Welcome to the Dead Boy Detectives agency. Do you have a pesky ghost haunting you? Has a demon stolen your core memories? The afterlife’s finest, Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri), are at your service. But if you’re a ghost who wants their help to solve your unfinished business, make sure you respect the name. It’s aces.

Based on characters created for DC by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, the eight-episode supernatural series follows these two teenage sleuths as they track down the world’s most elusive ghosts and demons. 

Scroll through the Dead Boy Detectives’ résumé below and watch the show on Netflix now.

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What’s Dead Boy Detectives about? Meet Edwin and Charles, “the brains” and “the brawn” behind the Dead Boy Detectives agency. Teenagers born decades apart who find each other only in death, they are best friends and ghosts… who solve mysteries. They’ll do anything to stick together — including escaping evil witches, hell, and Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) herself. With the help of a clairvoyant named Crystal (Kassius Nelson) and her friend Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), they’re able to crack some of the mortal realm’s most mystifying paranormal cases.

Staff

Edwin Payne

Played by George Rexstrew, Edwin is “the brains” of the Dead Boy Detectives after surviving 70 years in Hell, taking fastidious notes, and keeping an extensive library.

Charles Rowland

Played by Jayden Revri, Charles is “the brawn” of the operation and chose to stay behind with Edwin when he died rather than following Death into the afterlife in 1989.

Associates

Crystal Palace

Played by Kassius Nelson, Crystal is a psychic medium whom Edwin and Charles save from demonic possession.

Niko Sasaki

Played by Yuyu Kitamura, Niko is able to help the Dead Boy Detectives using investigative skills she learned from watching Scooby-Doo and anime.

Cases

The Case of Crystal Palace

After coming to the aid of a teen medium with a demonic dilemma, Edwin and Charles head to America to find a missing girl with an unexpected ally.

The Case of the Dandelion Shrine

Trapped in a sleepy Washington town, the detectives take on a local case: helping Crystal’s quirky housemate Niko get rid of her paranormal parasites.

The Case of the Devlin House

The group tries to free a family of spirits from a nightmarish loop inside a haunted house, but it triggers an extreme case of déjà vu for one detective.

The Case of the Lighthouse Leapers

The gang looks into a disturbing trend of deaths at a lighthouse. Crystal hears a distinct voice while piecing together clues about the seaside mystery.

The Case of the Two Dead Dragons

While Crystal, Edwin, and Charles investigate the tragic murders of two popular jocks, Niko sets up Jenny (Briana Cuoco) and her secret admirers on a butcher shop date.

The Case of the Creeping Forest

A crisis forces Crystal to improvise on the job as Monty (Joshua Colley) recruits the boys to locate his missing friend — but the eerie case isn’t what it seems.

The Case of the Very Long Stairway

When Edwin gets caught in a frightening situation, Charles relies on his best mate’s meticulous notes to find him. A determined Crystal confronts her ex.

The Case of the Hungry Snake

Crystal reckons with the past after memories come rushing back. With Esther’s (Jenn Lyon) evil scheme underway, the group is forced to face their deadliest foe yet.

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HISTORY

As part of The Sandman Universe for Netflix and based on the beloved comic series from Neil Gaiman, Dead Boy Detectives was developed for television by Steve Yockey, who serves as co-showrunner alongside Beth Schwartz, and is brought to you by Greg Berlanti. Jeremy Carver and Sarah Schechter also serve as executive producers. The series also stars Jenn Lyon, Briana Cuoco, Lukas Gage, David Iacono, and Ruth Connell.

CONTACT

To learn more about the Dead Boy Detectives and their associates, you can pop through this mirror into their social media below:

• Follow Rexstrew on Instagram here.
• Follow Revri on Instagram here.
• Follow Nelson on Instagram here.
• Follow Kitamura on Instagram here.

Curious to see how the Dead Boy Detectives investigate a case? These ghostly heroes are on Netflix now. 
 

Can I watch a video of the Dead Boy Detectives virtual screening and panel?

You sure can! Join Gaiman, co-showrunners Yockey and Schwartz, and the cast of Dead Boy Detectives in the video above as they take part in a panel and an exclusive virtual screening of Episode 1. 

Can I watch the Dead Boy Detectives opening credits?

