Can Lockwood & Co become the next Wednesday for Netflix — we explain what the new show is all about
Released today on Netflix (8 am UK time is our expectation), Lockwood & Co is the latest supernatural YA series coming to Netflix. We have a sense it might just appeal to fans of Wednesday (don’t expect any dances!), so thought we’d bring you some detail on the show. We’ll start with extracts from Netflix’s own article introducing the show and cast…
What is Lockwood & Co about?
From Netflix:
In a London riddled with supernatural threats, three gifted teenage ghost hunters venture into perilous combat with deadly spirits. Bridgerton’s Ruby Stokes (who plays Francesca Bridgerton in season 1 of that show) joins a two-person startup whose mission is to investigate the paranormal. While the foggy London of Lockwood & Co. is thick with ghost hunter businesses, the titular agency is the only one run by teens. Yet the company is tasked with the very grown-up task of unraveling a mystery that could change the course of history. The series is written and directed by BAFTA nominee Joe Cornish (Attack the Block, Ant-Man, The Adventures of Tintin) and is based on the young adult book series by Jonathan Stroud.
So far standard YA supernatural fare, based in contemporary London it distinguishes itself from other shows such as The Irregulars and we hope it does better. You can get a strong sense of the show from the trailer:
Who is in Lockwood & Co, and how long are the episodes?
Alongside Ruby Stokes as Lucy Carlyle, the cast includes Cameron Chapman as Anthony Lockwood and Ali Hadji-Heshmati (Holby City, Sex Education) as George Karim. The backstories for each are:
Lucy Carlyle: After being rejected by her family, losing her only friend and getting blamed for a deadly work accident, Lucy is at her lowest point when she arrives at Lockwood & Co. But she has an exceptional gift — she can “listen” to ghosts — and her skills help the crew untangle a diabolical mystery
Anthony Lockwood: Haunted by his parents’ death, Lockwood is a prodigious teen with plenty to prove and the ego to back it up. He’s a fearless leader, but sometimes to the point of recklessness
George Karim: A brilliant researcher but a bit of an oddball, George feels like an outsider even among his agency mates. His increasingly erratic behaviour poses a threat to the trio’s operation as they home in on an otherworldly threat.
Season 1 consists of 8 episodes.
Will there be more?
The supernatural portfolio is a little crowded at Netflix alone (The Sandman, Wednesday, The Witcher, Shadow and Bone…) but our spidey sense is tingling with anticipation. If you look at writer Jonathan Stroud’s website, you’ll see there are plenty of novels to adapt. Ruby Stokes left Bridgerton to film Lockwood & Co, so would seem to be free. We do wonder at the gap between Bridgerton season 2 and Lockwood & Co season 1, does it imply this has been on the shelf for a long time? What does that mean for any renewal?
We’ll keep our eyes peeled!