While not all that surprising, Lockwood & Co., based on Jonathan Stroud‘s series of novels, has been canceled after just one season on Netflix, despite its success on the streaming platform. The hit series snagged the number one spot in the top ten in many countries and stayed in the top ten generally in many more. Recently, Lockwood & Co. received a nomination for “Best TV Drama Series 2023” at the National Film Awards. In short, fans loved this tremendous show. The love and care that went into this series is palpable from cast, writers, and crew alike, emboldened by the show’s growing vocal fan base. Even worse: the series ends on a pretty massive reveal that is left unanswered. The books will always be there for fans of the series, but it is more than disappointing that another fantastic adaptation will not get to finish and conclude its story for TV viewers.
‘Lockwood & Co.’ Season 1 Leaves Many Unanswered Questions
Lockwood & Co. is far from the first show to get canceled before answering its biggest questions. The first season ends just how the second novel does: Lockwood (Cameron Chapman) leads his friends through the previously off-limits room in their home at 35 Portland Row. For much of the series, Lucy (Ruby Stokes) is curious about the room. When Lockwood informs her that no one is to go in there, she doesn’t question it, but the temptation to enter the room hangs around the season. She casts sideways glances and asks George (Ali Hadji-Heshmati) if he knows anything more than her. But neither of them do. In the final scene of Lockwood & Co, Lockwood unlocks the door, leading both them and the viewer into the dark room. And with that, the show ends.
Of course, book readers know what lies beyond this previously forbidden room in 35 Portland Row, but viewers who haven’t read the books won’t. It is a bit of an incentive to pick up the books, but based on Chapman’s standout first performance, it is highly disappointing that we will never see him explore Lockwood’s emotional character depth and secrets.
The show doesn’t just have one unresolved plot, but many. The biggest is potentially The Problem itself. In this world, years prior, dangerous ghosts started appearing more and more. At the start of the series, it’s already established that ghosts have essentially become a plague on public life, with only kids to help stop the spread. But what caused this influx of ghosts? That is exactly what George is trying to figure out, his enthusiasm palpable through Ali Hadji-Heshmati’s performance. This would have been answered in the last season, which would have been a long wait anyway, but it is a worthy reveal. Another notable thread is the Orpheus Society, whose symbol of the lyre pops up a few times this season despite the society never being mentioned. It is seen on the mysterious goggles George took from Fairfax (Nigel Planer) and on the box Penelope Fittes (Morven Christie) gives to Golden Blade (Luke Treadaway). This society is dedicated to learning more about The Problem. Then there is the ethereal Penelope Fittes herself, granddaughter of the founder of Fittes Agency Marissa Fittes. It’s clear just in the first season that Penelope is up to something, especially in her scene with Golden Blade, but how far is her meddling going? Perhaps the most interesting unexplored plot is Norrie (Lily Newmark), Lucy’s friend back home, who dies in the book but is left ghost-locked in the show. Could she potentially wake up?
The ‘Lockwood & Co.’ Books Have So Much More Material for the Show to Explore
Beyond finally getting an answer to The Problem, the rest of the book series would have provided so much material for the show to explore. From haunted department stores, ghost-overrun towns, and even a peek into the other side, the supernatural aspect of the show would have grown much larger and more intense. The third book, which would have been adapted next, introduces a new member of the team: Holly Munro. She becomes an assistant to the agency when the workload gets too much for the original three members. While Holly and Lucy have a rocky start in the book, they become good friends by the end, and it would have been nice to see Lucy with a female friend in the show.
Lucy herself undergoes a big transformation over the series. Of course, her talent for listening has been at the forefront of the show, namely conversations with Skull (Michael Clarke). Her talent grows throughout the books, talking to many more spirits they encounter beyond the foul-mouthed ghost in the jar. What is also interesting is Lucy, at one point in the novels, goes off on her own for a while. This is somewhat tied to her talent, thinking it’s too dangerous for anyone to be around her. Instead, she goes freelance. It would have provided a nice change of pace from the otherwise beat-for-beat feel of the different cases Lockwood, Lucy, and George regularly take on together. This show had a lot of potential to be a faithful adaptation of the beloved book series, while still bringing something new for book readers. It seems it will never get the chance.
‘Lockwood & Co.’ Is Yet Another Beloved Canceled Show That Had No Marketing
Netflix’s growing reputation for canceling shows that received no marketing is becoming a real problem. It’s not just Netflix either, but the entirety of the streaming space. Cancelations have always been a reality, even on cable. But with so many cancelations, it seems as if the market is just too large to support all these shows. That in turn pushes people away from trying out new shows, thus creating an endless cycle of failure.
So, what will the fate of Lockwood & Co. be? Seemingly its one season will stay on Netflix forever. The only way the show could continue past one season is if Netflix sold it off to another service, which seems less and less likely to happen. Still, stranger things have happened. Perhaps the most distressing fate would be to pull it from the service, as we’ve seen Max and Disney+ do recently (though Disney+ has walked back somewhat), but that seems unlikely.
Lockwood & Co. deserved to have a long life to finish out the adaptation of the books. Maybe, with some luck, the show will be saved by another streaming service, as fans have been campaigning online for. Still, if this is the end of the show, it was a fantastic and worthy watch, even if there are unresolved conclusions. Cameron Chapman’s first role as Anthony Lockwood steals the show, clearly proving he deserves more work beyond the series. The same goes for Ruby Stokes and Ali Hadji-Heshmati, who all have such great chemistry together. This may be all we get in a television adaptation of Lockwood & Co., but it is one of the best book adaptations ever made.
The first and only season of Lockwood & Co. is currently streaming on Netflix.
