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The Sandman (podcast)

The Sandman is a series of audio dramas written by Neil Gaiman based on his comic book of the same name. They are directed by Dirk Maggs, with music by James Hannigan, and produced by Audible.[1] The first volume of the series, The Sandman debuted on July 15, 2020, and is composed of twenty episodes covering the first three volumes of the graphic novel.[2][3] The Sandman: Act II debuted on September 22, 2021[4] and The Sandman: Act III debuted on September 28, 2022.[5]

In volume one, Morpheus escapes after seventy years of imprisonment to rebuild his kingdom.[6] In volume two, Morpheus travels to hell to rescue queen Nada.[7] In volume three, Morpheus and his sister Delirium search out their estranged brother Destruction.[5]

Dirk Maggs previously collaborated with Neil Gaiman to produce audio adaptations of his novels Good Omens and Neverwhere.[8] Maggs and Gaiman had wanted to create a BBC audio drama adaptation of The Sandman comics since 1992.[9] The show uses the original script that Gaiman wrote for the comics.[10]

Cast and characters

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Further information: List of The Sandman characters

The show includes the following cast and characters:

The supporting cast included Arthur Darvill as William Shakespeare and Thomas Paine, William Hope as John Dee, Paterson Joseph as Chorazon, Anton Lesser as Dr. John Hathaway, Cathy Tyson, Sandra Dickinson, and Ellen Thomas as the Hecatae, Blake Ritson as Alex Burgess, Daniel Weyman as Rick Madoc, Reginald D. Hunter as Martian Manhunter, Simon Vance as Lucien, Louise Jameson as Mother, Barry Humphries as the Beachcomber, Siân Phillips as Livia, Nicholas Boulton as Julius Caesar, Mac McDonald as Abraham Warner, Kevin McNally as Wilkinson, Al Roker as a passerby, Lachele Carl as Maisy Hill, Annette Badland as Mrs. Mann, Ed Byrne as Todd, Colin McFarlane as Pharamond, Ayesha Antoine as Venice, Carl Prekopp as Algernon Charles Swinburne, Samuel West as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Sanjeev Bhaskar as The Indian Gentleman, and Simon Jones as Hermas.

Reception

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The show was a 2022 People's Voice Winner at the Webby Awards in the Original Music Score/Best Sound Design Category, and a People's Voice Winner at the 2023 Webby Awards.[11][12] The show won an Earphones Award.[13] The show was a finalist in the 2022 Audie Award for Fantasy.[14]

According to Audible, the first installment had a record-breaking number of pre-orders and was the best-selling Audible Original in the company's history.[15] The second installment was the second best-selling Audible Original for the first 90 days.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Phillips, Maya (July 15, 2020). "How Do You Translate a Comic Book Into Audio? Ask Neil Gaiman". The New York Times. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  2. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (July 10, 2020). "Sweet Dreams: Neil Gaiman's The Sandman Becomes an Audio Drama". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
  3. ^ Weldon, Glen (July 15, 2020). "'The Sandman': Landmark Comic Series Gets A Rigidly Faithful Audio Drama Adaptation". NPR. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  4. ^ Holub, Christian (September 20, 2021). "How Audible's 'The Sandman' got bigger and better for Act II — including an EW cameo". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "The Sandman: Act III". audible.com. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  6. ^ Harp, Justin (January 28, 2021). "Exclusive: Neil Gaiman's Sandman returning for two more series on Audible". Digital Spy. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  7. ^ Sturges, Fiona (November 5, 2021). "The Sandman: Act II audiobook review – Neil Gaiman's dreamworld". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on June 22, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  8. ^ Robinson, Tasha (July 15, 2020). "How the Sandman audio drama cast Dream, Death, and Desire". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  9. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (July 14, 2020). "The Sandman: Neil Gaiman Explains How the Audible Adaptation Coexists With the Netflix Series". IGN. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  10. ^ Muncy, Julie (July 19, 2020). "Neil Gaiman and Director Dirk Maggs Talk the Massive Undertaking That Is the Sandman Audio Drama". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  11. ^ "People's Voice Winner, Nominee. The Sandman: Act II". Webby Awards. 2022. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  12. ^ "People's Voice Winner - The Sandman: Act III". Webby Awards. 2023. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  13. ^ "Reviews. The Sandman. Earphones Award Winner". AudioFile Magazine. July 1, 2020. Archived from the original on November 26, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  14. ^ Wang, Jessica (February 3, 2022). "Barack Obama, Sam Heughan, and Oprah among finalists for 2022 Audie Awards: See the full list". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
  15. ^ "Audible and DC Announce Second and Third Installments of "The Sandman"". audible.com. January 28, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2024.
  16. ^ "Audible and DC Surprise Fans with Release of "The Sandman: Act III"". audible.com. September 28, 2022. Retrieved August 4, 2024.