I’m two episodes into Dead Boy Detectives and I’m having a blast. Something about this feels wonderfully light and playful, despite the show’s somber, grisly, and morbid elements.

What can I say?

This show is… dead Hardy Boys trying to do good in the world, trying to help others find the resolution and meaning which their own deaths lacked. They do this while staying one step ahead of the afterlife’s authorities, who would much rather see the titular boys shunted off into the neat boxes of the afterlife rather than lingering in the (un)living world. In many ways the show fits a whole slew of well-established tropes—snugly enough that the show risks feeling trite at times. But where a straight read of the characters and setting might land this show in the doldrums, Neil Gaiman’s slightly off-kilter world building and character work permeates throughout and makes the whole show feel oddly charming (and yes, creepy).

But despite the creep factor, it’s the charm that I notice most.

I don’t know whether you’ll have the same experience. Maybe, given the way I felt about Fallout, I’m just not bothered by glum or frightening stories right now in the same way I have been previously. Whatever the reason, I can’t help but smile while watching this show. Sometimes I giggle too.

That’s a pretty big recommendation, honestly.

It’s not a big show, in terms of scale or scope, which is fitting for a detective story. It’s a show about two dead boys (and a living psychic girl) doing their best to solve small, local-ish problems. Maybe that’s part of what I love about it?

I have a soft spot for character-focused stories that start off constrained in scope and scale. Watching relative underdogs (living or dead) face off with much larger and more powerful forces scratches an itch for me. It’s very satisfying, even when everything and everyone involved remains relatively limited in scope.

I do also enjoy seeing these small scale characters grow in power and awareness, seeing their scope expand. To some degree that was present in Fallout, and I loved it—there’s something wonderful about seeing a character recognize and understand more about the world around them, learn how their small actions might tip a larger balance, and make powerful choices. I can see how that might happen in this show too. But I think Dead Boy Detectives is more likely to remain relatively personal (at least as compared with a show like Fallout, which remains personal in focus but expands significantly in scale towards the end).

Or maybe I like this show because it fits my own personal aesthetics and preferences. I have a habit of writing stories where the setting, the world, is full of grim and scary things (people included). But warmth and hope and goodness can be found amongst other relatively normal folk—and that goodness isn’t exceptional, it’s just something that has to be sought out and cultivated. That absolutely feels true about this show’s world. There certainly are big and scary things, and terrifying predators lurking in the dark. But the show’s focus is resolutely centered on determined and (relatively) normal people who want to do their part to help others around them… and who act on that. It’s heartwarming. Scary, yes, but still heartwarming.

Now, I’m still only two episodes in. Maybe this show will take a sudden lurch in a new narrative direction. But for now I’m having a heck of a good time with it, and I’m really looking forward to watching more.

Oh, and yes, I still have to write more about Fallout now that I’ve finished it and enjoyed it all. I’ll catch up with that another time.

P.S. Wow okay, episode three is a doozy. It certainly doesn’t feel as playful as episode two. But despite the more-grim subject matter and far more tense feeling in my body, I still enjoyed and appreciated it. Just… this one isn’t bedtime viewing. At least not for me. In some ways I’m reminded of Supernatural (which definitely only had 5 seasons *ahem*), except that I think I like this show more.