Lockwood and Co is a teen action-adventure TV show based on Jonathan Stroud’s young-adult book series and is created by Joe Cornish. The series stars Ruby Stokes, Cameron Chapman, Ali Hadji-Heshmati and Ivanno Jeremiah, alongside other cast members. The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 35 – 50 minutes.
Netflix’s description of the series reads:
In a world plagued by ghosts, three teens band together as paranormal investigators, risking what little they have to unravel a diabolical conspiracy.
– Lockwood and Co Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Lockwood and Co doesn’t waste a lot of time giving us a rundown of everyone and everything in the series with exposition or character background. Nope. It, however, makes sure that we figure stuff out as things progress and form a bond with its characters organically instead of forcefully. It’s interesting to watch a show like that, and the fact that the series seems different makes me afraid for its future.
Let’s be real, Netflix doesn’t like its funny or smart supernatural teen shows that they keep making year after year. After The Bastard Son and the Devil Himself and Teenage Bounty Hunters were cancelled (as well as several other good shows), I am almost convinced that the streaming giant loves introducing interesting stuff and then kicking them to the curb in lieu of giving us more franchises of the 365 Days series.
But I digress.
Coming back to Lockwood and Co, the series has the usual three-character trio with whom we spend most of our time with. We get to know them intimately and are asked to follow them on several of their adventures as they save the world from the hands of horrible glowy ghosts. The series is a mixture of several shows we have watched previously, but it manages to bring something unique and so watchable that you’ll be hooked from the first episode.
The series takes its time to bring the pace up and creeps up on you with the characters and the metaphors. I mean, the way the adults have all but given up the weight of the world on the kids is not lost on the viewers, and I applaud the creators for coming up with a unique way of presenting it.
Cameron Chapman, Ruby Stokes and Ali Hadji-Heshmati are very good as the trio of kids we follow; it’s almost as if they actually are ghost-fighting teens without any adult supervision. Stokes, especially, brings an air of familiarity, feistiness and determination that makes watching her absolutely marvellous. Chapman, too, as the head of the agency, is charismatic in his own right and is an absolute delight.
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The leads play off each other so well that you’d forget that they are simply acting. It actually feels like watching three teens sharing their day-to-day moments together, often getting along, sometimes fighting. There are several moments that warm your heart; other times, you fear for their lives. The creators have made sure to create the show such that you are constantly thinking about them, making watching it thrilling and delightful.
The best thing about Lockwood and Co, however, is the dialogue – it’s fun, it’s quirky, and its dry wit is something you can’t help but be drawn towards. There’s something very charming about the interactions among the characters that make this a sweet, sensitive and oftentimes thrilling watch. Some of the ghost-fighting sequences will give you goosebumps for sure.
The accompanying music is infectious as well and compliments what’s happening on-screen to a T. Coming to how the series looks; well, it’s dark and grungy and looks so on-point with the subject matter of the series. The dreary atmosphere looks beautiful with the deep colours and sucks you right in. It’s just wonderful in every way possible.
Summing Up: Lockwood and Co
Lockwood and Co is a fun little show that is thrilling and absolutely precious. Don’t take the teen tag too seriously, this one’s a sensitive and ghostly affair, one that will drag you in before you even know it!
Lockwood and Co is streaming on Netflix.
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