Dead Boy Detectives cast and character guide: Meet the cast of the new series set in The Sandman universe

Set amid the universe of The Sandman from Neil Gaiman comes a new story called Dead Boy Detectives, centered on two teen ghost boys that help ghosts move on to their appropriate afterlives when they have supernatural troubles plaguing them.

Premiering on April 25, the series stars Hollyoaks alum Kassius Nelson and up-and-coming actors Jayden Revri and Edwin Payne. Fans of The Sandman and the Max series Doom Patrol will also recognize a few familiar faces in the series, like Ruth Connell's Night Nurse.

Jump to:

1. George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne
2. Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland
3. Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace
4. Yuyu Kitamura as Niko Sasaki
5. Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher
6. Jenn Lyon as Esther Finch
7. Ruth Connell as the Night Nurse
8. More characters featured in Dead Boy Detectives
9. Who played the Dead Boy Detectives and Crystal Palace in Max series Doom Patrol?

Meet the cast and characters of the show.

George Rexstrew as Edwin Payne

Edwin Payne is one half of the Dead Boys Detective agency and considered the "brains" of the operation. Edwin is the straight-laced one of the pair, a strict rule-follower who died during the Edwardian times when his schoolmates attempted to sacrifice him to a demon. Edwin ended up spending decades in Hell due to a technicality before finally escaping.

Actor George Rexstrew is a newcomer to the acting world apart from a minor role in a short film, and this show is his first significant role.

Follow George Rexstrew on Instagram @georgerexstrew.

Jayden Revri as Charles Rowland

Charles Rowland, the "brawns" of the Dead Boy Detectives Agency is the best friend of Edwin Payne and tends to be the more smiley and open-minded of the duo. He and Crystal bond quickly while Edwin takes longer to warm up to the newcomer.

Jayden Revri is an English actor who got his start on the Disney Channel series The Lodge. He's also worked with Netflix before, appearing in several episodes of Fate: The Winx Saga as the character Devin. Dead Boy Detectives marks his first significant role, as a series regular.

Follow Jayden Revri on Instagram @jaydenrevri.

Kassius Nelson as Crystal Palace

Another character crossing over from the comic book series to the show is Crystal Palace, a teen psychic medium. When Edwin and Charles first meet Crystal, she's possessed by her ex-boyfriend, David the Demon. After they help her with her situation, Crystal joins the boys and helps them solve additional supernatural cases.

Out of the main trio on the show, Kassius Nelson has the most experience under her belt, particularly thanks to her many seasons on Hollyoaks where she played Jade Albright for several years and more than 100 episodes. Additionally, she starred in the Netflix series White Lines and recurred in a few episodes of A Series of Unfortunate Events as the character Fiona. In 2023, Nelson also appeared in an episode of Grantchester.

Follow Kassius Nelson on Instagram @kassiusnelson.

Yuyu Kitamura as Niko Sasaki

The character of Niko Sasaki is a bright burst of sunshine that enters the series officially in the second episode when the trio has to help her with a case of paranormal parasites. Niko is an adorable young teen who loves anime and watching Scooby-Doo marathons. She and Crystal form an immediate bond.

Yuyu Kitamura is an alum from the NYU Tisch School of Arts and has only appeared in short films up until landing a leading role in Dead Boy Detectives. She's written and directed several of her shorts.

Follow Yuyu Kitamura on Instagram @yuyukitt.

Briana Cuoco as Jenny the Butcher

Jenny Green, also known as Jenny the Butcher, is the owner of the Tongue & Tail Butcher Shop where Crystal and Niko both rent flats on the second floor. She finds herself inadvertently tugged into some of their schemes.

Does the last name Cuoco sound familiar? Briana Cuoco is indeed the sister of Kaley Cuoco. She's previously starred alongside her sister in the animated Harley Quinn series and The Flight Attendant.

Follow Briana Cuoco on Instagram @bricuoco.

Jenn Lyon as Esther Finch

Esther Finch is a diabolical witch who eats children to maintain her youth after making a deal with Lilith for immortality. She's one of the primary antagonists in the series.

Award-winning actress Jenn Lyon portrays Esther Finch on the series. Lyon is best known for playing Lindsey Salazar on the Emmy-winning series Justified and Jennifer on Claws. Some of her other credits include Crashing and Army Wives.

Follow Jenn Lyon on Instagram @thejennlyon.

Ruth Connell as the Night Nurse

The Night Nurse is a carry over from Doom Patrol with Ruth Connell reprising her role in Dead Boy Detectives. In Doom Patrol, she's a demon that helps control the souls in the afterlife, and that's pretty much the same role she plays in the Netflix show. That said, she's not described as a demon in the show, but a "trans-dimensional being."

Connell is a very popular Scottish actress that is no stranger to the supernatural genre, having starred in the CW series Supernatural as Rowena across more than 30 episodes. Apart from that, she's also been in many theatre productions and even starred in an award-winning production of Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers.

Follow Ruth Connell on Instagram @ruthie_connell.

More characters featured in Dead Boy Detectives

• Lukas Gage as the Cat King
• Michael Beach as the magic shopkeeper, Tragic Mick
• Joshua Colley as Esther's familiar, Monty
• Lindsey Gort as Maxine
• Caitlin Reilly as the sprite, Lily
• Max Jenkins as the sprite, Kingham
• David Iacono as David the Demon
• Kirby as Death
• Sherri Saum

Who played the Dead Boy Detectives and Crystal Palace in Max series Doom Patrol?

Even though Ruth Connell moved from Doom Patrol to Dead Boy Detectives, the characters of Edwin Payne and Charles Rowland were recast for the Netflix series, as was Crystal Palace.

On Doom Patrol, actor Ty Tennant played Edwin and his previous credits include House of the Dragon, Good Omens, War of the Worlds, and Tolkien. Sebastian Croft played Charles Rowland. Netflix fans will recognize Croft from Heartstopper. He also recently starred in How to Date Billy Walsh.

Big Sky actress Madalyn Horcher played Crystal Palace on Doom Patrol. She's also been in Quantum Leap, All American, and The Night Shift.

Dead Boy Detectives is now streaming and you can add the series to your Netflix watchlist here.