Dead Boy Detectives Showrunners Talk Potential Sandman Crossovers and Supernatural Easter Eggs
Netflix will soon be in business with the Dead Boy Detectives.
With the fantastical horror — premiering tomorrow, April 25 — following its young leads as they solve paranormal mysteries, the Supernatural connections are easily made. Especially with Steve Yockey, who produced and wrote for the beloved CW series, serving as co-showrunner and executive producer alongside Beth Schwartz (Arrow, Sweet Tooth).
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Adding to that, Supernatural veteran Ruth Connell portrays the Night Nurse, an overworked member of Death’s bureaucracy tasked with ensuring lost children reach their appropriate afterlives. At one point in the show, Connell refers to the titular sleuths as “naughty boys,” a clear nod to the actress’ Supernatural role as Rowena, a powerful witch who frequently used the term for the Winchester brothers.
Yockey tells TVLine that while there might be a small sendup here and there, it’s not something he actively sought to incorporate in the Netflix show.
“I actually tried to avoid it because, honestly, Charles (played by Jayden Revri) and Edwin (George Rexstrew) are doing something very similar to what Sam and Dean were doing, just in a very different way,” the EP explains. “The contrasts are already there, and the comparisons are already there. But I’m a Ruth Connell fanatic, so I’m going to let her do whatever she wants to do. If she slips a line in here or there that’s something fun like that, that’s all right by me.”
Dead Boy Detectives is based on characters created for DC by Neil Gaiman and Matt Wagner, putting it squarely in the Sandman universe and prime for potential crossovers. Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s Death is already set to make an appearance, and Schwartz notes that the show’s creative team is receptive to a true crossover if the opportunity ever presented itself.
“We are obviously very open to a crossover,” she says. “But the shows are so different in tone and so, it would have to fit into our story organically. We wouldn’t do it just to do it. In Season 1, the characters that come from Sandman fit in seamlessly. It doesn’t sound jarring. So yes, we would be for that if it were available to us.”
Will you be watching Dead Boy Detectives when it arrives? What do you hope to see in the show?
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