Dead Boy Detectives season 2: Everything we know about a potential second season

Netflix provided DC fans with a rare treat in April with the release of Dead Boy Detectives. The show comes from the mind of Neil Gaiman and it's set in the same universe as The Sandman, but it's also one of the few remaining TV shows based on a DC Comics property. Yes, as unlikely as it seems, Dead Boy Detectives was once envisioned as a spinoff of Max's Doom Patrol but all of the reshuffling at Warner Bros. Discovery and DC Studios resulted in it finding its way to Netflix instead.

The response to the odd, quirky, and slightly gruesome show has been incredibly positive. Fans have instantly fallen in love with Edwin Payne and Charles Roven; the two ghosts committed to solving supernatural capers and helping their fellow ghosts find peace. And it isn't hard to see why, because the performances from actors George Rextrew and Jayden Revri and the sharp, witty writing have made for the perfect blend.

With the show's first eight-episode season now out in the world, attention has understandably turned towards its future. Fans want to know if there will be a second season or if it will join the too-long list of Netflix shows to be cancelled before truly getting out of the gate. So, is Dead Boy Detectives season 2 a possibility? Here's what we know.

Dead Boy Detectives season 2 hasn't been renewed yet (but it hasn't been cancelled)

Dead Boy Detectives premiered on Netflix on April 25, 2024. It's a pretty recent arrival to the streamer, which often waits until the first month of release ends before making a decision on a show's fate, but the show has had a pretty strong performance since its arrival. It landed in the Top 3 over its first weekend in release, eventually resulting in it landing in the Top 2 for the week. The following week, it had only fallen to 3, but it actually managed to increase both overall views and the minutes viewed, too.

The show has become something of a-little-show-that-could, with fans championing its renewal in the form of an online campaign. Netflix has a bit of a reputation for cancelling supernatural YA shows prematurely (in spite of a strong performance), so the fans are afraid that Dead Boy Detectives might suffer a similar fate.

Hopefully, with the strong performance and the positive word-of-mouth actually leading to more people watching it, the show can get that renewal it deserves.

The Sandman proved to be extremely popular on Netflix but it took the service three months before it eventually announced its renewal. There could be a similar wait for Dead Boy Detectives' fate, but let's hope that, whenever the announcement is made, it will be good news.

Season 1 ending explained

The first season of Dead Boy Detectives was all about Charles and Edwin's venture in setting up their agency. Along the way, they got help from Crystal Palace and Niko Sasaki, as the gang ended up battling an ancient witch who sought to use Edwin's suffering (from his time in Hell) to power a machine that would increase her own powers.

The heroes prevailed in the end but it was a win that came with a cost. Niko seemingly died when she saved Crystal from an energy blast. However, it was subsequently revealed that Niko had actually survived and that she - and the dandelion spores - had seemingly been transported to another realm. The question is: How did she survive, and when will the rest of the Dead Boy Detectives agency uncover the truth?

Speaking of the Dead Boy Detectives, the agency itself undergoes quite a few changes throughout the season. Edwin was reluctant about adding anyone else to the team, but Crystal proved herself as a psychic and friend (which ultimately thawed his frosty behavior towards her) and he formed a sweet bond with Niko, as she too became a member of the team. However, the agency grows in the first season's closing moments, as Jenny moves back to London with them, taking up a role in their venture too. And she's not the only one.

The boys had spent all of season 1 outrunning The Lost and Found Department of the afterlife, but when they finally caught up with them, it didn't at all go how they - or anyone - expected. Night Nurse had spent the season trying to catch up to the Dead Boy Detectives, but now she will be working with them, as her superior liked the fact that they helped ghosts solve their unfinished business and allowed them to continue doing it under supervision.

Season 1 ended the show on an intriguing note, and that means there could be a lot of change if the show returns for season 2.

What Dead Boy Detectives season 2 could be about

There is a lot of change in the air in the season 1 finale of Dead Boy Detectives and this is something that the creative team are excited about exploring in a potential second season. Sitting down with Deadline, showrunners Steve Yockey and Beth Schwartz spoke about what they would like to do in another season if Netflix renews it, with the former saying:

"I think there’s not a limit that we found yet to how far we could go... I would say we’ve had some really, really good conversations about what a second season would look like"

- Steve Yockey

The first season truly tried some outside-the-box things in its storylines, from Cat Kings to crow-turned-person-familiar Monty, so who knows what it could come up with next. That's not even taking the giant spider made out of baby dolls into account! But it is an indicator of how an underrated, relatively quaint show can be ambitious and the idea of it getting to be even more ambitious in season 2 is an exciting prospect.

Schwartz agrees that the potential of season 2, and all the change that comes with it, would be "exciting", adding:

"We ended the season specifically to set up a Season 2, because all our characters are going back to London and the agency has expanded. Just all the fun and the new dynamics that we could explore in Season 2 would be really, really exciting for us."

The new set up at the agency and the the return to London does set the stage for a different second season. Night Nurse might be a thorn in the boys' side but she has proven that she has a heart, too, so it would be great seeing her interact with them more and learn about their way of life.

Moreover, Edwin and Charles are now free and no longer have to outrun death. But with Edwin's feelings for Charles playing an important role throughout the first season, how will they navigate their new normal with everything out in the open? But everything really is out in the open for everyone at this point (with the exception of Niko's survival), so a second season of Dead Boy Detectives would indeed be extremely different from its predecessor (in which everyone harbored secrets), so that is extremely exciting.

Why Dead Boy Detectives isn't impacted by the DC Universe reset

Dead Boy Detectives might use DC Comics characters and close out each episode with that fancy DC logo, but it's been disconnected from DC Studios. That might seem like a bad thing, but it's actually a very, very good thing.

While the first season was produced for the Max streaming service, the creative overhaul at Warner Bros. Discovery led to the inception of DC Studios. Overseen by James Gunn and Peter Safran, the studio mostly wishes to produce movies and shows set in the same shared DC Universe. That meant that almost all DC TV and movie projects were cancelled. While Dead Boy Detectives did not fit that vision either, it was given a lifeline in being moved to Netflix.

The streamer already houses Neil Gaiman's The Sandman so this was repackaged as a spinoff of that show (instead of Doom Patrol, which was one of the many cancelled DC TV shows). And thus, it's not up to Netflix what happens to the show going forward, which gives it a shot at a second season - something that wouldn't have happened if it was part of the linear DC brand on the Max streaming service.

Let's hope that Netflix gives Charles, Edwin, and their new friends that chance.