The Death of 'Dead Boy Detectives' Was Untimely

If the theme of this post feels familiar, that's because it's the second one like it we've run in the past week and a half. Second verse, same as the first: A streaming service has once again abruptly canceled a genre series with a devoted fanbase despite its obvious potential for growth and high overall quality. Last time, it was Prime Video and their historical fantasy My Lady Jane. Now it's Netflix and Dead Boy Detectives.

At this point, none of us should be surprised. And yet, on some level, it's hard not to be. Dead Boy Detectives had a rabid online following, a long list of positive critical reviews, and a built-in connection to one of Netlix's most popular properties. If a show like this can't land a second season, what hope does something like a Renegade Nell possibly have? Was something like My Lady Jane automatically doomed before it ever launched?

Maybe. After all, Netflix actively made an effort to acquire Dead Boy Detectives, but that still wasn't enough to guarantee the show a future. While the series is based on characters from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman, it was originally created as part of Max's DC Comics TV universe, alongside shows like Doom Patrol and Titans. But thanks to James Gunn's decision to completely reboot that entire franchise for the third time, the show was tossed in a drawer after all its sister series were ended. Netflix acquired it, reattached all the Sandman bits that had been filed off, and wham bam thank you, ma'am, a new shared universe was born. Or so we all foolishly thought.