‘Dead Boy Detectives’ Cancelled After One Season!!

There will be no resurrection for George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri. Netflix has canceled Dead Boy Detectives after one Tseason on the platform, officially ending its twisty journey that began years back when it was first ordered for HBO Max. While the Neil Gaiman-based series saw some modest early success and rave reviews to the tune of a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score, it wasn’t enough to save the series from the hand of Death. The Flight Attendant mastermind Steve Yockey helmed the series, which became a part of Netflix‘s The Sandman universe.

Dead Boy Detectives had a rocky road to television from the beginning. The original plans for the series to be part of HBO Max‘s catalog were scuttled when James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as the new stewards of the DC Universe. The supernatural mystery show didn’t fit with what the pair envisioned for the brand, though it worked out for the best in the end when Netflix pursued the series with hopes of integrating it with their widely-loved adaptation of Gaiman‘s graphic novels where the Dead Boy Detectives were first introduced. Such a shift allowed Yockey and his team, including showrunner Beth Schwartz, to integrate more direct references to The Sandman. That cooperation ultimately helped the series thrive on the platform, especially with Kirby Howell-Baptiste and Donna Preston prominently reprising their roles as Death and Despair.

Rexstrew and Revri led the series London-set series as Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland, the titular afterlife detectives and best friends who are stuck as ghosts after being brutally murdered in boarding school. Together, with help from their living friend Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson), they choose to remain in the mortal realm to investigate supernatural crimes while evading Death. Season 1 ended with a whirlwind including a romantic confession that promised big things for the series’ future and a few teases for where each character ends after everyone comes together in the finale. Yuyu Kitamura, Jenn Lyon, Briana Cuoco, David Iacono, and Lukas Gage round out the cast alongside Ruth Connell, who reprises her role as the Night Nurse from Doom Patrol.

What’s Next for ‘The Sandman’ Universe at Netflix?

Though the Dead Boy Detectives will no longer haunt Netflix, the same cannot be said for The Sandman which is gearing up for the release of Season 2. Casting announcements and episode titles have given some insight into where the Tom Sturridge-led adaptation is heading next as it adapts the “Season of Mists” arc, but finer details have been largely kept under wraps. The events are set to pick up in the aftermath of Dream’s efforts to get back his artifacts and restore the Dreaming following his capture, a journey which brought him into conflict with Gwendoline Christie‘s war-mongering Lucifer and Boyd Holbrook‘s smooth-talking nightmare, The Corinthian, among others. There’s no word on when the series will return, though we may get an update soon as Netflix prepares for its upcoming Geeked Week in September.