The Sandman Season 2 Real; Any WBD/Netflix Drama Now Past: Gaiman

Okay, just in case there’s any confusion? There is definitely going to be a second season of EP & co-writer Neil Gaiman (Good Omens); EP, co-writer & showrunner Allan Heinberg (Wonder Woman); and EP & co-writer David S. Goyer‘s The Sandman. We’re offering that reminder because some concern and confusion arose over a report that we covered on Friday alleging that Warner Bros. Discovery head David Zaslav was making his frustrations with Netflix’s payment terms known and that those frustrations were further enflamed by the recent renewal of the comic book series adaptation, and may have factored into the delay in a decision. Earlier today, Gaiman was asked about the matter via Twitter and if it was something that fans should be concerned about regarding the fate of the second season. “‘The Sandman’ Season 2 has been commissioned by Netflix and is real. Whatever behind-the-scenes wrangling and negotiating needed to happen to make this a reality has already occurred,” Gaiman offered as a response. In other words? Whatever went on between Warner Bros. Discovery & Netflix is in the past, and right now, the only thing that matters is that there’s a second season.

Here’s a look at Gaiman’s tweet responding to the previous reporting, followed by a deeper dive into what the issue was all about:

Though it’s a practice that the streamer implemented years back, Zaslav is apparently not very thrilled that Netflix pays producers over an 18-24-month time period. That’s because Zaslav is in the business of trying to clean up WBD’s financial situation ahead of an HBO Max/Discovery+ streaming merger. From his perspective, waiting nearly two years for payment on a project is too long to not have money back in the coffers. Because WBD owns Warner Bros. Television, which produces a whole lot of programming for Netflix. Along with The Sandman, other projects that WBTV produces include the live-action adaptation of Sweet Tooth, the Penn Badgley-starring You, and the saved-from-NBC-cancellation Manifest. And through a prior WBTV/The CW output deal, the streamer also licenses shows like All American, The Flash, Riverdale, and Supernatural. Deadline Hollywood’s report included sources alleging that Zaslav “expressed his displeasure to a number of his key Warner Bros. Discovery colleagues over the last few weeks,” adding that there were “some business consequences” coming from it (with sources saying that Zaslav ordered a “pause” on “selling finished shows to Netflix for a few weeks”).