The second and final season of “The Sandman” got split into multiple parts, which means there is just enough space to sneak in a binge before the back half of the story drops.
Candidates for this quick binge include other Neil Gaiman adaptations like “Good Omens” and “American Gods,” which are also stories that deal with family, the dangers of meddling with the gods, and the pros and cons of magic and power. There is something for everyone looking to fill the “The Sandman” void in their life.
Below are seven options for a binge while you wait for more episodes of Netflix’s comic book adaptation.
Good Omens
Come to “Good Omens” for the concept of an angel and a demon who are best friends and stay for the chemistry between Michael Sheen and David Tennant. The series, based on the book by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, is at its best when Sheen and Tennant are sitting in a room together talking, which, luckily, is quite a bit of the show.
American Gods
Another series adapting a Neil Gaiman story, “American Gods,” is a great TV what-if. The first season of the Starz series came out of the gates rocking, telling the story of a man (Ricky Whittle) who gets embroiled with the many gods, both modern and mythological, after he becomes the bodyguard of shifty Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane). Later series started and stopped, with a number of creative changes that ultimately killed the show. But when this show was good, it had few equals.
The Magicians
Describing “The Magicians” as “Harry Potter” in magical college often feels overly reductive, but if it gets more people to watch this excellent SyFy adaptation of Lev Grossman’s novels, then that’s exactly how I’ll describe it. The series follows a group of students attending Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy and their problems, both big and small. Across its five-season run, “The Magicians” wasn’t afraid to tackle difficult storylines while also weaving in musical episodes, heists, trippy turns as foxes, and more.
The series had the space and confidence to hone in on telling any story on any topic that it wanted, and it did so better than most.
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Twin Peaks
Just like “The Sandman,” “Twin Peaks” has a very specific story to tell and it’s going to tell it at its own pace. There was never a side plot or loose thread that the David Lynch-created series did not want to invest, occasionally, a bit too much time focusing on. The series follows FBI Agent Dale Cooper, who shows up in the small titular town investigating the murder of a high school student, but things quickly spiral as the mysteries pile up and he realizes there are much darker deeds happening than it seemed on the surface.
“Twin Peaks” is a story about lost innocence and the unseen rot under the surface. It has a very specific way it tells its story, which plays out in total fascinating fashion.
Doctor Who
The modern age reboot of “Doctor Who” has offered up some of the most fun sci-fi in the last 20 years, bar none. Russell T. Davies and later Steven Moffatt each had their takes on what makes Who Who, but with powerhouse actors like David Tennant and Matt Smith holding the keys to the TARDIS, it was going to be hard to completely miss.
Every fan of the genre should revel in the stories, the sometimes hokey visuals, the rubber alien costumes and the pursuit of figuring out which Doctor is their personal favorite. It’s a rite of passage.
Supernatural
“Supernatural” began as a simple monster-of-the-week series over on The CW, but as the seasons ticked by, the world broadened to include gods – both general and the Big G variety – demons, angels, and every folklore beast you can find. If part of the lure of “The Sandman” was seeing these various deities running their empires and clashing with each other, Sam and Dean Winchester deal with plenty of that as the long-running horror series spools out.
The Umbrella Academy
The Endless really are an oddball family when you boil it all down, and few Netflix shows have nailed the misfit siblings troupe better than “The Umbrella Academy.” The series follows a group of has-been heroes that grew up fighting crime with an assortment of powers only to become estranged until a death in their found family brings them back together. What follows is four seasons of bats–t storytelling that works more often than it doesn’t – or has any right to.
