Netflix's The Sandman series may not have been a direct adaptation of the graphic novels but each episode still covered some of the important and sometimes terrifying storylines. For instance, Episode 5 took on the 24 Hours storyline where people in a diner are influenced by a man named John Dee. Not surprisingly, Neil Gaiman and showrunner Allan Heinberg were eager to see this particular story arc in the show.
In The Sandman Episode 5, David Thewlis' John Dee takes refuge in a diner where he uses Morpheus' ruby to affect the people around him. This causes everyone to stop lying and the honesty leads to terrifying consequences.
The episode 24/7 is undoubtedly the darkest in the series so far and it's no surprise that both Neil Gaiman and showrunner Allen Heinberg are proud of it. While speaking to Total Film, the creators shared their thoughts on adapting the comic's story.
"[It] was a particular challenge for me," Heinberg said. "It ended up being the second episode that we shot because of the COVID situation in the UK."
He then added that they chose not to use a narrator for the episode. "We had a much more naturalistic approach to it, so we had to figure out how to introduce the characters in a way that makes you fall in love with them before the dark strain starts to take over," Heinberg said.
"It was a challenge but then, also really rewarding because it freed me up as a writer to think outside of the comics in a way, and really dig into telling the same story through a different lens," he continued. "It liberated me, I think, for the rest of the series, too, to make it as full-bodied an adaptation as possible. That it really lived on the screen as its own entity, even as it’s indebted to the source material."
All episodes of The Sandman are now streaming on Netflix.
Related: The Sandman: Why Was Morpheus Not Saved by Death and The Endless?
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!