It was a bit of a wobble to get the very expensive Sandman renewed for a second season on Netflix, but they managed to do it in the end. Not only that, but a Sandman spin-off, Dead Boy Detectives, was also greenlit and now it’s live on the service.
Interestingly, Dead Boy Detectives has managed to review better than the original Sandman series itself. After its debut, it has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, and an 84% from audiences. That’s compared to Sandman’s 88% and 80%. Not like, wildly better, but better all the same, and I’m sure those behind the show are quite happy with these scores.
Dead Boy Detectives follows two ghosts who work with a clairvoyant girl to solve supernatural mysteries. They were indeed created by Neil Gaiman of Sandman fame (and Matt Wagner) who first showed up in the 25th issue of the comic. They appeared infrequently throughout the series, and it seems like the show may have to stretch a bit beyond the bounds of the comics in many ways.
Dead Boy Detectives is not being advertised as a limited series, so it’s possible that it could get a second season if it performs well enough. So far it’s at #3 on the Netflix charts after its debut, which isn’t all that amazing, as you generally want to hit that #1 spot at some point for more reassurance, but I also have to believe that the show is a lot less expensive than Sandman (though not without its own frequent use of VFX).
Each episode is its own case, making the show a bit more procedural than many of Netflix’s offerings, although of course there are some connecting threads woven throughout the entire season. I haven’t reached the end so I’m not sure if it finishes on a cliffhanger, but if so, then that would certainly beg a season 2 rather than joining the graveyard of Netflix’s unfinished series.
It’s a good show, reviewing well, it just needs to perform to Netflix’s ever shifting, often too-high standards to possibly return, and I guess we’ll see how things go in the longer term.
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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
