Comedy
Dead Boy Detectives
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
A kingdom is built on power. And power always comes at a price.
Meanwhile, some thought that George Villiers wasn’t built for anything.
When his mother, Mary, held George–her second born son–for the first time, she wondered what human value he had. After all, what good are second sons? They serve no purpose. They inherit nothing. A complete waste.
But beauty is worth something. And George, as he grew, proved to be radiant.
So Mary sends him off to France–to get him out of the English countryside, to a place where he can learn to become a refined member of society; a man that will use his looks for the family’s good.
Even if it’s evil.
George was supposed to stay in France and build connections. But soon, he’s summoned home.
See, King James I is lodging at George’s childhood home in the countryside, in Buckingham, and he’s growing tired of the men that frequent his chambers.
Mary’s ploy is to get her son in front of the King of England. Who better to serve him than George? The truth is, George wants power too. Not as much as his mother, but it’s an acquired taste.
Perhaps with a little time, and a little seduction, George can bend the King’s will to fit his own.
It’s been rumored for centuries that James I had a proclivity for men–and Starz intends to draw out every salacious, gratuitous detail in their latest series, Mary & George.
This series is rated TV-MA for every reason that you could possibly conceive.
First, George is born to a mother who is cold, distant, emotionally abusive and terrified of being impoverished. In the first few minutes, George is dropped after birth, and Mary says she should have left him on the floor “to rot” as he has no human value as the second born.
It’s a horrifying scene that sets the tone for the rest of this series.
Instead of raising her son to be a man of character, Mary endures beatings from her husband (who dies in the first episode), allows George to be beaten by this husband and then grooms her son to become the lover of King James I.
And that is the entire premise of this show. George believes that “bodies are only bodies,” sex can be had with anyone, self-pity and suicide are for the weak (he learns this over time), betrayal is a part of the fabric of life and power is for the hungry and motivated.
While the main actors may be famous and mildly compelling, they are also repulsive in every sense of the word. At first, George is a kindhearted, gentle boy. But he’s turned into a monster. And that’s what the viewer watches unfold.
Nudity is prevalent (we see men in bed together, completely naked from the front and the back, engaging in sexual activity); sexual activity permeates nearly every scene (between homosexual and heterosexual couples who are either naked or scantily clad); orgies are common in George’s home in France; profanity is frequent, off putting and out of place; and physical abuse rears its ugly head in a few scenes, as do attempts at suicide.
I typically enjoy period pieces. I love getting lost in history. But this is a side of history I want nothing to do with. And I strongly advise you close the book on this one before it’s even opened.
A troubled George Villiers is sent to France for personal reform, but he’s summoned back to England by his duplicitous mother for one purpose: to seduce King James I of England.
George attempts to hang himself from a tree. He also tries to slit his wrists. Mary, his mother, stops him both times and tells him to “grow up.” George tells his mother that he hates her. We hear that George was beaten every day by his now-deceased father.
George punches a man in the face after he humiliates him in front of James I. George nearly has his hand cut off, but is saved by James I.
Flashbacks show Mary being beaten and tossed to the ground by her late husband. In one scene, he breaks glass and it lodges itself into her wrist. The two fight and both fall down the stairs. She leaves her husband to die.
Mary makes it clear that George needs to use his good looks to secure the family’s position in society and even gain a fortune. So she has him sent to France to be groomed. Then she summons him back home to do the same thing to the King of England.
Sex is pervasive in this first episode. Men have sex with one another (we see them completely naked from the front and the back, caressing and making out with one another, but the camera pans away before the act). George has sex with a young woman whom he says that he loves. He also engages in an orgy with two men (the camera pans away before we see anything crucial).
George is brought into a communal house where he walks through multiple rooms of men and women having sex with one another. This act is seen on camera and women walk around completely naked from the front.
James makes out with one of his “bedchamber men” and references having sex with him as the two make out.
Mary wonders if she should let George lie on the floor and die when he is born. She tells him he is of no human value. Mary tells all of her children that she prefers her eldest above them all.
Men and women consume wine. George vomits after his boat ride to France.
The f-word is used nearly 20 times. The s-word is heard a few times, along with the c-word and “b–ch.” Charles I and his staff are referred to as “c-ckstruck,” “semen guzzlers” and “sodomites.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Dead Boy Detectives targets teens in style and story. But it comes with very adult, problematic content.
An elf mage contemplates on connection and regret as she watches her human friends grow old and pass away.
