The Sandman (2022–2025) is a fantasy drama series developed by Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg for Netflix, based on the comic-book series created by Gaiman, Sam Kieth and Mike Dringenberg. The series follows Dream, also known as Morpheus, one of the Endless, after he is captured in an occult ritual and held prisoner for more than a century. When he escapes, he must rebuild his realm, recover his stolen objects of power and face the damage caused by his long absence. Tom Sturridge plays Dream, with major roles for Boyd Holbrook as the Corinthian, Vivienne Acheampong as Lucienne, Patton Oswalt as the voice of Matthew the Raven, Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer, Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death, Mason Alexander Park as Desire and Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine. The series blends dark fantasy, horror, mythology, historical drama and modern urban fantasy, moving between the waking world, the Dreaming, Hell and the domains of the Endless.
The Sandman was filmed mainly in England, with Shepperton Studios serving as an important production base and many locations found within reach of London. The series uses a combination of real historic interiors, studio-built fantasy sets, digital effects and carefully chosen exterior locations to create its shifting worlds. London and the South East of England stand in for many parts of the story, including real-world London, New York, hospitals, manor houses, courtrooms, museums and supernatural spaces. Lincoln’s Inn Library was used for Lucienne’s library in Dream’s palace, while the Natural History Museum contributed to the interiors of the Dreaming. Joyce Grove in Oxfordshire was used as Fawney Rig, the manor where Dream is imprisoned by Roderick Burgess, and Guildford Cathedral was used extensively for large interior sequences. Canary Wharf doubled for Buffalo, New York, while other London-area locations include Greenwich’s Old Royal Naval College, Richmond Green and Brookwood Cemetery. Scotney Castle in Kent and Hankley Common in Surrey add further historical and otherworldly textures, with Hankley Common used for material connected to Hell. Season 2 continued the series’ British-heavy location pattern, adding places such as Strawberry Hill House, used for Faerie material, and Dorset coastal scenery connected to later fantasy sequences. The result is a series where location work is constantly transformed: legal libraries become dream archives, English cathedrals and museums become supernatural architecture, London financial districts become American city streets, and real castles, commons, beaches and studios are combined into the mythic geography of the Dreaming.
Guildford Cathedral
Guildford Cathedral is best known as a filming location from The Omen. The cathedral has also appeared in productions such as The Sandman and The Witcher.
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