Jonathan Stroud on Lockwood & Co's Netflix adaptation

For anyone who hasn’t read it yet, can you briefly explain what Lockwood & Co is about?

There’s an epidemic of dangerous ghosts in Britain. Adults are powerless to stop the spectres, but psychic children are trained to fight them. Young Lucy Carlyle gets a job at Lockwood & Co. – the only child-run psychic detection agency in London. With her two colleagues, Lockwood and George, she sets out to defeat enemies, both ghostly and human… 

What can you tell us about the Netflix adaptation, and how involved were you with creating the show?

The Lockwood & Co series is devised by Joe Cornish, director of "Attack the Block" and "The Kid Who Would Be King", and produced by Nira Park, who made "Spaced", "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz". In other words, they’re brilliant at fusing together adventure, horror and humour – and this mix is perfect for my books. I’ve had a consultancy role throughout the project, ready to help out whenever the creators had questions.  

Have there been any significant changes made to the original story? 

There are various inevitable changes here and there – some things compressed, other things teased out a little. But the essential points – the main plot, the mechanics of the world and, crucially, the characters – are lovingly transcribed to the screen. Ruby Stokes, Cameron Chapman and Ali Hadji-Heshmati are perfect as my three heroes: it’s been a beautiful thing to watch.

Was there anything about the book-to-screen adaptation process that surprised you? 

I was blown away by the incredible level of detail with which my world was brought to life. Lockwood’s house, 35 Portland Row, was constructed inside Ealing Studios, and every inch of it was filled with the correct books, bric-a-brac and belongings, right down to the last salt-bomb and rapier. Stepping through the front door was like finding myself suddenly inside my own story. It was a very powerful moment.