Dead Boy Detectives, a fantasy series following two dead best friends who evade the afterlife in order to help spirits trapped amongst the living, hit Netflix earlier this year – and while the show received widespread critical acclaim and holds a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes…there’s a good chance you didn’t see it.
The series, based on the comic book of the same name, was first announced as a new streaming show for Max – which was then, and still is, the streaming home for DC shows. The show was subsequently moved to Netflix after the streamer acquired the live-action adaptation of The Sandman – which made perfect sense, given that Dead Boy Detectives is technically a spin-off from The Sandman comics and is set in the same world. I was immediately nervous, however, as Netflix is known for quickly canceling fantasy shows – no matter how highly rated or how popular in views – and I had a sneaking feeling that the show wouldn’t last very long.
I was right – and I’m still sad about it. Dead Boy Detectives follows Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew), the brains, and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), the brawn. Both were killed in different time periods – albeit in equally tragic ways – but found each other in death, and became best friends. Rather than go back to their eternal resting places, the pair decide to use their time on earth for good and open a detective agency for otherworldly matters. It’s here in the land of the living that they make two human friends, Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) and Niko (Yuyu Kitamura) – though it’s not without helping through their own paranormal situations.
But it’s so much more than just a cutesy teen series with a gothic flare. Dead Boy Detectives isn’t afraid to delve into serious, traumatic situations – from child abuse to familicide, from revenge porn to surviving narcissistic abuse – and it does so in a way that teaches not only the characters (some of who admittedly can’t quite seem to wrap their heads around it at first), but the viewers at home who might not have any experience with or prior knowledge of these types of situations.
It might seem silly the idea of Crystal fighting off her ex-boyfriend who is quite literally a demon, but the show uses the metaphor of demonic possession to explain how victims of narcissistic abuse are used and manipulated. Charles’s residual anger as a result of his father’s abuse – and Crystal’s frustration and inability to understand – is also handled so thoughtfully, and with such care. Another episode even touches on suicide, and humanizes the individuals who take their own lives by cleverly explaining the euphoria someone experiences after they’ve made the decision (which is something I’ve never ever seen touched on in a TV show).
Sometimes, another streamer comes in and saves a canceled show – but that this is unlikely for Dead Boys (at least for the foreseeable future) given that Netflix has more or less become the official home to the Sandman universe, but I do think that Steve Yockey, Schwartz, and the writing team created something that can absolutely stand on its own without Sandman cameos or any sort of affiliation. Yes, the show has a cameo or two from The Sandman series, but they could’ve easily been removed (and were likely only added to draw in the existing Sandman audience).
But whether the show gets its miracle renewal or not, I invite you, dear reader, to watch all eight episodes – each just under an hour in length – while they’re still available to stream on Netflix. If you’re not swayed by the brilliant ways that the series tackles difficult topics, you might fall in love with the whimsical, Tim Burton-esque opening theme, the absolutely ridiculous and colorful villains (one of which is the literal king of all the cats in the land), the delightfully queer nature of the show and the way it doesn’t shy away from LGBTQ+ characters or their unions, or you may just like the format of a good ol’ procedural.
Either way, there’s truly something for everyone – and you can’t say that about too many shows, or too many supernatural teen dramas even. I worry that Dead Boy Detectives will quickly become another forgotten streaming gem, but it deserves so much more – and I hope you fall in love with it, too.
For more, check out our Dead Boy Detectives review and our roundup of the best shows of 2024, on which it features.