I wrote this review a few weeks back, when I finished the season - but now that the show has been cancelled I thought I'd rework it slightly and post it here.
I liked Netflix's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman" and that was enough for me to overcome general distaste with the rather twee title and give this series a chance. I'm glad I did as, whilst not quite matching up to the main event, this was pretty good stuff.
Two ghosts, Edwin (George Rexstrew) and Charles (Jayden Revri) manage to successfully, though not entirely, exorcise a demon from Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson). Crystal has lost all her memories but has gained a psychic power to 'read' items and people. Together the three travel to Washington, to investigate the disappearance of a young girl, which puts them at odds with a witch, Esther Finch (Jenn Lyon). Their investigation methods also lead to them popping up on the afterlife's radar and Night Nurse (Ruth Connell) begins an investigation.
Whilst the series name is not particularly promising, proposing a whimsy that doesn't really match the series often dark tone I did end up liking the series. It helps that the main cast quickly overcome the potential clichés of their roles and settle into being a likable team. Jenn Lyon makes Esther Finch a fun, but clearly vile, big bad for the season. The first episode is a bit of a muddle, with too much happening but it settles down after that into a plot that's similar to the sort of dark Y-A fiction that's popular on Netflix, like "Wednesday" for example. Unlike that show though, "Dead Boy Detectives" is a little harder, in terms of the violence sure but certainly with the swearing.
You never quite know which way Netflix is going to go with a renewal, but it does feel like there's other stories that could be told in this world and that's without crossing over into "The Sandman" any more than they have already. I'd certainly have liked more.
