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The Sandman poster

Shows that feel likeThe Sandman (2022–2025)

After years of imprisonment, Morpheus — the King of Dreams — embarks on a journey across worlds to find what was stolen from him and restore his power.

If you loved The Sandman, the closest series we have are DC's Stargirl (2020), Marvel's Runaways (2017) and Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013). All three share The Sandman's cerebral and dreamlike feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Gifted (2017).

★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗2 seasons · Netflixcreated by Allan Heinbergcerebraldreamlikecontemplativekineticepic
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Hulu
Stream it:Netflix ↗

If The Sandman hit the spot, these will too

DC's Stargirl poster
DC's Stargirl
2020–2022 · 3 seasons · The CW
★ 7.1sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaMax

Inherited power and the weight of a legacy somebody else built

The difference: Small-town teen superheroics, bright and earnest — no myth, no dread

Courtney Whitmore, a smart, athletic and above all else kind girl, discovers her step-father has a secret: he used to be the sidekick to a superhero. "Borrowing" the long-lost hero’s cosmic staff, she becomes the unlikely inspiration for an entirely new generation of superheroes.

Marvel's Runaways poster
Marvel's Runaways
2017–2019 · 3 seasons · Hulu
★ 6.8action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasy

Young people discovering the powers that shaped their lives

The difference: Teen Marvel drama, grounded and much smaller

Every teenager thinks their parents are evil. What if you found out they actually were? Six diverse teenagers who can barely stand each other must unite against a common foe – their parents.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. poster
Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
2013–2020 · 7 seasons · ABC
★ 7.5drama · sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureDisney+

Ancient powers turning up in the ordinary world

The difference: Network Marvel, procedural and much lighter

Agent Phil Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division) puts together a team of agents to investigate the new, the strange and the unknown around the globe, protecting the ordinary from the extraordinary.

The Gifted poster
The Gifted
2017–2019 · 2 seasons · FOX
★ 7.2sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaHulu

Ordinary lives torn open by powers nobody in them asked for

The difference: A family-on-the-run thriller, contemporary and small in scope

A suburban couple's ordinary lives are rocked by the sudden discovery that their children possess mutant powers. Forced to go on the run from a hostile government, the family joins up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive.

Titans poster
Titans
2018–2023 · 4 seasons · DC Universe
🍅 50%★ 7.4drama · action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyMax

Comic-book figures treated as damaged adults with long histories

The difference: Grimy street-level action rather than cosmology and dream logic

A team of young superheroes led by Nightwing (formerly Batman's first Robin) form to combat evil and other perils.

His Dark Materials poster
His Dark Materials
2019–2023 · 3 seasons · BBC One
★ 7.7sci-fi & fantasy · drama · action & adventureMax

Parallel worlds taken seriously, with theology as a genuine threat

The difference: A children's quest at heart, gentler and more literal-minded

Lyra is an orphan who lives in a parallel universe in which science, theology and magic are entwined. Her search for a kidnapped friend uncovers a sinister plot involving stolen children and turns into a quest to understand a mysterious phenomenon called Dust. She is later joined on her journey by Will, a boy who possesses a knife that can cut windows between worlds. As she learns the truth about her parents and her prophesied destiny, the two young people are caught up in a war against celestial powers that ranges across many worlds.

DC's Legends of Tomorrow poster
DC's Legends of Tomorrow
2016–2022 · 7 seasons · The CW
★ 6.7action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy · dramaNetflix

Powerful beings meddling with the basic shape of reality

The difference: A deliberately goofy time-travel romp, tonally the opposite of solemn

When heroes alone are not enough ... the world needs legends. Having seen the future, one he will desperately try to prevent from happening, time-traveling rogue Rip Hunter is tasked with assembling a disparate group of both heroes and villains to confront an unstoppable threat — one in which not only is the planet at stake, but all of time itself. Can this ragtag team defeat an immortal threat unlike anything they have ever known?

Marvel's Inhumans poster
Marvel's Inhumans
2017 · 1 season · ABC
★ 4.9drama · sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventureDisney+

Common ground: superhero

After the Royal Family of Inhumans is splintered by a military coup, they barely escape to Hawaii where their surprising interactions with the lush world and humanity around them may prove to not only save them, but Earth itself.

Marvel's Iron Fist poster
Marvel's Iron Fist
2017–2018 · 2 seasons · Netflix
★ 6.4action & adventure · drama · sci-fi & fantasyDisney+

Both are built on the same subject: superhero

Danny Rand resurfaces 15 years after being presumed dead. Now, with the power of the Iron Fist, he seeks to reclaim his past and fulfill his destiny.

Cursed poster
Cursed
2020 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 6action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasyNetflix

A legend retold with new emphasis and a great deal of atmosphere

The difference: Arthurian YA, action-led and far less strange

In this fresh take on the Arthurian legend, teenager Nimue joins forces with mercenary Arthur on a quest to find Merlin and deliver an ancient sword.

Black Lightning poster
Black Lightning
2018–2021 · 4 seasons · The CW
★ 6.1action & adventure · sci-fi & fantasy · drama

A powerful figure pulled back into duty by a world needing order

The difference: Grounded family and community drama, political rather than mythic

Jefferson Pierce is a man wrestling with a secret. As the father of two daughters and principal of a charter high school that also serves as a safe haven for young people in a New Orleans neighborhood overrun by gang violence, he is a hero to his community.

Jupiter's Legacy poster
Jupiter's Legacy
2021 · 1 season · Netflix
★ 6.7sci-fi & fantasy · action & adventure · dramaNetflix

An immortal figure and the family that grew up in his shadow

The difference: Superheroes and boardrooms, with no myth to it

As the world's first generation of superheroes (who received their powers in the 1930s) become the revered elder guard in the present, their superpowered children struggle to live up to the legendary feats of their parents.

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The best-reviewed series that share The Sandman’s defining feeling.