THE SANDMAN
DRAMA / FANTASY / HORROR
USA / UNITED KINGDOM
2020-2024
THE SANDMAN is an American fantasy drama television series based on the 1989–1996 comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. The series was developed by Gaiman, David S. Goyer, and Allan Heinberg for the streaming service Netflix and is produced by DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television. Like the comic, The Sandman tells the story of Dream / Morpheus, the titular Sandman. The series stars Tom Sturridge as the title character, with Boyd Holbrook, Vivienne Acheampong, and Patton Oswalt in supporting roles. THE SANDMAN consists of 21 episodes of 45 minutes.
STORY: Morpheus (Tom Sturridge), the personification of dreams and one of the seven Endless, is captured in an occult ritual in 1916. After being held captive for 106 years, Dream escapes and sets out to restore order to his realm the Dreaming.
GAY COUPLE STORYLINE: Alex is the son of Roderick Burgess who imprisoned Dream in his glass prison that was mystically fortified by runes, binding Morpheus within its limits. Alex as a child was sympathetic to Dream and wanted to help him escape but ultimately aided his father in keeping Dream captive in order to win his father’s love and approval. Alex Burgess (Laurie Kynaston) just so happened to be gay and fall in love with Paul McGuire (Gus Gordon) who worked on the estate. Paul ultimately helps Dream to escape his prison by ‘accidentally’ breaking the rune barrier holding Morpheus at bay.
Alex Burgess (Laurie Kynaston) & Paul McGuire (Gus Gordon)
LAURIE KYNASTON (2022) February 24, 1994, Shrewsbury, UK
GUS GORDON (2022) ?, 1971, Sydney, Australia
SPECIAL: The queer representationin The Sandman to be found on the show works so magnificently because of its casual nature. The characters just happen to be queer, its not the defining feature of any one character or used as a big plot point, it just is, which is how Gaiman wrote these characters in the first place. Speaking with The Queer Review Gaiman said: “We didn’t really change anything, that was how they were when I wrote them, that’s always how I’ve written characters…When I was writing it—and today—I had gay friends and I had trans friends. I wanted to see them represented in the comics that I was writing, and it felt to me like if I wrote comics and left them out, then I wouldn’t be representing my world, or the world that I was in, or the world I was perceiving accurately, bravely, or truly. And that’s the point of art. So, for me, it was just a given.”
AWARDS: 'The Sandman' Nominated for 1 BAFTA, 10 nominations
7.7 IMDB
