Dead Boy Detectives: HBO Max series adds Lukas Gage as Thomas the Cat King

Last November, it was announced that Alexander Calvert (Supernatural) would be playing Thomas the Cat King in the pilot for the HBO Max series based on Dead Boy Detectives, characters Neil Gaiman created for DC Comics in the pages of The Sandman issue #25. Back in April, HBO Max ordered eight episodes of the series. But today, Variety has broken the news that we won’t be seeing Calvert as Thomas the Cat King when the series reaches the streaming service. Calvert has been replaced by Lukas Gage, whose previous credits include Euphoria, The White Lotus, Into the Dark: Midnight Kiss, and Love, Victor.

Thomas the Cat King will be a series regular on Dead Boy Detectives. The character has the following description: “When Thomas doesn’t hold the appearance of a handsome man full of entitlement or holding court with his subjects he can be seen strutting around town as an attractive Siamese cat. Thomas is always happy to make a deal and he keeps his word, but Thomas isn’t one who should be trusted.“

George Rexstrew, making his screen debut, and Jayden Revri of The Lodge play the title characters in Dead Boy Detectives. The third lead of the show will be Kassius Nelson of Last Night in Soho. The one-hour episodes of the series will follow

the Dead Boy Detectives — Charles Rowland (Revri) and Edwin Paine (Rexstrew) — who decided not to enter the afterlife in order to stay on earth and investigate crimes involving the supernatural. They are joined by Crystal Palace (Nelson), a living psychic medium.

Also in the cast are Briana Cuoco (The Flight Attendant) as Jenny, described as a mildly punk butcher and a confidant of Crystal Palace; Jenn Lyon (Justified) as Esther, described as a witch obsessed with youth and immortality; Yuyu Kitamura (The Expatriates) as Niko, a boarding school student intent on joining the Dead Boy Detectives agency who now lives above Jenny’s butcher shop; and Ruth Connell (For the Love of George) who will play Night Nurse, a demon that controls the flow of souls in the afterlife.

Connell is a carry-over from Doom Patrol, as she previously played Night Nurse on that show. But Charles, Edwin, and Crystal were played by Sebastian Croft, Ty Tennant, and Madalyn Horcher on Doom Patrol.

The pilot for Dead Boy Detectives was written by Steve Yockey, who also serves as executive producer alongside Jeremy Carver and Berlanti Productions’ Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter, and David Madden. Yockey and Carver previously worked together on Supernatural. Yockey currently serves as co-showrunner on The Flight Attendant, while Carver is showrunner on Doom Patrol.

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