HBO Max is expanding its DC Comics footprint with a series order for “Detective Dead Boys,” based on characters created by writer Neil Gaiman and illustrators Matt Wagner and Malcolm Jones.
The show follows a pair of ghostly detectives as they investigate murders related to the supernatural. They first appeared in the pages of Gaiman’s hugely influential “Sandman” comics (to be exact “The Sandman,” Issue #25, from April 1991).
The eight-episode series hails from Emmy nominee Steve Yockey (“The Flight Attendant”), who wrote the pilot and will direct, “Doom Patrol’s” Jeremy Carver, Berlanti Productions, and Warner Bros. Television.
In the official release, HBO describes the new series as “a fresh take on a ghost story that explores loss, grief, and death through the lens of Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland, two dead British teenagers, and their very alive friend, Crystal Palace.” George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri star as Dead Boy Detectives Edwin Payne (Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Revri), and Kassius Nelson (“Last Night in Soho”) stars as Crystal Palace. (Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant portray Rowland and Paine in the third season of “Doom Patrol.”)
As envisioned by Gaiman, Rowland and Paine were children who were murdered; instead of going to the other side they hung around to solve otherworldly mysteries. After their initial appearance in “The Sandman,” Gaiman resurrected them (heh) in the “Children’s Palace” crossover event. Afterwards, the characters have been brought back several times, including in their own miniseries events.
Other cast members announced for the new show include Briana Cuoco (“The Flight Attendant,” “Harley Quinn”) as Jenny the Butcher, Ruth Connell (“Supernatural”) as the Night Nurse (reprising her role from the “Dead Patrol” episode of “Doom Patrol”), Yuyu Kitamura (“The Expatriates”) as Niko, and Jenn Lyon (“Claws,” “Justified”) as Esther.
“I’ve been obsessed with this comic for a long time, so it’s a true passion project,” Yockey said in a statement. “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.”
: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,” said Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content at HBO Max. “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.”
No launch date for the series has been detailed.
