Neil Gaiman's hit Netflix series removed after sexual abuse allegations

George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne, Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace and Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland in Dead Boy Detectives Episode 7 — Dead Boy Detectives, a comic book series by Neil Gaiman and part of The Sandman universe, has been removed from Netflix (Photo: Ed Araquel/Netflix)

Netflix series Dead Boy Detectives, based on Neil Gaiman’s comic book series, has been axed just weeks after the author denied allegations of sexual abuse.

The one-season series, which is also part of The Sandman universe, originally released in April and was adapted by Steve Yockey who worked closely with the source material and, at times, with Gaiman himself to bring the comedy-drama to life.

The eight-episode series follows unconventional ghostly duo Edwin Payne (George Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Jayden Revri) who create a crime-solving agency from the afterlife to solve supernatural cases.

The series did not reach the same heights as The Sandman (which will return for a second season) and after reaching third place in Nielsen’s US top 10 with 633 million minutes of viewing, its popularity quickly faded.

The show did better with a reception reaching 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and garnering huge praise from fans.

Although fans and the 63-year-old best-selling author held out hope for a renewal, Variety has confirmed that those hopes have been dashed.

Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland and George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne in Dead Boy Detectives Episode 1 — The series was critically acclaimed but failed to attract a massive audience (Photo: Netflix)

Nail Gaiman in black tuxedo smiling at red carpet event — The timing coincides with ongoing investigations into sexual abuse allegations against Gaiman (Photo: Getty)

The news comes just weeks after Gaiman – who is also behind the popular Amazon Prime drama Good Omens – was criticized for sexual abuse allegations in an investigation by Tortoise. He denied the allegations in July.

A woman claimed she was sexually abused by Gaiman when she was 22 and he was 61, hours after meeting him in 2022. Gaiman responded that he had offered to help New Zealand police at the time, but the case was dropped.

The second accusation dates back to 2003 and comes from a woman aged 18 at the time, who claimed to have suffered “rough and painful sexual intercourse” that she “neither wanted nor enjoyed”.

Gaiman has claimed that all of his relationships were consensual. According to the bookseller, up to five allegations from different women have now surfaced.

How did fans react to the cancellation of Dead Boy Detectives?

Dead Boy Detectives is the latest in a long line of shows with a dedicated fanbase to be axed, following the recent cancellations of My Lady Jane on Prime and The Acolyte on Disney+.

George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne and Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland in Dead Boy Detectives — Many have pointed out that this is yet another diverse show that Netflix has dropped (Photo: Netflix)

Additionally, given the diversity of characters and storylines, many fans have expressed disappointment at streaming services removing yet another series with LGBTQ+ and POC protagonists.

This follows backlash over the removal of series such as Everything Now, A League of Their Own, First Kill and Willow, to name a few.

The actors who lead Dead Boys Detectives responded to the disappointing news on social media.

“I just wanted to come on here and say how eternally grateful I am to Dead Boy Detectives.

“I have met some of the most talented people I know and most importantly, I have met all of you. You are the heart of this show and our legacy will live on in this community forever,” Jayden wrote about X.

Meanwhile, Rexstrew posted a broken heart emoji on his Instagram Story.

And just like that, #DeadBoyDetectives It’s over.

It would be funny to see how often Netflix cancels queer fantasy series after one season if it wasn’t so devastating to fans and everyone involved, especially when subpar shows are constantly renewed. Do better Netflix! https://t.co/9jLf3GrVVm

— David Opie (@DavidOpie) August 31, 2024

– 92% fees on RT
– spin-off of one of Netflix’s most successful original series
– the four main characters are either people of color, or homosexual, or both#DeadBoyDetectives“The cancellation simply proves that @netflix continues to think that diverse stories are disposable or simply not worth promoting pic.twitter.com/iYwdNOqg8g

— Sarah the Ninth (@SarahLaudenbach) August 30, 2024

“Streaming services are my biggest enemy. Dead Boy Detectives was such an incredible show that it deserved to be told in all its glory,” wrote @hansoeii on X.

“The worst part is that all those people who didn’t give Dead Boy Detectives a chance because they thought ‘Netflix cancels everything, they’ll cancel this one too, so why bother’ were actually right,” added @verbataem.

“Dead Boy Detectives sadly joins the ranks of great shows canceled after just one season, and I think at some point we have to ask ourselves how much this trend is preventing people from trying or investing in new streaming series,” echoed @lacymb.

“I feel so bad for every single person who worked on Dead Boy Detectives and put their love into it. I hope every cast member has a wonderful career because of this TV series. Dead Boy Detectives did not deserve this cancellation,” shared @spritesfilms.

Gaiman, who has been absent from X and Instagram for the past two months, has yet to respond to the development.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Netflix for comment.

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