Teenage ghost stories are built on a fun, firm foundation
The protagonists of Netflix’s “Dead Boy Detectives” are often disembodied. But unlike them, their show is one solidly put together bingeable series.
A fine addition to the Buffy-Sabrina-Wednesday axis of teen supernatural dramedy, “Dead Boy” has the extra benefit of coming from Neil Gaiman, one of the world’s most thoughtful and distinctive fantasy writers. The ghostly title gumshoes began in the author’s legendary run of “The Sandman” comics. While this series is much jauntier than Netflix’s excellent live action adaptation of the same name, “Dead Boy” is adjacent to the same, surreal universe. Like the original graphic novel, the new series swirls around the well-defined characters and emotional urgency that ground Gaiman’s outré imagination.
English schoolboys Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) — expired 1916 and 1989, respectively — run the eponymous London agency that helps restless spirits resolve whatever keeps them haunting Earth.
The boys themselves are not at all interested in passing to the other side, though; a clerical error sent Edwin to hell for decades, and Charles has unresolved issues with his abusive father. That means they’ve got to hide or skedaddle whenever Death (the mononymous Kirby, who reprises the role she played in “The Sandman” for a brief cameo here) comes for one of their satisfied customers.
Although there are always new paranormal mysteries to solve, the deceased boys and their select crew of still-breathing assistants never stray far from the pressing business of young people trying to find themselves and connect with one another.
For most of the first season, the boys wind up stuck in the atmospheric, Victorian-era town of Port Townsend, Wash., with their new psychic partner,
Crystal Palace (Kassius Nelson). They’ve exorcised a bad boyfriend demon called David (David Iacono) from her, but he still gets in Crystal’s head — literally — and has stolen a bunch of memories that she wants back. Crystal and charming Charles would also like to work out the mechanics of a living/dead love affair.
As for stuffy, sarcastic Edwin, he’s probably gay but is as reluctant to admit it as he is to return to hell. This becomes increasingly uncomfortable for him when Port Townsend’s predatory Cat King (Lukas Gage, camping it up with Tim Curry abandon) takes a shine to the spirit lad, and even more so when immortal witch Esther ( Jenn Lyon) — who enjoys feeding young girls to the giant snake in her basement — turns a crow into a sexy young man tasked with enchanting poor Edwin.
Crystal rents a room above a butcher shop owned by deadpan goth Jenny (Briana Cuoco). Across the hall lives Niko (Yuyu Kitamura), a cute-obsessed Japanese student who also embeds herself in the detective agency once the boys rid her of foulmouthed, pastel-puke-causing dandelion sprites. These two provide sharp character comedy while their own stories develop.
Then, for pure, bureaucratic burlesque, there’s Ruth Connell’s Night Nurse. The character is a supernatural being with a thick Scottish burr, responsible for delivering dead truants to their proper afterlife planes.
The boys teleport between mirrors and walk through walls, yet can also manifest physically, a frightening interrogation technique. Certain conditions are required for a living person to see or hear the lads, though everyone is able to interact with the other identities they morph into. Poignancy can be found in this, but mostly it’s ridiculous.
“There are many, many socalled ghost rules,” Edwin says with a shrug.
The brain trust behind “Dead Boy Detectives” — Steve Yockey (“The Flight Attendant”) is creator/co-show runner, and “Arrowverse” overlord Greg Berlanti is an executive producer — chooses how things work without much consistency, but for great comic or scary effect.
What is consistent is how well constructed the series is otherwise. Its principals’ overarching narratives build through each episode’s freestanding mystery. The show is really about Edwin, Charles and Crystal’s tough, horrifying journey toward their better selves. These are basically moral tales with well-executed gore and gags. There’s no firmer foundation for good ghost stories.