The Sandman slotted in nicely once the success of Stranger Things season four final began to wane. It has already hit lofty heights and ticked the boxes of both commercial and critical success.
However, with a bill of around $15 million per episode, the show really needs everything going for it to make it worthwhile. So far, Netflix are reaping the rewards of their investment, but we’re still awaiting an announcement for season two. Why is that?
Well, the show’s creator, Neil Gaiman said it himself: “We’ve been the top show in the world for the last two weeks. That may not be enough. They are looking at ‘completion rates’. So people watching it at their own pace don’t show up.”
In other words, the Netflix algorithms flag up concerns that many of the viewers that the show has amassed might not tune in to season two because they are yet to finish season one.
The rationale is double-edged: while on the one hand, it might simply mean that people are enjoying the dense series at their own rate, a rapid mass binge watch is better for marketing because of the fanfare it creates. Thus, Netflix’s concern is two-fold.
However, in stark contrast to that, two bonus episodes recently went up with all-star casts and The Sandman continues to float around the top spot in the world so perhaps an announcement is imminent. We’ll just have to watch this space.
