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“Dead Boy Detectives” canceled on Netflix: Will not return for season 2

“Dead Boy Detectives” canceled on Netflix: Will not return for season 2

Image: Netflix

Dead boy detectives, the paranormal series that airs in Netflix's The Sandman Universe received fantastic reviews from critics and casual viewers when it launched in April 2024. However, the viewership numbers were the series' ultimate downfall, as it has now been confirmed via Variety that the series will not return for a second season, although The Sandman will return in summer 2024.

Created by Neil Gaiman, the Dead Boy Detectives have their origin in the Sandman Comics that first appeared in Sandman Issue #25. Over the years, the duo had adventures in comics by various authors.

The TV series is not a one-to-one adaptation of one of the comics, unlike The Sandman Series that remains incredibly true to its source material. Developed by Steve Yockey (The flight attendant) and Beth Schwartz (Arrow), the main roles in the 8-part series are played by George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, Briana Cuoco, Ruth Connell, Yuyu Kitamura and Jenn Lyon.

Dead Boy Detectives Renewal status of the second season

Official renewal status: Cancelled
Our renewal forecast: Probable cancellation

In August 2024, Joe Otterson announced for Variety that the series would not return for a second season.

This cancellation came despite fans' hopes following a recent interview with Greg Berlanti, which clearly hinted that more episodes were on the way. Deadline published the interview in mid-July and the interviewer hinted that the series had been renewed. Mike Fleming Jr. asked:

“You were so productive on the DC series that we speculated that you might take over after Walter Hamada left. Now James Gunn and Peter Safran are in charge. You have Dead Boy Detectives returnbut have your superhero ambitions waned?”

Given that the show ends on a cliffhanger, it's hard to see (spoiler) Niko appears to be alive and well after she “died” while holding the piece of jewelry given to her by Tragic Mick (Michael Beach), so the show was definitely ready for a second season.

Some of the more positive signs early on included the WGA profile of Steve Yockey and numerous other people connected to the show, which at least suggested that initial development work on Season 2 was already underway. In numerous interviews, the creators have hinted that there could be more in the works.

Ultimately, as we'll explain in a moment, the viewing figures simply weren't strong enough to produce a second season. Not to mention the dark mood that currently hangs over the original creator.

Gmru3cjweaafh7a JpegGmru3cjweaafh7a JpegPhoto credit: Netflix

How good is Dead Boy Detectives Appear on Netflix?

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers. Things are not looking good for Dead Boy Detectives.

Looking at Netflix's top 10, we can see that the series is struggling to make a name for itself in its first two weeks. Here is its performance so far after three weeks (April 21 to May 12):

Weekly period Hours watched Views / CVE Rank Week in the top 10
21 April 2024 to 28 April 2024 22,200,000 3,100,000 2 1
28 April 2024 to 5 May 2024 34,100,000 (+54%) 4,700,000 3 2
5 May 2024 to 12 May 2024 13,300,000 (-61%) 1,800,000 7 3

Of course, these numbers alone mean nothing, so if we compare week one to other Netflix original series (those in green have been renewed, those in red have been canceled, and those in yellow are still pending), we see that DBD is at the bottom of the viewership chart.

Viewership chart of the first week of “Dead Boy Detectives”Viewership chart of the first week of “Dead Boy Detectives”

In the second week, we can compare it to other shows in the same genre and see that the show is in dangerous waters, lagging behind many canceled shows. Lockwood & Co. it went better than Dead Boy Detectives at this point after release, and the show is also among other high-profile cancellations such as First Kill And Warrior Nun Season 2.

In week 3, the series' ratings dropped by 61%. If we plot the ratings in a graph, the series ranks at the bottom of the English-language Netflix titles. All titles in red are canceled, those in yellow are pending, and those in green are renewed:

First 14 days of Netflix performance Dead Boy DetectivesFirst 14 days of Netflix performance Dead Boy Detectives

One hope for the show is that Ted Sarandos mentioned that Dead Boy Detectives would be part of the program of Netflix's upfront presentation, which will take place on May 15, 2024.

While this is all bad news, there is also some good news. The Sandman Season 2 is still running and is scheduled to premiere sometime in 2025. Hopefully the Dead Boys will appear in the new episodes.

What you can expect Dead Boy Detectives Season 2

We do not know what stories Dead Boy Detectives Season 2. However, co-showrunner Beth Schwartz revealed that the team plans to continue developing the story – not just for Season 2, but also for Season 3 and beyond.

“If there is a second season, we have plans based on the end of the first season,” she told SFX Magazine. “We also have some ideas for the third season. We're ready. We have the ideas. We have the stuff. I don't want to give too much away because a lot depends on the finale.”

It turns out that Schwartz and Yockey are more than happy to keep the series running as long as Netflix allows them:

“Steve and I have talked about the very last ending of this series, but this kind of show could really go on forever because the cases are so much fun and keep getting wilder and crazier. Our characters have no limits as to where we can take them and how they can develop. So we'll be around for as long as Netflix will have us.”

Dead Boy Detectives Netflix Season 2 Everything We Know JpgDead Boy Detectives Netflix Season 2 Everything We Know Jpg

Image: Netflix

In addition, one thing is certain: the team is committed to crossovers with The Sandman is coming. In Season 1, we had brief cameos from two of the Endless: Death (Kirby Howell-Baptiste) and Despair (Donna Preston). Looking ahead to a hypothetical Season 2, showrunner Steve Yockey believes there's plenty of opportunity for more cameos. “I think as long as there's an emotional and narrative reason for it, yes,” Yockey told Screen Rant, adding that any crossover has to be meaningful to the story. “But I don't think we're just going to randomly throw people in just to get the kind of pop.”

Are you sad Dead Boy Detectives won't return for a second season? Let us know in the comments below.

This post contains contributions from Ashley Wilmshurst.

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