DEAD BOY DETECTIVES -- Netflix's Latest Gaiman Adaptation is a Fun Macabre Noir

Review by Sean Boelman

(L to R) George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne and Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland in episode 1 of DEAD BOY DETECTIVES. Credit: David Bukach/Netflix © 2023.

After the success of their first Neil Gaiman adaptation, The Sandman, it only makes sense that Netflix would want to get all-in on the Gaiman business. Based on characters introduced in the aforementioned comics before being spun off into their own series, Dead Boy Detectives brings a flawed but fun macabre noir to the streaming service’s library that will surely be the next obsession of young subscribers everywhere.

Dead Boy Detectives follows two ghosts who decide not to enter the afterlife, opting instead to stay on Earth and investigate supernatural crimes. If you split the difference between a spookier Sherlock Holmes and a campier X-Files, that’s about where Dead Boy Detectives falls. It’s dark and mature enough to entertain adults but not so edgy as to be too much for a pre-teen/teen audience. (It is TV-MA for some f-bombs, but it’s pretty tame as far as streaming series go.)

The show presents a series of interesting cases, and while some are more exciting than others, the duller episodes are nicely padded with other conflicts, like romance or an overarching supernatural threat. In this way, the show does an excellent job of capturing the anthology-esque nature of a comic adaptation while still giving us plenty to care about in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, a series like this is only as good as its leads, and the actors who play the eponymous duo are tremendous discoveries. George Rexstrew is a complete newcomer, with only a short film credit to his name, and Jayden Revri has only a few more. However, they bring charm and confidence to their roles that would rival the young leads of any major franchise. They are funny, likable, and have excellent chemistry with one another.

(L to R) George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne and Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland in episode 1 of DEAD BOY DETECTIVES. Credit: David Bukach/Netflix © 2023.

This is also the rare show that doesn’t pad its supporting cast with big names to steal the show — a wise decision considering how talented Rexstrew and Revri are. The most recognizable recurring star is Lukas Gage, who’s admittedly delicious as one of the show’s secondary antagonists. But the rest of the ensemble, including Kassius Nelson, Yuyu Kitamura, and Michael Beach, among others, all do a great job of infusing personality into their characters.

However, this large ensemble is also where the show begins to falter. Ultimately, Dead Boy Detectives juggles too many storylines. Between the leading trio’s overall arcs, the individual cases, and the arcs of several characters they meet along the way (from the butcher that rents our heroes their space to their dealer of magical antiques), there’s so much happening in the story that it feels hyperactive within the confines of an eight-episode season.

The series's below-the-line aspects also sometimes let it down. The world of any Neil Gaiman creation is incredibly rich, and show creator Steve Yockey and his staff of writers take some big swings with Dead Boy Detectives. Unfortunately, a few of those swings are held back by budget. Some of the set pieces have flagship-level ambition, but since this is the first season of an “untested” IP, they don’t get quite the scale they seemed to hope for, drawing viewers out of the world.

Nevertheless, Dead Boy Detectives manages to be a genuinely good time throughout the entirety of its eight-episode run. It has its fair share of cheese, but its world is so vibrant that viewers will be clamoring to spend more time with these characters. Hopefully, this will inspire Netflix to put even more behind the next season and future Gaiman adaptations.

Dead Boy Detectives is now streaming on Netflix. All eight episodes reviewed.

Rating: 4/5