Fans Fight to Bring Dead Boy Detectives Back to Life

Crowdfunded billboards for the canceled cult hit make waves in Los Angeles and Times Square.

LOS ANGELES, April 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Fans of the canceled Netflix series Dead Boy Detectives, in an effort to resurrect the cult hit from a premature death, have crowdfunded billboard advertising campaigns in Los Angeles and New York City for the one-year anniversary of the show's debut.

To raise awareness of audience demand, the Save Dead Boy Detectives Campaign purchased two billboards in Hollywood and one in New York City's Times Square shortly after the show's cancellation. One of the Hollywood locations, five minutes from Netflix's Los Angeles headquarters, went on to smash records as the longest-running fandom-funded billboard of all time. During its run of 112 days, members of the show's cast, as well as the composer, visited the location to share photos of the billboard on social media.

Now, as the anniversary of the show's launch approaches, the campaign has stepped up its efforts. A new billboard is currently live in Los Angeles, directly outside of Netflix's LA office, and is slated to run through the end of April. Another will appear in Times Square from April 19-25, the week of the anniversary. The campaign also has plans this year for fan meetups worldwide, a letter-writing initiative, sticker and flyer campaigns, and a charity calendar.

Fans aren't the only ones who recognize the show's appeal. 

Dead Boy Detectives won the Rotten Tomatoes Golden Tomato Award for Best Fantasy Series of 2024, a DGC Award for directorial merit, and was featured on more than 90 best-of lists praising its quality. The show, which appeared in Netflix's top 10 for three weeks running, has been commended by critics for its fresh take on the supernatural mystery genre, witty writing, and quirky humor. 

A paranormal detective procedural, Dead Boy Detectives follows the titular dead boys, Edwin and Charles, who form a detective agency to help ghosts like themselves whose cases would otherwise go unsolved. Thanks to its widely-lauded LGBTQ representation, the show quickly became a beacon to the queer community, who praise its handling of dark subject matter and well-written character arcs, as well as its themes of kindness, devotion, and the struggle to leave the world a better place than you found it.

By all indications, the series resonated with audiences; it boasts a 92% fresh rate on Rotten Tomatoes, one of the highest ever achieved by a DC Comics live-action series.

Despite its positive reception, Dead Boy Detectives was one of the most-viewed Netflix shows of 2024 to be canceled. Fans, however, hold out hope that they can bring the series back from the grave.

"We're not giving up," said a spokesperson for the Save Dead Boy Detectives Campaign, when asked for comment. "This story matters, and the impact it's made on its audience can't be overstated. We're going to right this wrong, together, so the creators have a chance to finish what they started."

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SOURCE Save Dead Boy Detectives Campaign