When it was announced that the famous DC comic Dead Boy Detectives was getting a television adaptation, fans were overjoyed. The show was a unique blend of dark humor and supernatural mystery that masterfully stayed authentic to the source material, greatly contributing to its appeal.
Hence, it was extremely shocking and disheartening for the fans when the show, despite being highly acclaimed, was canceled after its first season.
It sometimes happens that projects with huge potential and plausibility to succeed reach their end in a way that feels premature. Dead Boy Detectives was one such show, that had its journey cut short and did not deserve it.
Set in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman universe, the show follows two ghosts, Charles Rowland and Edwin Payne who chose not to enter the afterlife after their untimely passing. Instead, they decided to pick up a much more interesting job: investigating crimes caused by the supernatural. A show that promised so much was brought to an early conclusion, leaving fans yearning. Here are three iconic things about Dead Boy Detectives that are missed the most.
1. Unparalleled chemistry and vibrant characters
It so happens that shows that are not as excellently made as Dead Boy Detectives get remembered for their characters’ chemistry. But Neil Gaiman struck the bull’s eye by casting the two ghostly detectives. Viewers quickly see the spectacular brains and brawn dynamic between the early 1900s schoolboy, Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), who is quick to pull out a knife.
Having died in 1916 and 1989 respectively, Edwin and Charles had no one to investigate their deaths. Hence, upon striking a friendship in the afterlife, they team up to solve criminal mysteries caused by the supernatural. The characters and the conviction with which they were portrayed made their chemistry enjoyable for the viewers.
Furthermore, the storyline adds some mortals to the mix. The ghost detectives make friends with two humans: Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) and Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), who help them bring out their investigations. The show is also embellished with some quirkiest of characters with its supporting cast. This included a range of supporting ghosts and spirits. From chaotic poltergeists to orbs and specters seeking closure, they added another layer to the show’s exploration of its varied themes.
The Whisper Men, who were the key antagonists in the series, were also up to all sorts of things to ensure complication in each case. With their eerie presence and cryptic motives, these recurring antagonists added a layer of menace to the story.
Solving crimes and avoiding run-ins with Death (Vanessa Kirby) herself, the Netflix show entertained viewers immensely. And the half-dead half-alive squad is missed by the viewers.
2. Mystery and supernatural: the dynamic blend
Dead Boy Detectives intricately weaves together the most fascinating of genres. The decadent blend of crime, mystery, afterlife, and supernatural lore is hard to come by these days. The rich supernatural elements are rooted deep in Gaiman’s The Sandman universe. Ghosts, demons, witches, and otherworldly creatures each with their unique motivations to cause chaos, contributed to increasing the depth of the storyline and the overall world-building.
Incorporating such varied genres and doing them all justice demands special attention to detail. This quality of the show sets it apart from contemporary supernatural dramas that are more often than not, filled with clichés. The writers skillfully balance out the tricky parts of making an intricate yet cohesive blend such as this.
Each episode with a new case to solve brought forth a challenge for the dead detectives. From haunted mansions to cursed objects, they solved it all with their ingenuity and courage. And some help from their human allies resulted in a (usually) smooth running of their operations. Furthermore, the episodes beautifully tie together and contribute to the larger narrative arc while each still being a pocket of ceaseless entertainment.
Moreover, the show asked thought-provoking and existential questions, such as: What is the true meaning of being alive? What does it mean to be alive ghost?, while continuing to be a light-hearted watch.
Viewers certainly feel themselves now missing out on the vibrant way of tackling numerous aspects of a plot in Dead Boy Detectives.
3. Humor and tone in Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives astoundingly balanced its dark, gothic themes with quirky humor. The gothic aesthetic and moody cinematography enhanced the overall feel of the show. Just as much as the witty dialogues and weird situations made the audience laugh.
The humor came from the characters’ interactions. Edwin, the polite and sensitive one from the 20th century with Charles, the rebellious and ever-sarcastic boy from more modern times, often clashed. Edwin’s old-fashioned manners combined with Charles’ sarcastic quips and modern sensibilities often resulted in the funniest of moments. The sharp dialogue and subliminal banter showed the humanity left in the comrade protagonists after their death.
This blend of light and dark, the exploration of heavy and saddening themes such as death being balanced with light-hearted humor made the show appealing to different kinds of people. And resulting in a relatively compact but varied viewer demographic.
Why was Dead Boy Detectives canceled?
Despite its exceptional reception by both critics and fans, the show’s entertaining journey of Edwin and Charles’s adventures concluded pretty early on. This left fans wondering about where the seemingly perfect show fell short. The answer is in its viewership numbers.
Per an exclusive report by Variety, The show had a brilliant reception in the initial days of its premiere. However, it struggled to be consistent. It opened well and stayed in Netflix’s Top 10 English-speaking shows for three weeks. Even though the show procured the second spot on the list for April 22-28, it garnered only 4.7 million views in three weeks.
The fact that 3.1 million of this was attained in the first three days of premiering speaks volumes about the show’s overall performance. In week three, the number of views plummeted to just 1.3 million with the show eventually falling off the top 10 list.
It is noteworthy that the streaming giant defines one view by dividing a series’s total runtime by the total number of hours viewed.
Netflix should have waited it out with this one, it missed out on a big opportunity. Many feel that Dead Boy Detectives deserved more. The show, an immediate hit with fans could have eventually entered the mainstream.
Dead Boy Detectives is available to stream on Netflix.
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