New Netflix series deserves to be as big as Stranger Things

If you can imagine a mix of Harry Potter and Ghostbusters...

Netflix is having a bit of a crisis at the moment, as subscribers are unsure which new show to dedicate several hours of their free time into, only to potentially have the show cancelled after its first season. That shouldn't be the case with Lockwood & Co., as its first season is very, very good and deserves to develop a fanbase as big as Stranger Things. Based on a series of YA novels, we're told the story from the perspective of Lucy (Ruby Stokes), a teenage girl who is one of the most gifted "ghost whisperers" in London. Decades earlier, a mysterious event has essentially allowed ghosts to roam the Earth, and if you get touched by one, you'll die and become a ghost yourself. Young kids and teenagers have also been gifted different abilities - some can see the ghosts, some can hear them - which also gets weaker and they lose as they enter adulthood. Running away from an emotionally abusive household, Lucy is hired by Anthony Lockwood (Cameron Chapman), who has incredible ghost sight, and runs his operation from a fancy central London home with an in-house researcher George (Ali Hadji-Heshmati). Together, the trio are hired for a number of different jobs around the city, attempting to rid haunted locations of their ghosts, while also dealing with an overarching mystery involving the government and a particularly deadly mirror. Joe Cornish (Attack The Block) is overlooking the whole thing, and he smartly kicks off with a scene of pure tension and actual scares, setting the tone for what is to come. The ghost-hunting scenes really do hammer home a sense of horror that very few shows tackle, especially shows that would be potentially suitable for both adults and kids, pretty much Harry Potter meets Ghostbusters. Although, to be honest, some of the more horror-leaning scenes would likely be too intense for younger viewers. The dynamic with the Lockwood & Co. agency is also fantastically well fleshed out, with both Stokes and Chapman in particular bringing some real depth to their roles. Lucy is stuck in the middle of an abusive past she'd rather forget and a death-filled future that she'd probably rather avoid, while Lockwood comes off as equal parts Tony Stark and Sherlock Holmes, a well-connected genius who both wants to maintain individuality while constantly seeking the spotlight he feels that he and his team deserves. Overall, none of the eight episodes feel like they're dragging or unnecessary, continually adding in new characters and situations that assist in filling in more and more of this world, which - hopefully! - future seasons can help to expand upon. There are still plenty of loose threads and pseudo-cliffhangers left from this first set of episodes to entice a return, so here's hoping we get that well-deserved second season. All eight episodes of Lockwood & Co. will debut on Netflix on Friday, 27 January.