Dead Boy Detectives, the supernatural series connected to Neil Gaiman’s Sandman universe, has been canceled by Netflix after just one season. The show premiered on April 25 and, despite a warm reception from critics and a passionate (albeit, perhaps not sizeable enough) audience, won’t be returning for a second chapter.
In its brief run, the show introduced viewers to George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri as the titular dead boys—two spirits who, after their deaths, form a friendship and solve paranormal mysteries together. The ensemble cast featured Kassius Nelson, Yuyu Kitamura, and Jenn Lyon, among others. Steve Yockey developed the series, sharing showrunner duties and executive production with Beth Schwartz. The production was backed by industry heavyweights like Greg Berlanti, Jeremy Carver, and Gaiman himself.
Dead Boy Detectives experienced moderate success on Netflix, spending three weeks in the platform’s Top 10 English TV charts. It peaked at number two during its debut week but experienced a steep drop in viewership afterward, ultimately falling out of the charts by its fourth week. Despite this, the show resonated well with critics and audiences, garnering a strong 92% rating from critics and a 90% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
The journey to Netflix was a winding one for Dead Boy Detectives. Originally, the series began development at Max, where it received a pilot order in 2021 and a full series order in 2022. However, due to changes in the DC content strategy under James Gunn and Peter Safran, the show was sold to Netflix in 2023. Once there, it became part of Netflix’s broader Sandman universe, which includes the popular The Sandman series.
Ultimately, while Dead Boy Detectives did find some success on the review side of things, it appears that a lack of viewership and an overall quiet level of fanfare made it unsustainable for Netflix.
Source: Variety
