Dead Boy Detectives has finally arrived on Netflix and brings us another corner of Neil Gaiman Sand seller universe.
The Dead Boy Detectives were introduced to the world of comics in Sandman #25. Now, the teenage ghosts have made the leap to their own TV series with an eight-episode first season.
The story follows Edwin (George Rexstrew) and Charles (Jayden Revri) as they attempt to help ghosts facing otherworldly problems while avoiding death – once again played by Kirby Howell-Baptiste from Sand seller – to move them towards their beyond. In Edwin's case, he knows he's headed to hell (for technical reasons), and Charles just doesn't want to move on.
And besides Death, they also have to dodge the night nurse (Ruth Connell) – who may or may not be playing the same character from Doom Patrol? – who works for Afterlife's lost and found department.
The series divides each episode into a monster-of-the-week type mystery while also advancing several ongoing storylines. In the first episode, they find themselves tangled with a psychic human named Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) who is trying to put an end to her demon of an ex-boyfriend. Actually, he's a real demon, but you get the idea.
Strengths and weaknesses
The undeniable strength of Dead Boy Detectives lies in the chemistry of its cast. The dynamic between Edwin, Charles and Crystal is electric and engaging at all times. Not too far into the season, you also meet Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), an anime and romance enthusiast, who joins the team for several adventures.
However, where the series suffers is the attempt to mix monsters of the week with multiple ongoing stories. The quirky, unexpected mysteries are where the fun of the series lies, but these are then interrupted by an update on Plot A, Plot B, and Plot C. If the series only had 'only one overall storyline – without going into spoilers – for example the Cat King, then it would have worked. But there is a constant need to update us on multiple storylines while trying to bring you an interesting mini-story.
But, once again, I come back to the strength of these characters and their actors. Even when I had issues with the way an episode was structured, I was still fully engaged because these are very fleshed out characters (no pun intended) that you enjoy watching. They also inhabit a very rich world that you can't wait to explore and learn more about.
Dead Boy Detectives Review – Worth the Trip
Although I had obvious issues with the episode structure, I found myself sticking with the series purely because of the strength of the characters. You want to see their interaction and learn more about them.
Season 1 ends with a definitive place in Season 2 for almost everyone involved, and the promise of a potentially different format in the future, and I'll be there just ready to solve more mysteries with the Dead detectives Boy.
Dead Boy Detectives is now available worldwide on Netflix.
Disclaimer: Netflix provided Batman-News with all eight episodes of Dead Boy Detectives Season 1 for this review. We watched them to the end before starting this review.
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