'Netflix made a grave mistake cancelling Dead Boy Detectives'

Ghosts are gay, and not just because they scare people. Spirits from beyond the grave exist in a limbo, trapped between two worlds, much like gays who are forced to endure straight culture at every given turn. And that's before we get into all the trauma.

It's somewhat fitting (yet depressing) then that the graveyard where cancelled Netflix shows go after death happens to be extremely queer. 1899, First Kill, Ratched, Q-Force, Glamorous, Warrior Nun, Everything Now, Shadow and Bone, Dead End: Paranormal Park and my personal fave, The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself, are just a few of the LGBTQ+ shows Netflix ended far too soon. And it brings us no pleasure to add Dead Boy Detectives to that list now too.

Based on characters from DC Comics (or Vertigo, if we're being specific), Dead Boy Detectives follows two dead boys named Charles (Jayden Revri) and Edwin (George Rexstrew) who skip the afterlife and become, yep, you guessed it, detectives.

The only problem is humans can't perceive them, which hampers their sleuthing until a psychic named Crystal (Kassius Nelson) joins the team. Together, the gang get into some wacky hijinks and solve a bunch of mysteries as they face off against an impending evil that's set to bewitch the town they haunt.

Although actually, make that past tense, because The Sandman spinoff has now become the stuff that dreams are made of following that surprise cancellation last weekend. Despite the show's fervent fan base and strong ratings in those early days of release, views dropped off a few weeks later, and apparently, that was enough to shatter all our hopes and dreams.

But I think I speak for all the fans of Dead Boy Detectives when I say we're not ready to close this case just yet.

Read more: 'Indya Moore's casting in Sandman season 2 is more important than you think'

In the days that followed Netflix's grave mistake, various petitions and hashtags like #RenewDeadBoyDetectives and #SaveDeadBoyDetectives began trending, and that's why I pitched this piece to write. Like Edwin and Charles, Dead Boy Detectives was killed before it really had a chance to live, and I'm tired of seeing shows I love end so abruptly, especially when they're queer.

If Edwin can fight 73 years to escape hell, the least we can do is keep singing this show's praises in the desperate hope that it might be rescued from cancellation hell. Because like so many other Netflix shows that ended after just one or two seasons, Dead Boy Detectives was far more than just mere escapism.

This was a story that spoke to queer fans who fell in love with Edwin and Charles (and Jenny too) and saw something of themselves in that bond they shared, whether it be coming into your own as a young queer person or just loving someone of the same sex (platonic or otherwise).

Being a gay teenager is never easy, but at least the kids of today don't have to deal with demons that quite literally drag you to hell. Unless you count scrolling Twitter, of course.

But being taken in 1916, at a time when queerness was never talked about in the open, made it even harder for Edwin to accept his sexuality, so becoming best buds with Charlie was enough for him. That is, until Crystal entered the picture and Edwin suddenly had to share Charlie with her. As the season progressed, Edwin began to realise the truth of how he felt for his fellow detective, but not before he began to hang out with a twink named Monty.

This led to a short, but sweet exchange between Edwin and Crystal's housemate, Niko Sasaki (Yuyu Kitamura). When Edwin casually tells her men could never be into each other, Niko says, "You do know two boys can like-like each other, right?"

Edwin quickly changes the subject, but this talk changes something in him, making our adorable dead boy a dead man in all the ways that count. Because from that point on, Edwin's far more open to hanging out with Monty, which sets him on the path to acceptance and even love for himself as a ghostly twink in the modern world.

The Monty thing doesn't work out, partly because he's a crow in disguise, feathers and all, but mainly because Edwin is really in love with Charles (and has been for decades, even if he didn't realise it until now). Falling for your straight bestie is a familiar feeling for anyone who was closeted as a teen or even for those who have watched one too many Sean Cody films, but seeing this dynamic actually unfold in a show like this is anything but familiar.

When Charles breaks Edwin out of hell — just a casual Tuesday for the Dead Boy Detectives — Edwin stops mere feet away from the surface and suddenly confesses his love. Charles doesn't feel the same way though, which you'd think would be worse than anything actual hell has to offer. That's ok though. By admitting his feelings at last, Edwin is truly able to be honest with himself and embark on a new journey, a new (after)life where he's no longer afraid of who he is and who he loves.

It's not like the pair's friendship is ruined by any of this either. Even though Charles turned Edwin down, explaining that he can't reciprocate his feelings of love, there's still no one else he would rather break into actual hell for.

Plus, Lukas Gage is right there as The Cat King if Edwin gets a bit lonely and decides to try something new. Seeing that queer shapeshifting feline thirst for attention with his abs out in that fur robe unlocked a whole new level of gay in me, and I'm sure it did for Edwin too, whether he admits it or not.

Although let's not forget; The Cat King might be sexy and seductive, but he's also a full-on predator in a very different way to your regular house cat. And that's why this particular ship is one I don't actually want to see unfold if Dead Boy Detectives is miraculously resurrected.

What I would want to see if the hashtags actually work is more of Edwin embracing his queerness and what that looks like when you're a ghost. Yes, he's neither alive nor fully dead still, but regardless, Edwin is no longer trapped in the same limbo he once was, not when it comes to loving himself for who he is.

Edwin deserves to see his happiness fully realised, or at least continue on that journey for a little longer, and we deserve to see that too. Not just in a quick Sandman cameo either.

No, what we need now is for a gay Netflix intern to start digging up cancelled queer shows like Dead Boy Detectives to give them the proper send-off they deserve. And they should probably bring back The Bastard Son & The Devil Himself too while they're at it. Because I am what? Greedy.

Dead Boy Detectives is available to watch on Netflix.