Neil Gaiman doesn't particularly care about creating a 'Sandman' universe at Netflix, but he's 'amused' at how 'Dead Boy Detectives' wound up there

Palmer Haasch
george rexstrew and jayden revri as Edwin Payne and charles rowland in dead boy detectives, two young men standing in an museum
"Dead Boy Detectives" ties into Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" universe at Netflix.Ed Araquel/Netflix

  • "Dead Boy Detectives" follows two deceased boys solving supernatural incidents in the mortal realm.

  • Originally intended for HBO Max, the show moved to Netflix in February 2023.

  • Creator Neil Gaiman said he has no particular interest in creating a larger 'Sandman' universe.

"Dead Boy Detectives" didn't start its journey at Netflix, despite the fact that it's now a tie-in to the streamer's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's "The Sandman."

The series, developed by Steve Yockey, stars George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri as the titular dead boy detectives, Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland. While dead, the pair remain in the mortal realm, solving supernatural incidents while avoiding getting caught by Death themselves.

The characters first appeared in the "Sandman" comics in April 1991. But despite Netflix's "Sandman" series, "Dead Boy Detectives" was meant to be an HBO Max (now Max) series, and the characters (played by different actors) appeared in season three of the HBO Max series "Doom Patrol."

However, delays and a new plan for the DC Universe at Warner Bros. Discovery resulted in the show moving to Netflix in February 2023 after executives gave producers permission to shop it elsewhere, according to The Hollywood Reporter, citing anonymous sources.

Gaiman, who created the characters and serves as one of the show's executive producers, spoke to Business Insider about the show at the 2024 Writers Guild Awards in New York in April. Ultimately, the author said that he found the entire process a bit funny.

"I mean, I'm just amused really at the fact that with 'Dead Boy Detectives,' the first thing I had to do was have conversations with Steve Yockey about how to file off all the 'Sandman' serial numbers because it was gonna be on HBO Max, and 'Sandman' was over on Netflix," Gaiman told BI.

"And then when HBO Max turned to us and said, 'We cannot actually screen it until 2025,' and we're like, 'But that's ridiculous,' I went to Netflix and said, 'Would you like it?'" he said.

kirby howell-baptiste as death in dead boy detectives, a young woman wearing all black and a golden ankh necklace, smiling kindly
Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Death in "Dead Boy Detectives."Netflix

Netflix did want it, on the condition that it would have to tie into the "Sandman" universe, Gaiman said. As one example, that meant adding in a scene for Kirby Howell-Baptiste, who plays Death in "The Sandman."

"The Sandman" and "Dead Boy Detectives" technically aren't the only series that live under the "Sandman" umbrella. Netflix picked up the "Sandman" offshoot series "Lucifer" for three seasons, after Fox dropped it in 2018. Gaiman told BI that he loved what "Lucifer" turned out to be, though it had "come and gone." But for now, he's not particularly set on pulling more TV shows off the page.

"Do I care about creating a huge new 'Sandman' universe?" Gaiman said. "Not particularly."

Read the original article on Business Insider

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