Lockwood & Co.: Stranger Things Meets Ghosts in Netflix’s 8-Part Supernatural Drama
A London Filled With Ghosts
Based on Jonathan Stroud’s book series, first published in 2013, Lockwood & Co. imagines a London overrun by dangerous spirits. Children and teenagers are the only ones able to see them, battle them and, in rare cases, speak with them.
Teenage agents Anthony Lockwood, Lucy Carlyle and George Karim run an independent psychical detection agency. They try to compete with a monopolized industry while investigating the cause of the country’s ghost plague.
A World Without The Internet
The story takes place in the present, but the supernatural “Problem” stopped the digital revolution, writer and director Joe Cornish explained to CBR. Without the internet, the young agents turn to their own judgment and painstaking archival research.
That technological gap gives the series a nostalgic, 1980s-like atmosphere, despite its London setting. On missions, the agents can be isolated from help, while their combined talents and experience give them their best chance against the ghosts.
Friendship And A Brief Run
The trio’s relationships are central to the story. Anthony and Lucy contend with grief and loneliness, while George is eager to establish his value; working together helps them grow as agents and as people.
Netflix canceled Lockwood & Co. after its only season, which had eight episodes. The series received a 100% critics’ score and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while a Change.org petition seeking its return collected over 54,000 signatures. Cameron Chapman plays Anthony Lockwood, and the show combines ghostly horror, found-family relationships and a supernatural conspiracy.
Key points
- Lockwood & Co. follows three teenage ghost hunters in an alternate-reality London.
- The “Problem” prevented a digital revolution, leaving the agents to rely on their wits and research.
- Netflix canceled the series after one season of eight episodes.
- Rotten Tomatoes scores were 100% from critics and 94% from audiences.