Dead Boy Detectives: DC’s supernatural drama series is moving from HBO Max to Netflix

Last Updated on March 2, 2023

DC’s Dead Boy Detectives will do its snooping on a different streamer. Reports indicate the drama is moving from HBO Max, where the show was developed, to Netflix. Sources say the show is changing venues because it doesn’t fit with DC executives James Gunn and Peter Safran’s plans for the DCU. The duo is retooling the DC’s representation across film, television, and video games, ensuring all the pieces fit together to create a cohesive universe of content. The duo’s plans include five inter-connected shows and Peacemaker on HBO Max. At the very least, Dead Boy Detectives is moving to another platform instead of being canceled.

The Dead Boys Detectives series revolves around Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland, two dead British teenagers, and their alive friend, Crystal Palace. A press release from HBO Max described it as “a lot like a vintage detective series — only darker and on acid.” I like the sound of that! Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant) wrote the pilot episode of Dead Boy Detectives and will also serve as the series showrunner alongside Beth Schwartz (Arrow). Yockey will also executive produce the series alongside Jeremy Carver, Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter. “I’ve been obsessed with this comic for a long time, so it’s a true passion project,” Yockey said. “And Jeremy, Berlanti Productions, DC, WBTV, HBO Max — they’re all encouraging me to run with every wild, bizarre, and unsettling choice. The result is going to be really dark fun.”

Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content at HBO Max, said, “We are excited to be expanding further into the DC Universe with Steve, Jeremy, and the Berlanti team with this thrilling new spin on a detective series. We were fascinated by the world of the Dead Boy Detectives that Steve and Jeremy first introduced in ‘Doom Patrol,’ and cannot wait to follow the supernatural sleuths in the lurid mysteries to come.”

The Dead Boy Detectives previously appeared in an episode of Doom Patrol, but the characters have been recast for the series. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri (The Lodge) star as Dead Boy Detectives Edwin Payne (Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Revri), with Kassius Nelson (Last Night in Soho) also staring as Crystal Palace. Other series stars include Briana Cuoco (The Flight Attendant) as Jenny the Butcher, Ruth Connell (Supernatural) as the Night Nurse, Yuyu Kitamura (The Expatriates) as Niko, and Jenn Lyon (Justified) as Esther.

Dead Boy Detectives is one of my most anticipated projects coming from DC. I’m so glad they didn’t cancel it. The current comic book run of Dead Boy Detectives (written by Pornsak Pichetshote, with art by Jeff Stokely and Craig A. Taillefer) is off to a fantastic start! I highly recommend picking up the first two issues to get a taste of what this series is all about.