It’s official: Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland are getting their own TV show. The Hollywood Reporter brings word that HBO Max has formally greenlit a series based on Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner’s Dead Boy Detectives comics.
The streaming service previously ordered a pilot for the show last fall, with Steve Yockey writing the script. The producers later cast George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri to headline the series as Edwin and Charles. In the comics, both characters appeared as the ghosts of two dead children. But rather than move on to the afterlife, they decide to stay on Earth and investigate supernatural crimes. The characters originally debuted during Gaiman’s Sandman run before branching out into their own spinoff.
Edwin, Charles, and their living companion, Crystal Palace, recently showed up in Doom Patrol season 3, where they were played by Sebastian Croft, Ty Tennant, and Madalyn Horcher, respectively. Regardless, the new series will take place in its own universe, with Kassius Nelson stepping in to play Crystal. Yockey is staying on as the project’s showrunner. He will also executive produce alongside Jeremy Carver, Greg Berlanti, Sarah Schechter. Lee Toland Krieger directed and executive produced the pilot episode.
RELATED: HBO Max’s Dead Boy Detectives Pilot Reveals Full Cast
“We are excited to be expanding further into the DC Universe with Steve, Jeremy and the Berlanti team with this thrilling new spin on a detective series,” said Sarah Aubrey, HBO Max’s head of original content. “We were fascinated by the world of the Dead Boy Detectives that Steve and Jeremy first introduced in Doom Patrol and cannot wait to follow the supernatural sleuths in the lurid mysteries to come.”
“I’ve been obsessed with this comic for a long time, so it’s a true passion project,” added Yockey. “And Jeremy, Berlanti Productions, DC, WBTV, HBO Max — they’re all encouraging me to run with every wild, bizarre, and unsettling choice. The result is going to be really dark fun.”
Are you happy to hear that Dead Boy Detectives is becoming a full-fledged series? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: Dead Boy Detectives Vol. 1: Schoolboy Terrors
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