Netflix’s Underrated Series “Lockwood & Co”

An unsupervised trio of teenage ghosthunters, a fifty year old mystery and a musty skull in a jar; now streaming to a Netflix screen near you.

Based on the books of the same name by Jonathan Stroud, Lockwood & Co is the newest YA adaptation to sweep through Netflix. We all know that it’s dangerous to get attached to new shows when Netflix is swinging the cancellation axe at everything that doesn’t meet their outrageously high standards, but Lockwood & Co is worth the risk. Starring Bridgerton’s Ruby Stokes (Lucy Carlyle), newcomer Cameron Chapman (Anthony Lockwood) and Ali Hadji-Heshmati (George Karim).

If you love found families, a dark and atmospheric world and ghost hunting, Lockwood & Co is definitely the show for you. Set in an alternate London that’s ravaged by The Problem — a name that’s the most English way to minimize a world changing event as deadly as a ghost pandemic, if I do say so myself. The Problem set back the technological revolution, leaving people to focus on effective ways to hunt ghosts instead of advancement; keeping their world frozen in landlines and VCRs. It follows the story of Lucy, Lockwood and George, who run a ghost-hunting agency. With adults unable to fight the spirits, it is up to children and teenagers who have a Talent to save the day.

It’s easy to judge a show starring three teenagers as ‘just another cheesy teen show,’ but Lockwood & Co overcomes those stereotypes. Lucy, George  and Lockwood are colourful, lively and flawed characters. All three are failed by the adults in their lives and the resulting trauma is illustrated through their faults — Lockwood’s ego, Lucy’s recklessness and George’s reliance on research. Despite their individual struggles and their flaws, all three bring the strengths needed to move their ghost-hunting agency forward. Their reliance on each other in those moments creates a found family that carries their characters to the end.

Since it’s release, Lockwood & Co has gained momentum as one of the most popular underrated shows on Netflix, with fans starting online movements across Twitter, Tumblr and other online platforms to get the show renewed for a second season. Within the first 10 days, Lockwood & Co reigned in over 64.5 million hours of viewership, hit #1 on the global top 10 list and received high critic (91)  and audience (93) ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

In a recent interview, Director Joe Cornish revealed that he hopes for three total seasons and that the second season is written and ready to be filmed when the show is, hopefully, renewed in the upcoming Netflix meeting. With three books and so much story left to explore, we’d all better cross our fingers and stream the show so we aren’t left hanging.