Yahoo News ‘Dead Boy Detectives’ Still Has 1 Major Easter Egg No One Spotted
“Dead Boy Detectives” premiered on Netflix April 25 and brought with it not just a gorgeously stylized supernatural mystery and a villain for the ages in evil (but beautiful!) witch Esther, but a cleverly constructed world that was easy to lose oneself in. Set mostly in the Pacific Northwest, Season 1 followed the titular ghosts, Edwin (George Rexstrew) and Charles (Jayden Revri), their living but amnesiac clairvoyant friend Crystal (Kassius Nelson), and a bevy of new friends, enemies, and one very unexpected detour into Hell. By season’s end, some mysteries had been solved, and others left dangling appetizingly. The biggest one of all, though, remains intact: What will Season 2 bring?
Netflix has not yet announced if “Dead Boy Detectives” will score a Season 2, but that doesn’t mean executive producers Steve Yockey and Beth Schwartz haven’t spent time thinking about it. In fact, the reception to Season 1 has only fueled more creative decisions.
More from IndieWire
“I think [plans for Season 2] stayed the same,” Yockey told IndieWire in a recent interview. “The thing that has maybe come up for us is we’ve chatted a little bit about certain characters that might make return cameos because they’ve popped off in ways we didn’t expect. But the story and the emotional arcs of Season 2 are largely intact because of what happened in Season 1.”
That includes some payoffs for things cleverly hidden within the eight episodes of Season 1, many of which already paid off to the delight of fans who indulged in a bit of sleuthing themselves. One example Yockey cites is Edwin’s odd choice to turn a doll’s face away from him in Episode 4. By Episode 7, when he and Charles travel to Hell and back, that revulsion is clear: Hell includes a “doll spider.” (Because of course it does.)
“The fun of it is when people get all the way to the end, and then they’re like, ‘Oh, they were planting stuff in two, three, four, five, six that’s paying off,'” Yockey said. “I think Season 2 pays off some surprises from Season 1. And one of them we haven’t seen anywhere [online] yet.”
“And I was like, ‘Everyone’s gonna get this,'” Schwartz added with a laugh.
So what can Yockey and Schwartz share about a possible Season 2 of “Dead Boy Detectives”? Well, it will definitely be set in London (where the core trio ends up at the end of Season 1). “Niko will try to get back to the boys, and we’ll have a lot of her in Season 2 as well,” Schwartz teased. And fan favorite Jenny (Briana Cuoco), the surly butcher whose shop is bombed by Esther, will still be part of their lives. (“When I was first developing the show, the studio was like, ‘There’s got to be an adult that brings wisdom to the table.’ And I was like, ‘No, it’s Jenny,'” Yockey said. “And they’re like, ‘But Jenny’s not positive.’ No, she’s not. She’s not positive. Sorry. I don’t know many positive adults.”)
Speaking of: In response to whether or not Season 2 will see the return of the defeated witch Esther, Yockey and Schwartz paused. “Um,” Yockey began. “I’m looking at your face,” Schwartz said to him. “I’m trying to think about how to answer that question,” Yockey said. “How about this? Not exactly.”
But audiences can definitely expect to see more crossover with the “Sandman” universe (Neil Gaiman created both graphic novels that both series adapt, and Kirby plays Death on both Netflix series), with Yockey and Schwartz promising more interactions with the Endless, plus the introduction of Zoe from the astral plane and, yes, thank god, more from the sprites, Litty (Caitlin Reilly) and Kingham (Max Jenkins).
But the season will also delve deeper into the relationships already so adroitly established. “Season 1, in a lot of ways, was about sort of accepting the past or accepting what’s happened to us and accepting who we are now,” Yockey said. “And then I think our Season 2 theme is growing up, which is a very fun thing to explore with dead boys who can’t age. But there is that moment when you’re a teenager where you start to realize that the world doesn’t work the way that you thought it would. And that’s already happened a lot for our boys. I mean, they’re dead. But even the afterlife doesn’t work the way that they thought it would. And there’s something really fun to that.”
“Everyone’s kind of in a different role, which is fun,” Schwartz said. “Plus, the Night Nurse is there, cramping their style. They’re cramping her style as well.”
There’s plenty of style to cramp throughout “Dead Boy Detectives” (though Yockey remains emphatic that Edwardian ghost Edwin will never don a cape: “That way when George [Rexstrew] reads the article, he will know the answer is still no”), particularly when it comes to the central case of each episode. Season 1 saw everything from suicidal ghosts to a family forced to relive their deaths by axe for decades. Does the writers’ room ever conjure anything too fucked up to go in the show?
In response, Schwartz laughed and shook her head. And for fans of “Dead Boy Detectives,” there could be no sweeter answer.
All eight episodes of “Dead Boy Detectives” Season 1 are now streaming on Netflix.
Best of IndieWire
Unsimulated Sex Scenes in Film: 'Nymphomaniac,' 'The Brown Bunny,' 'Little Ashes,' and More
Every Palme d'Or Winner from the Cannes Film Festival, Ranked
The 13 Best Thrillers Streaming on Netflix in May, from 'Fair Play' to 'Emily the Criminal'
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
