Neil Gaiman’s hit Netflix show axed after sexual abuse allegations

Netflix series Dead Boy Detectives, based on Neil Gaiman’s comic book series, has got the chop just weeks after the author denied sexual abuse claims.

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

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

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

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

Although fans and the 63-year-old bestselling writer maintained hope of a renewal, Variety has confirmed those hopes have been dashed.

The news comes weeks after Gaiman – who is also behind the popular Amazon Prime drama Good Omens – came under fire for sexual abuse allegations as part of an investigation with Tortoise. He denied these claims in July.

One woman has claimed she was sexually abused by Gaiman when she was 22 and he was 61 within hours of meeting him in 2022. Gaiman responded that he offered to assist New Zealand police at the time but the matter was dropped.

The second accusation is from 2003 from a woman who was aged 18 at the time and claimed she endured ‘rough and painful sex’ that she ‘neither wanted nor enjoyed’.

Gaiman has insisted all his relationships have been consensual. Up to five allegations from different women have now surfaced, as per the Bookseller.

How have fans reacted to Dead Boy Detectives’ cancellation?

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

What’s more, given the diverse group of characters and storylines, many fans have expressed disappointment at streaming services for chopping yet another series with LGBTQ+ and POC leads.

This follows the backlash after shows such as Everything Now, A League of Their Own, First Kill and Willow were pulled – to name just a few.

The actors helming Dead Boys Detectives have addressed the disappointing news on social media.

‘Just wanted to come on here and say how forever grateful I am to Dead Boy Detectives.

‘I met some of the most talented people I know & above all, met you all. You’re the heartbeat of this show & our legacy will live forever in this community,’ Jayden wrote on X.

Meanwhile, Rexstrew posted a broken heart emoji to his Instagram story.

Streaming services are my biggest enemy. Dead Boy Detectives was such an incredible show that deserved to be told to its fullest potential,’ @hansoeii wrote on X.

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

‘Dead Boy Detectives sadly joins the ranks of great shows canceled after just a single season, and I think at some point we have to ask how much this trend is keeping people from trying or investing in new streaming shows at all,’ @lacymb echoed.

‘I feel so bad for every single person who worked on dead boy detectives and put all their love into it. I hope every single member of the cast has a wonderful career from this TV show. dead boy detectives did not deserve this cancellation,’ @spritesfilms shared.

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

Metro.co.uk has reached out to Netflix for comment.

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