Yes, above! When Yockey initially met with creative director Jeff Han and his team at Elastic TV to design the opening credits, he came armed with one reference GIF: an image of a skull with glowing eyes, moving its jaw up and down. From there, they imagined skeletons messing around against a neon backdrop and synthesizer music as a perfect metaphor for Edwin and Charles. (FYI: Edwin has the bow and Charles has the metal necklace, like they wear in the series.) “We’re trying to capture the horror, the weirdness, the macabre nature of the show, but also the fun,” says Yockey. “And how better to do that than, instead of ghosts, we use their skeletons? Like, what’s leftover of them.”

The skeletons busting a move isn’t a motion capture of Rexstrew and Revri themselves, though. As animator Lee Buckley explains, while all their skeleton animation is traditional VFX, they pulled a few online collections of late ’90s-era dancing mo-cap for the dancing sequences — and had a blast with them. “The first piece of animation we did on the project was a series of very silly dancing sequences, both to test our retargeting and frankly just because it was fun,” says Buckley. 

In addition to dancing together, the main concept for the credits is the two dead boys just doing what they would in their downtime together when they’re not solving a case. Enter random and funny activities, like riding a tandem bike and lounging in beach chairs. 

Many of the skeletons’ actions are tied to events in the series, however — for example, when they fall through the mirror (a special ability ghosts possess). Yockey and Schwartz also placed a number of foreshadowing Easter eggs in the credits to tee up what’s to come in the series: the mushrooms, an eye, and the dangling mouse in front of the cat to represent Cat King (Gage). “If we were lucky enough to get future seasons, we would change it up a little every season to match some of the cases,” says Schwartz. Han proposes that the skeletons could go “from a jazz dance to a hip-hop dance? Skateboarding? Something teenage boys would do now.” 

Who is in the Dead Boy Detectives cast?

Alongside Rexstrew, Revri, Nelson, and Kitamura, the series also stars Jenn Lyon, Briana Cuoco, Lukas Gage, David Iacono, and Ruth Connell.

Ed Araquel/Netflix

Ed Araquel/Netflix

Is Port Towsend a real place?

Yes. Most of Season 1 takes place in Port Townsend, Washington. And while that town is a real place, Dead Boy Detectives actually filmed mostly around Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in the “peak winter” months, said Revri. But luckily, “ghosts can’t feel temperature,” added Rexstrew.

Caitlin Reilly and Max Jenkins, who filmed their scenes from November 2022 through January 2023, weren’t in Vancouver for wrap but did shoot right next to where Riverdale films. “We were doing our stunts where Supergirl does her flying,” says Jenkins, jokingly. “We kicked her out.” The series captured Port Townsend’s Pacific Northwest charm in the neighborhoods of Fort Langley, Strathcona, Steveston, Gastown, New Westminster, and Surrey. Pop by Surrey Libraries’ Cloverdale Branch to improve your reading comprehension skills with Edwin and Niko! 

Dead Boy Detectives also took in local landmarks like Whytecliff Park, Sheringham Point Lighthouse, Point Grey Secondary School, Cloverdale Fairgrounds, North Vancouver Cemetery, Central City Fun Park, the Orpheum Theater, and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Season 1 also films in London Town in the premiere episode, on Westminster Bridge. Edwin and Charles are British lads, so having their agency’s HQ in London is “where the Dead Boy Detectives belong,” said Revri. 

Meet Lukas Gage as the Cat King in Dead Boy Detectives.

Who is Cat King in Dead Boy Detectives?

Lukas Gage isn’t just any cat in Dead Boy Detectives. He’s Cat King. And he doesn’t play so nicely with detectives who mess with his pussycats… 

Get a glimpse of how Cat King settles his scores in the clip above. 

Where can I watch the Dead Boy Detectives trailer?

Allow the Dead Boy Detectives to introduce themselves in the trailer at the bottom of this article! To borrow from My Chemical Romance, welcome to the black parade…

Is Dead Boy Detectives connected to The Sandman Universe?

Yup! Dead Boy Detectives is part of The Sandman Universe and based on the beloved comic series from Gaiman. You can even see Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) in the trailer above. 

Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant, Supernatural) and Beth Schwartz (Sweet Tooth, Arrow) serve as co-showrunners, with Greg Berlanti (Riverdale, You), Jeremy Carver (Supernatural), and Sarah Schechter (Riverdale, You) as executive producers. 

Where can I see photos of the Dead Boy Detectives?

Right here! Get to know the saviors of the broken, the beaten, and the damned in these new photos above.

What’s the release date for Dead Boy Detectives?

Ready for some supernatural sleuthing? These ghostly heroes are coming to Netflix on April 25. 

Watch the 'Dead Boy Detectives' Trailer