Lockwood & Co. – Netflix Series Review

LOCKWOOD & CO. on Netflix is a new series about teenage ghost hunters in London. It starts out in quite a brutal way but is generally a genre-hybrid for the whole family. Charming and fun, but also full of darkness. Read our full Lockwood & Co. season 1 review here!

LOCKWOOD & CO. on Netflix is a new genre-mix series from the UK. The official main genres are action, adventure, and drama, but since this is a story about ghost hunters, there’s also horror in there. The fact that the ghost hunters are teenagers does mean that it’s different from a story with adult main protagonists. But not in a bad way.

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Aside from all the classic supernatural elements, there’s also a good portion of humor and social commentary in this new Netflix series. It’s quite brutal and dark when it comes to social commentary, but the humor keeps it from getting too dark. It really is a good choice for the whole family.

Continue reading our full Lockwood & Co. season 1 review below. Find all 8 episodes of the season on Netflix from January 27, 2023.

Children forced to potentially deadly jobs

In case you’re not familiar with the Lockwood & Co. books, you should know that this isn’t just a “ghosts and teenagers”-story. The world is very different from the one we know, and has been ever since “The Problem”. Suddenly, ghosts managed to manifest into our world. If they touch you, they can kill you, so it isn’t “just” scary that ghosts are all around.

Also, adults can’t see or hear ghosts. Only kids can. And they lose this talent when they become adults.

The solution became apparent to the adults of the world; Teenagers are trained to be ghost hunters and then put to work. No matter the talent of the teenager or the training they receive, it’s still a job that can be deadly. The teenagers can also die from being touched by ghosts. Or they can be caught up in a sort of coma.

In the case of one protagonist, Lucy Carlyle (Ruby Stokes), she’s forced into the ghost-hunting profession by her mother. In fact, her mother seems quite indifferent to her daughter, which is one dark and brutal way to begin a story.

Kids making it on their own

Since these teenage ghost-hunters are paramount to the safety of the world, they’re also more dependent on one another than any adults. That’s why Anthony Lockwood wants to venture out on his own with the company Lockwood & Co.

Anthony Lockwood (portrayed by newcomer Cameron Chapman) can see the ghosts, while the extremely talented Lucy Carlyle can hear them. Lucy Carlyle is portrayed by Ruby Stokes (A Banquet, Bridgerton), who looks like she could be Florence Pugh’s younger sister. She also has the same fierceness in many ways, so she’s perfectly cast here.

Rounding out the trio that is Lockwood & Co., we have George Karim (Ali Hadji-Heshmati from the BBC’s Bad Education). He also has ghostly talents, but more than this, he has the talent of being a genius in many other ways as well.

The Lockwood & Co. agency is essentially described as being “independent of any commercial imperative or adult supervision”, which is what makes them different from anyone else. Well, that and the fact that this tiny startup now has a supremely psychically gifted girl on their roster.

You’ll meet lots of characters – including many shady adults – and many are portrayed by actors, you may know.

In season 1, you’ll be seeing Jack Bandeira (Gunpowder Milkshake), Ben Crompton (Rebecca), Ivanno Jeremiah (A Discovery of Witches), and Luke Treadaway (Prime Video’s Fortitude). The latter is still mostly a familiar face to me because his twin brother Harry Treadaway was in Penny Dreadful and Mr. Mercedes.

Watch Lockwood & Co. season 1 on Netflix!

Joe Cornish (Attack the Block, Ant-Man) is the creator of this Netflix series, which is adapted from a book series. Lockwood & Co. is based on the novel by Jonathan Stroud. There are actually several novels to the book series, and hopefully, we’ll be getting more seasons of this new fantasy genre-hybrid series.

Then again, you can never be too sure with Netflix, but it does seem to be the plan. Or hope, in any case.

Writers on the series include Joy Wilkinson (Doctor Who), Ed Hime (Skins), and Kara Smith (The Baby). There are three directors on the eight episodes of season 1. They are William McGregor (His Dark Materials), Catherine Morshead (The One), and series creator Joe Cornish himself.

While many might be quick to dismiss Lockwood & Co. as a YA series, this is first and foremost a supernatural thriller mystery. As such, you can enjoy this no matter your age. Also, the irritating and obnoxious characters in this new Netflix series are usually adults. The teenagers and young adults in the lead are actually both charming and exceedingly well portrayed.

Season 1 of Lockwood & Co. is on Netflix from January 27, 2022.

Details

Writer & Director: Joe Cornish
Cast: Ruby Stokes, Cameron Chapman, Ali Hadji-Heshmati, Ivanno Jeremiah, Jack Bandeira, Luke Treadaway, Morven Christie, Hayley Konadu, Rhianna Dorris, Paddy Holland