HBO Max's upcoming television adaptation of DC's Dead Boy Detectives has found a second showrunner in former Arrow boss Beth Schwartz.
According to Variety, Schwartz will serve as co-showrunner on HBO Max's Dead Boy Detectives alongside Steve Yockey. Schwartz previously served as showrunner on the final two seasons of The CW's Arrow, another DC property. She also served as co-showrunner on the first season of Netflix's adaptation of Jeff Lemire's DC/Vertigo series Sweet Tooth.
Created by Neil Gaiman, Matt Wagner and Malcolm Jones III, Charles Rowland and Edwin Paine -- known collectively as the Dead Boy Detectives -- first appeared in 1991's Sandman #25 as part of the beloved series' Season of Mists story arc. Charles and Edwin are the ghosts of two dead children who decided to stay on Earth and become paranormal detectives, rather than enter the afterlife.
Following their debut in The Sandman, the Dead Boy Detectives continued to pop up throughout DC's now-defunct Vertigo Comics imprint. For instance, they appeared in The Books of Magic, as well as in Vertigo's Children's Crusade crossover. In 2001, Charles and Edwin got their own four-part limited series, Sandman Presents: Dead Boy Detectives, from writer Ed Brubaker and artist Bryan Talbot. In 2005, Vertigo published a manga-inspired Dead Boy Detectives graphic novel by Jill Thompson. Most recently, a 12-part Dead Boy Detectives series by Toby Litt and Mark Buckingham ran from late 2013 to late 2014.
In 2021, the third season of HBO Max's Doom Patrol brought the Dead Boy Detectives to live-action, with Sebastian Croft and Ty Tennant playing Charles and Edwin, respectively, and Madalyn Horcher playing their medium companion, Crystal Palace. That same year, HBO Max ordered a pilot for a Dead Boy Detectives series, with Yockey attached as showrunner.
This past April, Dead Boy Detectives officially received a series order at HBO Max. However, Croft, Tennant and Horcher are not involved in the project. Instead, the series sees George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri and Kassius Nelson take over the roles of Charles, Edwin and Crystal, respectively. That said, Ruth Connell is attached to reprise her role as Night Nurse from Doom Patrol. Dead Boy Detectives' additional cast members include Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher, Yuyu Kitamura as Niko and Jenn Lyon as Esther.
Source: Variety