m. ET on Apple TV Plus Netflix's messiest dating show is back, and in season 3, it's drawing the cast not just from other Netflix reality shows but from outside the streamer, too. Stars from 'The Bachelor,' 'Love Island' and 'Siesta Key' are crashing the villa alongside familiar faces from 'Love Is Blind' and 'Too Hot to Handle.' Among the newcomers are 'Bachelor' exes Clayton Echard and Rachel Recchia, so expect plenty of drama. Hosted by Nick Lachey, the season will feature wild challenges and power plays as couples vie to earn the power to break up others and bring in fresh singles. Episodes 1-6 premiere Friday, Aug. 1 at 3 a.m. ET on Netflix
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix's The Sandman ends (for now) on a disjointed note
This time around, Netflix's The Sandman adapts Neil Gaiman's magnum opus The Kindly Ones. The original work boasts multiple intriguing plot points and character arcs, polishing off the comic series (which ran for seven years) as a cohesive narrative that benefits from repeated readings. The series is less successful and more disjointed, primarily due to its haphazard approach to the material. Morpheus (Tom Sturridge) is dealing with the consequences from having ended his son Orpheus's (Ruairi O'Connor) life. It's a serious offense in the Endless to 'spill family blood,' and Desire (Mason Alexander Park) had tried to trick Morpheus into doing just that. Of course, Orpheus wanted to die—he had lived too long already and was just a head, which is limiting socially. Yet, despite inflicting deliberately crueler fates on others who have crossed him, Morpheus' undoing might come from his most selfless, compassionate act. The narrative doesn't actually address or question the arbitrary absurdity of these rules for long and instead leaps directly into Greek tragedy. The Eumenides, also known as the Furies, were the Greek deities of divine vengeance and retribution. The Greeks often referred to them as 'the Kindly Ones,' out of both polite deference and abject fear. These were not ladies you wanted to annoy, and Dinita Gohil, Nina Wadia, and Souad Faress are suitably creepy as the less-than-kind Furies. It's appropriate for a tale modeled off Greek tragedy that Morpheus clumsily sets in motion his own downfall. He seeks out Loki (Freddie Fox), who's hiding on Earth in a disguise that's tasteless yet fitting and hopes to enlist his aid against the vengeance-seeking Furies. Loki owes Morpheus his current freedom, but the god of mischief is not someone who pays his debts. He'd sooner eliminate whoever holds the IOU. So Loki, with his partner Puck (Jack Gleeson), sets out to frame Morpheus for an unimaginable crime. He doesn't manipulate or trick Morpheus into committing the act himself, a true Oedipus Rex-worthy twist. However, Loki's machinations produce two tragic heroes in one story. Lyta Hall (Razane Jammal) is easily convinced—too easily, in fact—that Morpheus has horribly wronged her, and her immense grief is forged into a weapon of destruction. Her frustrating gullibility makes it hard to sympathize with her, and it's just no fun to watch a thoroughly stupid antagonist. Fortunately, Fox is delightful as the dastardly Loki—a very different spin on the character if you're mostly familiar with Tom Hiddleston's more benevolent version in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fox even resembles a young David Bowie, who was the model for Gaiman's Lucifer. It's not hard to imagine Fox's character as the more comics-accurate former ruler of Hell, even if he can't own a nightclub on this particular Netflix show. Loki is often mythically linked to fire, which he demonstrates in some shocking moments when the series swerves into horror. Meanwhile, Gleeson is especially compelling as a morally conflicted Puck. The series offers his character deeper layers than those found in the source material, and he delivers admirably. However, the season's undisputed standouts are Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine (the show's version of DC's occult detective John Constantine) and Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian, a reformed foe from the first season. Coleman brings excitement to the screen wherever she's present, and her chemistry with Holbrook is electric. His character is a literal nightmare, but hers has dated worse. Alas, Sturridge is as placid and intentionally one-note as ever, even when facing life-altering events—and Johanna Constantine is sadly correct when she pegs Morpheus as having no sense of humor. Classic tragedies involve the flawed hero desperately seeking to avoid his preordained