Dead Boy Detectives (TV series)

Dead Boy Detectives is an American supernatural horror detective comedy-drama television series developed by Steve Yockey and based on Toby Litt and Mark Buckingham's run of the DC Comics series Dead Boy Detectives. The series stars George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, Briana Cuoco, Ruth Connell, Yuyu Kitamura and Jenn Lyon, and follows Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne, two murdered boys who refuse to enter the afterlife and instead stay on Earth to investigate supernatural mysteries.

Plans for a television series began in September 2021, when a pilot was ordered by HBO Max for a TV series based on the Dead Boy Detectives comics. The series was given a greenlight by April 2022, intended as a tie-in to the HBO Max series Doom Patrol. However, after six episodes had been filmed, the decision was made in February 2023 to move the show to Netflix and tie the show to The Sandman instead. After the decision to set the series in the Sandman universe, Sandman author Neil Gaiman wrote several scenes to connect the shows, including cameos by Kirby as Death and Donna Preston as Despair.

Dead Boy Detectives premiered on Netflix on April 25, 2024. The series received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised its writing, directing and tone, as well as the performances of the cast and visuals. In August 2024, the series was canceled after one season.