‘Dead Boy Detectives’ declared deceased at Netflix after one season
The series cancellation epidemic has once again reached Netflix, as supernatural detective comedy-drama Dead Boy Detectives will not return for a season 2 on the streamer.
The one-and-done series premiered on Netflix on August 25, receiving mostly positive reviews and admiration from fans of Neil Gaiman’s DC comics characters. The writing and visuals were especially singled out, and the choice to forego a renewal for the show is surprising. Moreover, the series was made in continuity with The Sandman, another popular Netflix show set in the Sandman universe. Fans were hoping for some exciting crossovers in the series’ second season, which will not take place now.
Dead Boy Detectives’ cancelation will unfortunately not come as a surprise to fans of Netflix’s previous YA-leaning supernatural fare, as many shows in this niche, including Lockwood & Co., Shadow & Bone, Fate: The Winx Saga, Warrior Nun, and more were all canceled by the streamer after one or two seasons despite critical success and/or loyal fanbases. Given Dead Boy Detectives’ ties with Sandman, this cancellation feels even more egregious.
Dead Boy Detectives was brought to the screen after multiple initial hiccups, which included getting a pilot order in 2021 and a series order in 2022 by Max before eventually getting passed on to Netflix in 2023. The reason cited at the time was DC’s new head honchos Peter Safran and James Gunn not being sure about the show aligning with their vision for Max-DC content.
Starring George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, Briana Cuoco, Ruth Connell, Jenn Lyon, and Yuyu Kitamura in leading roles, Dead Boy Detectives was developed by American screenwriter Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant). The show follows Charles Rowland (Revri) and Edwin Payne (Rextrew), two ghosts who decide to renounce the afterlife and instead solve supernatural crimes on Earth.
A key reason behind the show’s cancellation could be the relatively underwhelming viewership of the series as compared to Netflix’s marquee offerings. It managed 3.1 million views in the first three days following its debut and went up as high as #2 in the week of April 22-28, but slowly faded away from the viewership list as weeks progressed.
The series holds a strong score on Rotten Tomatoes with a 92% approval rating with an average rating of 7.5/10, based on 50 critic reviews. There have been instances of one-and-done shows being revived in the past, and fans of Dead Boy Detectives will be hoping the series finds life elsewhere in the future.
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