Though the name Dead Boys Detectives has a super corny ring to it, that was exactly what brought my attention to this show.
Apparently, these dead boys are a part of Neil Gaiman’s literary universe, having shown up in Doom Patrol (played by different actors) in the past, and living in the same space as the characters in The Sandman. In fact, two actors from The Sandman make brief appearances in a couple episodes of this series. Charles and Edwin are ghosts stuck on earth but are choosing to spend their time helping other ghosts resolve mysteries so they can move on to whatever afterlife awaits them. Not all ghosts who employ their services are meant for heaven, which was kind of nice to see. It usually meant that another ghost could find peace if that was the case.
Early on in the series, they help psychic medium, Crystal, to overcome a demonic possession. Only thing is, that demon held onto all of her memories, so Charles convinces Edwin to let her stay as they technically did not fully solve her case. Her abilities also prove to be quite useful over the course of the show. While initially pursuing ghosts in London, they make their way to a small town in America to save a little girl from a witch, Esther Finch, who “harvests” little girls to feed to her snake so she maintains her youth in her immortality. Unfortunately for the trio, Edwin employs the use of a cat, whose king is not too pleased. He ends up trapping Edwin there until he can supply how many cats are actually in their town.
Charles and Crystal decide to stay, noting that there are probably plenty of ghosts with mysteries to solve in America. They aren’t wrong. Their decision to stay also brings two new people into the trio’s lives: Niko and Jenny. The latter is the owner of a family butcher shop, while the former is another tenant in the building. Niko is the host of two sprites when they meet, so after they rid her of that problem, she can also see Charles and Edwin. Together, the quad tackle cases of the week while Esther plots her deadly revenge. Throughout the series, we learn that Charles had an abusive upbringing, while Edwin was mistakenly sent to hell in a sacrifice gone wrong, though he managed to escape after many decades.
So while they are trying to solve mysteries, keep away from Esther, and count cats, they also need to steer clear of death whenever they help a ghost move on, as well as the Night Nurse, who’s responsible for finding missing souls. There are a ton of other details that there’s no possible way I could cover, so you’ll just have to trust me that this is a show worth checking out. I will warn you though that this was a lot more disturbing than I was expecting. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, just seeing a show called Dead Boy Detectives with teen boys was just a lot more graphic than I’m used to. Not for the queasy or easily scared!