Neil Gaiman's Dead Boy Detectives TV Series Gets Pilot Order At HBO Max
Several of Neil Gaiman's written works are making it to the screen these days, and it looks like there will be one more to add to that list. HBO Max has ordered a pilot for "Dead Boy Detectives," a series based on DC Comics characters Gaiman created.
Dead But Staying On Earth to Solve Crimes
According to Variety, the one-hour pilot would focus on characters Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine, two recently deceased individuals who decide to stay on Earth and solve supernatural crimes. These two characters already exist on another HBO Max DC Comics show, "Doom Patrol." In that series, actors Sebastian Croft, whose most notable role to date was playing young Ned Stark on "Game of Thrones," plays Rowland and Ty Tennant will play Payne later on in the current season. There's no news, however, that these actors would reprise their roles for the "Dead Boy Detectives" pilot.
Speaking of "Doom Patrol," Berlanti Productions via Sarah Schechter, David Madden, and Greg Berlanti himself will executive produce the pilot. Berlanti is also behind "Doom Patrol" and other HBO Max shows including the DC series "Titans" and critically-acclaimed "The Flight Attendant." Steve Yockey, whose previous writing credits include "Supernatural," "The Flight Attendant," and "Doom Patrol," is on board to write the script as well as executive produce. "Doom Patrol" showrunner Jeremy Carver is also executive producing the "Dead Boy Detectives" pilot. There's no news yet on who will direct, though Variety reports that shooting will begin in November.
"Dead Boy Detectives" is just the latest Gaiman creation to find its way to the screen. Recent years have seen adaptations of Gaiman's "American Gods" novel, and the popular "Lucifer" is based on his DC character. Both shows veer far away from Gaiman's original works, but there have been other more faithful adaptations such as Amazon's "Good Omens," which is based on the book by Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and where Gaiman was also a showrunner. Amazon and Gaiman are moving ahead with the second season of "Good Omens" as well as an adaptation of Gaiman's novel, "Anansi Boys." Gaiman is also involved in bringing his "Sandman" DC comic characters to the screen in an upcoming Netflix series.
Based on what we know so far, it doesn't look like Gaiman is involved in the adaptation of "Dead Boy Detectives." Given the creative team's overlap with "Doom Patrol," this feels more like a spinoff of that show than anything else. Whether we'll ever see it on HBO Max, however, remains to be seen — they have to shoot the pilot before the streaming service decides to move forward with a full series order. In the meantime, we can watch one of Gaiman's many other adaptations or check out "Doom Patrol" on HBO Max.