fate. There is some of that here but also far too much standing in place. Morpheus often delivers ponderous monologues to characters who function more like emotional brick walls. These scenes go nowhere and are incredibly tedious. Catharsis is also a pivotal part of a good tragedy, and the series denies us this from Morpheus in any authentic way. He says at one point, 'I am not a man and I do not change,' and while we're told that this isn't true, we don't actually see it. The show's limited visual imagination has been noted on this site already, but this remains an issue. In the comics, Morpheus' world was often as unpredictable and fantastic as Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. In the show, it all feels like a supernatural The Tudors but with far less sex. (Douglas Booth, as the magically handsome Cluracan, too often seems like he's auditioning for that Showtime series.) Realms that should astound our senses are instead depicted with moody lighting and uncomfortable furniture. And with the exception of Merv Pumpkinhead (humorously voiced by Mark Hamill), most of the mythical creatures wouldn't look out of place on a London city street during business hours. Ultimately, The Sandman spends two seasons building to an epic conclusion that maddeningly lands (for now) with a thud. (The show drops a bonus episode on July 31.) This batch can come off as endless, with characters simply telling us what they feel, which will only make viewers angry or, at best, bored. For decades, it's been said that Gaiman's work was unfilmable, and this series only backs up that idea. The Sandman just fails to dream. The Sandman season two, volume two premieres July 24 on Netflix More from A.V. Club Star Trek: Strange New Worlds boldly finding out if "puppet episode" still feels like a creative gimmick First Star Trek: Starfleet Academy trailer knows not to skimp on the Holly Hunter Staff Picks: A historical fiction podcast, and a drummer gone too soon Solve the daily Crossword
Arab News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Arab News
Razane Jammal shares behind-the-scenes look at ‘The Sandman'
DUBAI: British Lebanese actress Razane Jammal took to social media this weekend to share behind-the-scenes shots from her time filming Netflix's 'The Sandman.' For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @ The second season of the show landed on the streaming platform in July in two parts, with the second half of the season premiering this weekend. 'Dream dangerously and beware of the kindly (not so kindly) ones,' Jammal captioned her post on Instagram. A post shared by Razane Jammal رزان جمّال (@razanejammal) The carousel of photos shows Jammal in the a hair and makeup studio, as well as on location in a mist-covered field. In the role that arguably shot her to stardom, Jammal played Lyta Hall in 2022's 'The Sandman,' based on the legendary graphic novels — and she reprised her role in the latest season. In season one, her character dreams of her dead husband each night, slowly realizing that he is not a figment of her imagination but is hiding out in the dream world. It is a part that Jammal managed to play truthfully with subtlety — a subtlety for which she credited her mother in a previous interview with Arab News. 'I've always been extra, and my mom was far more subtle than I am. I had to fine-tune myself to vibrate on her frequency, a frequency that was very sweet and very raw, and vulnerable and nurturing. I took that from her. 'I grew up having a simple, community-based life in a place where you have 500 mothers and everyone feeds you and you feel safe — even if it's not safe at all. At the same time we went through so many traumas, from civil wars to assassinations to losing all our money in another financial crisis.' 'The Sandman' is based on novels written by British author Neil Gaiman. This is the final season of the series, with Netflix announcing the cancellation of 'The Sandman' after Gaiman faced a civil lawsuit accusing him of rape and sexual assault earlier this year, amid more accusations of sexual misconduct. ''The Sandman' series has always been focused exclusively on Dream's story, and back in 2022, when we looked at the remaining Dream material from the comics, we knew we only had enough story for one more season,' 'The Sandman' showrunner Allan Heinberg said in a statement to Variety in January, indicating that the reason behind the show's cancellation was a lack of script material. Several other projects, including a stage adaptation of 'Coraline,' were cancelled in the wake of the allegations. Gaiman has denied the allegations.
