3 Years Later, Netflix’s 8-Part Fantasy Book Adaptation Deserves a Second Chance

Image via Netflix Published Jul 19, 2026, 4:43 PM EDT Brandon is a San Antonio based writer with a Bachelors Degree in English. His favorite series is 'The Wheel of Time,' but loves all things Sci-fi Fantasy and Horror. In his free time, expect to find him deep into a book, tv show, or movie. Sign in to your Collider account While not all that surprising, Lockwood & Co., based on Jonathan Stroud's series of novels, has been cancelled 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. Even more hurtful is that 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 the cast, writers, and crew alike, emboldened by the show's growing vocal fan base. Even worse: the series ends with a pretty massive reveal that is left unanswered. That cliffhanger alone demanded a second season, but the greater frustration is that the show had barely begun adapting the story Stroud’s books were building toward. With only eight episodes, Netflix ended the series before it could answer its central mysteries, deepen its characters, or achieve some of the novels’ strongest material. The books will always be there, but this was an adaptation with a clear path forward—and Netflix should have given it at least one more season to prove how much larger, stranger, and more emotionally rewarding its story could become. 'Lockwood & Co.' Season 1 Leaves Many Unanswered Questions Lockwood & Co. is far from the first show to get cancelled 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 going 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. Collider Exclusive · The Sorting Hat Awaits Which Hogwarts House Are You? Gryffindor · Slytherin · Hufflepuff · Ravenclaw Four houses. One destiny. The Sorting Hat has considered thousands of students — now it's your turn. Answer honestly and discover where you truly belong at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. 🦁Gryffindor 🐍Slytherin 🦡Hufflepuff 🦅Ravenclaw PLACE THE HAT → 01 What quality do you value most in yourself? Answer as honestly as you can — the Hat always knows. ACourage — I act even when I'm afraid, because what's right matters more than what's safe. BAmbition — I know what I want and I have the drive and cunning to get there. CLoyalty — I show up for the people I love, no matter what it costs me. DWisdom — I think before I act and I'm always hungry to understand more. NEXT QUESTION → 02 A friend is being treated unfairly. What do you do? How you protect others says everything about who you are. AStep in immediately and confront whoever is responsible — I won't stand by. BWork out the best strategy to address it — a smart move beats a rash one. CBe by their side, support them, and help them through it however they need. DAnalyse what's actually happening and find the most reasoned, fair solution. NEXT QUESTION → 03 What does success look like to you? What you're working toward defines who you're becoming. ABeing remembered as someone who fought for what was right, whatever the odds. BAchieving the goals I set for myself — influence, status, and earned respect. CA life where the people I care about know I was there for them, always. DMastering my field, contributing something meaningful, and never stopping learning. NEXT QUESTION → 04 What is your greatest fear? Fear is the most honest thing about a person. ABeing a coward when it mattered — looking back and knowing I did nothing. BMediocrity — fading into obscurity without making my mark on the world. CLosing the people I love or letting them down when they needed me most. DIgnorance — being wrong and not knowing it, or never reaching my potential. NEXT QUESTION → 05 The rules say no. Your gut says go. What do you do? Every institution has rules. What you do with them is a choice. ABreak the rules — if it's the right thing to do, no rule should stop me. BFind a way to get what I want without getting caught. Rules are guidelines. CProbably follow the rules — but I'd find a way to help within them if I could. DThink it through carefully — is the rule unjust, or is my gut just impatient? NEXT QUESTION → 06 What kind of friend are you? Who you are to the people you love is who you really are. AThe protector — I will go to the ends of the earth for the people I care about. BThe strategist — I give sharp advice and I'm the one who figures out how to fix things. CThe constant — I'm always there, always reliable, and I never make it about me. DThe guide — I help people think things through and see perspectives they've missed. NEXT QUESTION → 07 You look into the Mirror of Erised. What do you see? The mirror shows the deepest desire of your heart. AYourself standing victorious, having faced the greatest challenge and won. BYourself at the height of your power — respected, successful, and in control. CYourself surrounded by everyone you love, whole and happy and together. DYourself with all the answers — every book read, every mystery solved. NEXT QUESTION → 08 The Sorting Hat pauses. It whispers: "You could do well in any house. But what matters most to you — truly?" This is your tiebreaker. The Hat always listens. ABravery. I want to be the kind of person who acts when others won't. BGreatness. I want to leave my mark and be more than ordinary. CBelonging. I want to be part of something good and never let my people down. DUnderstanding. I want to know the truth of things and keep growing forever. REVEAL MY HOUSE → The Sorting Hat Speaks Your House Has Been ChosenAfter careful deliberation, the Sorting Hat has made its decision. This is the house your values, your instincts, and your particular way of being in the world were made for. 🦁 GryffindorYou have nerve. Not the reckless kind, but the deep, quiet courage that shows up even when you're terrified — especially then. Gryffindors don't act because they're fearless — they act because they understand that some things are worth being afraid for. You stand up for people when it would be easier to look away. You charge toward what's right even when the odds are terrible. Harry, Hermione, Ron — the heroes of Hogwarts's greatest chapter — all called the tower with the scarlet and gold home. And now, so do you. 🐍 SlytherinYou are driven, sharp, and utterly clear-eyed about what you want and how to get there. Slytherin has long been misunderstood — painted as the house of villains when it is, at its best, the house of those who refuse to accept limits placed on them by others. You are resourceful, strategic, and you play the long game. You know your worth. You protect your own fiercely. The dungeon common room with its view of the Black Lake is yours — and the ambitions that will take you further than anyone expects are yours too. 🦡 HufflepuffYou are the kind of person that makes the world genuinely better just by being in it. Hufflepuff is not the "safe" house or the "leftover" house — it is the house of those with the greatest heart and the most unwavering integrity. You show up. You work hard. You don't need glory or recognition — you do what's right because it's right. Your loyalty never wavers, even when tested. Nymphadora Tonks, Cedric Diggory, Newt Scamander — some of the wizarding world's finest. And now you join them. 🦅 RavenclawYour mind is your greatest gift, and you've always known it. Ravenclaws are the thinkers, the questioners, the ones who find a puzzle irresistible and a good book better company than most people. Ravenclaw is not merely about intelligence — it's about the love of learning, the pursuit of truth, and the rare courage to admit you don't know something yet. You see the world with unusual clarity and depth. Luna Lovegood, Filius Flitwick, Rowena Ravenclaw herself — all extraordinary, all original. And so are you. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 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 in 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 Image via Netflix 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 that 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 Image via Netflix 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. Cancellations have always been a reality, even on cable. But with so many cancellations, 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.