Netflix’s Lockwood & Co. Is 1 of the Best Book Adaptations Ever Made

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The story of Lockwood & Co. is set in a different version of London, plagued by a widespread ghost outbreak. Only children and teenagers have the ability to perceive and combat these dangerous spirits, as even a touch can be deadly. A new ghost-hunting agency, Lockwood & Co., is trying to establish itself in a field dominated by older, more well-known companies.

This show is adapted from the popular novels by Jonathan Stroud. The British series is a great adaptation that remains faithful to the books. Any changes made to the story were designed to deepen the characters and help viewers understand their feelings and motivations.

Lockwood & Co.’s Main Characters Were Beautifully Written and Perfectly Cast

Lockwood & Co., a new ghost-hunting agency, is run by the enigmatic Anthony Lockwood and just three agents. Lockwood operates out of his home in Portland Row and is known for his fencing skills and ability to see ghosts – including the lingering traces they leave behind. He’s a natural leader, charming and charismatic, but also keeps to himself, with secrets like a locked door that’s off-limits to everyone. Actor Cameron Chapman brilliantly portrays Lockwood’s energy, which is a blend of confidence and a touch of the same captivating intensity as Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes.

This version of the story emphasizes Lockwood’s more troubled side, including a tendency towards self-destruction, and adjusts the plot to show the source of his emotional pain. When adapting the second book, The Whispering Skull, Lucy and Lockwood investigate a possible black-market seller hoping to find a powerful supernatural item unearthed from an anonymous grave. While in the book they visit Winkman’s Emporium during the day and are quickly ejected, the show changes this: Lockwood stubbornly insists on going at night, putting both himself and Lucy in serious danger with a reckless plan.

Ruby Stokes plays Lucy Carlyle, the newest and most gifted member of a small, specialized agency. Lucy comes to London after a disastrous experience at her previous agency, where a lack of preparation and supervision led to the deaths of most of her team and left one colleague in a coma-like state called ghostlock, induced by a powerful ghost. Because she hadn’t finished her training, larger agencies refused to hire her – a mistake, as Lucy is one of the two strongest ‘listeners’ – people who can communicate with ghosts – ever to work on ‘the Problem,’ the supernatural issues the agency deals with.

While Lucy’s past was comparable in the books, the TV series deepened her story by giving her a close friendship with Norrie, which made it even more painful when Norrie became ghostlocked. The show also highlighted how the adult supervisors mistreated the children, particularly through the supervisor’s lack of support and his blaming Lucy for the others’ deaths. Norrie’s ambition to work in London gave Lucy a stronger reason to run away. Ruby Stokes perfectly portrayed Lucy, showcasing both her kindness and strength in a way that made her lovable to both the character Lockwood and the audience.

George Karim, a remarkably intelligent but somewhat difficult researcher played by Ali Hadji-Heshmati (known from Bad Education), is the third member of the team. George is neurodivergent, which adds depth and complexity to his character. While he possesses the abilities of sight, hearing, and touch, his true asset is his sharp intellect. Give him access to research materials, and he can solve even the most challenging mysteries.

While George seems the most different from his book version, the actor who played him, Hadji-Heshmati, perfectly captured the character’s spirit. The original George Cubbins was white, but the show embraced Hadji-Heshmati’s Iranian background, incorporating dishes like ghormeh sabzi and shirini morabaii. The books presented George’s story more briefly, primarily through Lucy’s perspective. Because George often conducted research independently, the adaptation added scenes to explore his character more fully. This not only avoids repetitive storytelling but also aligns with the way television often tells stories from multiple viewpoints.

Netflix’s Lockwood & Co. Stayed True to the Essence of the Book Series

As a huge movie buff, I always think the best adaptations are the ones that really get the characters and the heart of the original story. When changes are made, they should feel intentional – like they’re either revealing something new about a character or simply making the story work better on screen. What really impressed me about this particular adaptation was how beautifully they captured the feel of the books. The world, especially Portland Row, was so vividly described in the novels – a cozy, cluttered home filled with treasures from around the globe – and the Netflix set truly brought Jonathan Stroud’s vision to life. It felt exactly as I’d pictured it while reading!

As a real cinema fan, I found the premise fascinating – imagine a world where ghosts are a constant, dangerous reality! It completely flips our tech timeline; instead of focusing on things like TVs or smartphones, all our innovation would’ve gone into figuring out how to deal with spectral threats. And the atmosphere! The soundtrack really nails it, blending the moody vibes of The Cure with these incredibly unsettling, haunting instrumentals from The Flight. It just pulls you right in.

As a critic, I have to say the show really found its stride in the final five episodes, which covered the second book, The Whispering Skull. What impressed me most was how seamlessly creator Joe Cornish and his team at Complete Fiction wove in changes to the source material. It didn’t feel like deviations, but rather like experiencing an alternate version of the story – almost as if we, the audience, were making different choices than the characters in the book. Little things, like whether to visit Winkman’s in the daytime or at night, or how to infiltrate the auction – a secret hatch or a climb up the drainpipe – felt like meaningful variations, adding a fresh layer to the narrative.

Beyond these changes, budget also played a role. For example, the second book begins with a large battle against several wraiths, intended to remind readers of the world’s rules. The showrunners decided this wasn’t essential for the series and would have been costly to film. Instead, they created a funny scene at Portland Row where Lockwood complains about being rescued by agents from Fittes, particularly his rival, Quill Kipps.

The Bickerstaff house scene illustrates how the budget impacted the show’s adaptation. In the books, the spirit there is incredibly frightening – a shadowy figure that transforms into a swarm of rats. While visually impressive, creating that effect would have been costly. The show instead depicted the scary ghost as a large, looming figure of Bickerstaff hovering over Lucy and George. Despite these changes, the adaptation clearly demonstrated a strong dedication to the details, spirit, and passion of Jonathan Stroud’s original books.

Lockwood & Co. Was Sadly Canceled Before They Could Adapt the Remaining Books

The TV series differs from the books in a couple of key ways. First, there’s a talking skull kept in a jar – a unique ghost type that can actually communicate, not just replay its final moments. This highlights Lucy’s special ability to connect with spirits, as she’s the only one who can talk to it. Historically, only Marissa Fittes, the founder of the renowned Fittes Agency, has been able to communicate with this type of ghost.

The character of Skull is much more sarcastic and unpleasant in the books, frequently insulting and even trying to harm the agents of Lockwood & Co. Despite this, Lucy and Skull surprisingly become friends. The TV series portrays Skull as less biting and more intensely devoted to their beliefs. In the final episode of Lockwood & Co., Skull looks into the Bone Glass and falls silent. This differs from the books, where George looks into the Bone Glass without his glasses and remains unharmed because he can’t see it, resulting in a lighter, more comical resolution to the case.

A significant update to the story involves Norrie’s ongoing ghostlock. Ghostlock is a severe form of mental distress that happens when a ghost exploits someone’s fear or vulnerability to gain control. We’ve seen extreme cases before, like a boy who repeatedly hurt himself while possessed. Once the ghost was destroyed, he recovered. However, the show now features a hospital ward filled with agents in comas, still suffering from ghostlock even though the ghosts influencing them are gone.

We never find out how the Bone Glass would have changed the Skull, how the Skull and Lucy’s relationship would have developed, or if the ghost would have kept its rude sense of humor. Similarly, the show doesn’t delve into the implications of ongoing ghostlock and how it would have affected the story. These were compelling storylines that viewers won’t get to see, as Joe Cornish and the team at Complete Fiction had intended to adapt the remaining three books across two additional seasons.

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2025-11-09 03:08