Neil Gaiman's The Sandman universe has expanded on Netflix with the fun, but still emotionally complex, paranormal journey in Dead Boy Detectives, starring George Rexstrew, Jayden Revri, Kassius Nelson, Yuyu Kitamura and Lukas Gage. From a Cat King to a demon boyfriend and a pair of witty sprites, there are a lot of great characters to latch onto throughout the series.
But the major highlight of Dead Boy Detectives rests on the dynamic between Edwin Paine (Rexstrew) and Charles Rowland (Revri). They were born two decades apart, but as two teen ghosts, they've become best friends who solve mysteries for other ghosts who have unfinished business.
"I think we always both had in mind that the characters have been best friends for 30 years before we see them in the first episode," Revri told Yahoo Canada.
"We have a telepathic connection at this point," Rexstrew added.
Going along with Edwin and Charles to solve each case is clairvoyant Crystal (Kassius Nelson) and her friend Niko (Yuyu Kitamura).
'Out of all the darkness there is light'
But while the dialogue is full of satire and appealing banter, as the series progresses it also addresses significant trauma these characters have faced. For Charles, that includes a troubling family life, particularly with an abusive father.
"When I read the pilot, I just saw Charles as this cheeky, go lucky, charming guy, and as I got more of the scripts I saw that there is a lot of deep rooted trauma behind his eyes and behind the facade that he kind of puts up," Revri said.
"I wanted to do it to the best of my ability and give justice to people that had also been through those same kinds of things. I spoke to guidance counsellors who deal with people that have been through that kind of trauma and it was an experience. But out of all the darkness there is light, and it's all part of Charles's journey of moving and growing, and finding out that he actually is a good guy. He's not like his dad."
For Crystal, we see her trying to grapple with her literal demon ex-boyfriend, trying to get away from his terrorizing ways.
"I really wanted to honour how Crystal was feeling and what she's going through, and find the moments that I could relate to feeling lost or feeling sort of alone, and trying to find someone or something to belong to, or feel safe with," Nelson said. "And I think she finds that with the group, even though [she] and Edwin butt heads quite a lot, while also trying to sort of escape this traumatic bond, relationship thing that she has with with her ex."
'Shocking' meeting with Lukas Gage's Cat King
Early in the series, we're met with the captivating and striking Gage as the Cat King, who has a heavy flirtation with Edwin.
"Their initial meeting at the beginning of Episode 2 is shocking," Rexstrew said. "If I'm honest with you, it was a little bit shocking for me at the time, because I just wasn't used to being in that kind of environment as Edwin. So it did take me back in."
"But then we had a scene in Episode 4, ... we were just playing with each other and Lukas, he's so great and he's a joy, he's a real joy to act with. And I think it's nice because as their scenes progress, the power balance slightly shifts. ... I think Edwin's got the Cat King all wrapped around his little finger by the end."
But for any show that operates in this fantastical, adventure-filled world, the reason it works is in the details, and there needs to be shifts and nuance to each of the character to keep the audience interested in what these characters are going through.
"There are things in the show that we weren't just told, we were invited to contribute, we were invited to have these creative discussions, which I'm really grateful for," Rexstrew said. "We're embodying these characters, it's our job to help make them rich and dimensional, and you want to make sure you're all on the same page."
"It's nice to know that these characters are not just caricatures of what we believe them to be, that also, they're so rich, they're so complex, and it's easy to get to play it, because we're in an environment where we all believe in it, because the quality of our sets, every attention to detail is so specific that I think it's hard not to feel like you're in the world," Kitamura added in a separate interview.
