As the weather cools and Spirit Halloween stores start mysteriously appearing, the time is approaching to settle down with some snacks, a blanket, and a good, bingeable show to get into the Halloween spirit. Thankfully, the Dead Boy Detectives are on the case! In Netflix’s new supernatural comedy drama, teenage ghosts Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) have been solving London’s paranormal mysteries for decades. Ever since Edwin escaped Hell after a ritual sacrifice in 1916 and found his soon-to-be partner, who was dying in an attic in 1989 after being attacked by schoolmates, the two have been on the run from Death to stay on the mortal plane together. The two are also joined by clairvoyant Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson) and sweet, recently-possessed Niko Sasaki (Yuyu Kitamura) after saving the girls’ lives from demon exes and tiny dandelion gods, together making up the Dead Boy Detective Agency. 

The supernatural cases the Agency investigates take them across the pond to Port Townsend, Washington, where they face action-packed threats ranging from sea creatures, to a giant mushroom monster, to a trans-dimensional bureaucrat from the Afterlife, to just plain murderers. Main villain Esther Finch, the brassy town witch who feeds little girls to her pet snake to stay young and beautiful, is a purely evil delight to watch saunter around plotting her petty revenge. All the while, the detectives work towards resolving the cases of their own trauma–which is to be expected, given that they are teenage ghosts. While recovering Crystal’s stolen memories, they are forced to come to terms with themselves in the process of helping others. The superb story that show creator Steve Yockey (The Flight Attendant, Supernatural) has invented is full of eerie and marvelous surprises. It’s a thrill to exit the world of reality and fall into its wondrous universe.

Although adapted from The Sandman-universe comics created by writers such as Neil Gaiman and Toby Litt, much of the story is original and made for television by Yockey. Still, cameos from Sandman characters such as Death and Despair tie Dead Boy Detectives into a shared universe with The Sandman’s Netflix series adaptation. However, where The Sandman is a serious, brooding series, Dead Boy Detectives is full of humor and fun. The dialogue is snappy and funny even though the show also explores thought-provoking themes of identity, queer sexuality, and abuse. Edwin and Charles attended the same elitist English boarding school just decades apart, both having died at the hands of schoolmates presumably because of homophobia and racism. Still, they manage to find loved ones and happiness after death in each other, Crystal, and Niko. The four are full of charm and have a fierce, warm chemistry; their captivating dynamics are a standout in the story for me. For example, Edwin and Charles’s 30-year partnership has created a deathly protective and loyal bond, and Edwin and Niko’s fond friendship forms from an unexpected kinship between two lonely souls. 

Under the cheeky humor and monster-of-the-week shenanigans is also a sweet message about being kind. All four of the teenage detectives have experienced horrible loss and pain. “We didn’t matter, he and I,” Edwin says at one point, “So these cases matter. They have to matter.” They came together for no reason but to help others, to solve the mysteries that no one else can. They work to solve cases that would otherwise go unsolved, because, in the words of brave-hearted Niko, “we have to help, even if it’s scary, and the odds are bad, and we might die horrifically.”

Sadly, Dead Boy Detectives was not picked up for a second season by Netflix, despite accruing 3.6 million views in its first four days and receiving critical acclaim. The reaction has certainly been strong: the passionate fanbase has kept the hashtag “#SaveDeadBoyDetectives” trending on X, formerly known as Twitter, for weeks since the show’s cancellation. It’s a shame because the show is bursting with possibilities: a vivid, fantastical world; the potential of a limitless case-of-the-week style; and an entire extended fictional universe to tap into. That being said, the cancellation of Dead Boy Detectives is disappointing, but not entirely surprising. It is just one casualty in Netflix’s recent trend of canceling shows before they have a chance to thrive, like fellow supernatural detective show Lockwood & Co. and fantasy drama Shadow and Bone, both of which were popular among critics and fans alike. The reputation the streaming platform has built is now hurting its new releases, which people are afraid to start lest they end up sharing the same sad fate.

Regardless of the unfortunate but ironically fitting untimely death of the show, Dead Boy Detectives remains a delightful watch for anyone this Halloween season. The finale resolves most of the storylines in a satisfying and optimistic way, while still leaving room for the mind to play with its colorful universe. Dead Boy Detectives’ wacky mysteries and heartwarming core is sure to satisfy anyone’s spooky, supernatural cravings this Halloween. “Oh, and did you guys know? Zombies are real.”