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HBO Max's crime-drama series Dead Boy Detectives, which was slated to premiere on the streaming platform with eight episodes, has been canceled, as per The Hollywood Reporter. The project, however, is not dead since Netflix acquired the rights to the show from Warner Bros. Television.
The series, previously scheduled to air on HBO Max, is based on Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner's comic book series of the same name, and will be executive produced by Arrowverse showrunner Greg Berlanti.
Dead Boy Detectives: Why did HBO Max cancel the series?
As per Production Weekly, Warner Bros. producers had apparently put the project up for sale as it didn't fit with the vision of the current DC Universe built by DC Studios CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. Gunn is currently working on five shows for HBO Max, Lanterns, Waller, Creature Commandos, Booster Gold, and Paradise Lost, which will air alongside Peacemaker season 2 as part of the new DC Universe.
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Dead Boy Detectives is the fourth HBO Max series to be canceled on the streaming platform after fellow DC shows Doom Patrol, Pennyworth, and Titans were scrapped off as well.
Prior to the show's cancelation on the HBO Max streaming platform and its acquisition by Netflix, showrunner Steve Yockey described Dead Boy Detectives as his passion project in an interview with Variety:
"I’ve been obsessed with this comic for a long time, so it’s a true passion project . . . 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, who was present for the same interview with Yockey, added:
"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."
What is Dead Boy Detectives about?
The former HBO Max series Dead Boy Detectives, based on Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner's comic series, follows the ghosts of two deceased children, Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine, who give up the opportunity to enter the afterlife in favor of staying on Earth to become detectives, specializing in cases involving the supernatural.
In the comics, Rowland and Paine first appeared in Issue #25 of The Sandman comic series, also created by Gaiman. As depicted in the comic, Edwin Paine was a boarding school student who was murdered in 1916 after which he went to Hell, where he was stalked by an undisclosed threat for years.
Following his death, the boarding school was overrun by the souls of dead teachers and students. Charles Rowland was the sole survivor following the deaths of the teachers and students, but eventually, he died as well after facing several horrific events. Rather than going into the afterlife, Charles too chose to stay on Earth with Paine to become a supernatural detective.
As per HBO Max, the synopsis of the show reads:
"A fresh take on a ghost story that explores loss, grief and death through the lens of [deceased teens] Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland … and their very alive friend, Crystal Palace. It’s a lot like a vintage detective series — only darker and on acid."
Rowland and Paine previously made their live-action debuts in the third season of Doom Patrol, where they were portrayed by Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant, respectively. In the upcoming Netflix show, however, their characters will be portrayed by George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri, respectively.
Additional cast members include Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher, Ruth Connell as Night Nurse (Connell reprises her role from Doom Patrol's episode "Dead Patrol"), Yuyu Kitamura as Niko, and Jenn Lyon as Esther.
Dead Boy Detectives, following its move to Netflix, will be Neil Gaiman's third project to be adapted by the streaming platform after Lucifer and 2022's The Sandman, which has received widespread critical acclaim and has been renewed for a second season. It also serves as his latest project to be adapted to the small screen following Lucifer, The Sandman, Good Omens, and American Gods.
