Locke & Key (TV series)


Locke & Key is an American supernatural horror drama web television series developed by Carlton Cuse, Meredith Averill, and Aron Eli Coleite, based on the comic book series of the same name by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez. It premiered on Netflix on February 7, 2020. The series stars Darby Stanchfield, Connor Jessup, Emilia Jones, Jackson Robert Scott, Laysla De Oliveira, Petrice Jones, and Griffin Gluck.
In March 2020, Netflix announced that the series had been renewed for a second season.

Premise

After Rendell Locke is murdered at the hands of former student Sam Lesser, his wife Nina decides to move with her three children Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode from Seattle to Matheson, Massachusetts and take residence in Rendell's family home, Keyhouse. The children soon discover a number of mysterious keys throughout the house that can be used to unlock various doors in magical ways. However, they become aware of a demonic entity that is also searching for the keys for its own malevolent purposes.

Cast and characters

Main

Production

Background

Locke & Key was originally developed as a television series by the Fox broadcast network during the 2010–11 television season by DreamWorks Television and 20th Century Fox Television with Josh Friedman writing the pilot script adaptation. Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci served as executive producers for the pilot, which starred Mark Pellegrino, Miranda Otto, Jesse McCartney, Sarah Bolger, Skylar Gaertner, and Nick Stahl. The pilot was not given a series order by Fox though it was screened at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con. At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, a feature film trilogy was announced through Universal Pictures with Kurtzman and Orci expected to serve as executive producers.

Development

On May 9, 2016, it was reported that IDW Entertainment was developing a television series adaptation of Locke & Key again. The novel's writer, Joe Hill, was expected to write the production's pilot and serve as an executive producer. The project was being developed in association with Circle of Confusion with the intent of pitching the series to cable networks and streaming services.
On April 20, 2017, it was announced that Hulu had given the production a pilot order. The production was developed by Carlton Cuse with Hill and set to be directed by Scott Derrickson. Cuse was expected to serve as the potential series' showrunner and executive producer alongside Hill, Derrickson, Lindsey Springer, Ted Adams, and David Ozer. Production companies involved with the pilot were slated to include Carlton Cuse Productions and IDW Entertainment. On July 14, 2017, it was reported that Andy Muschietti was replacing Derrickson as the pilot's director as Derrickson was forced to drop out of the production due to a scheduling conflict. On March 27, 2018, it was reported that Hulu had passed on the pilot and declined to order it to series.
On May 29, 2018, it was reported that the production was in final negotiations with Netflix for a series order. Netflix was reportedly planning on redeveloping the property and discarding the prior pilot ordered by Hulu. Due to scheduling conflicts, Andy Muschietti was not expected to direct the production's new pilot but would continue to serve as executive producer alongside Hill, Cuse, Adams, Ozer, and Barbara Muschietti. Production companies involved with the new iteration of the project were set to include Genre Arts, IDW Entertainment. On July 25, 2018, it was announced that Netflix had officially given the production a series order for a first season consisting of ten episodes. Aron Eli Coleite, Meredith Averill, and Rick Jacobs were announced as new executive producers. Circle of Confusion was also expected to again act as a production company for the series. The new iteration of the series was created by Hill and developed by Cuse, Coleite, and Averill. The new first episode was written by Hill and Coleite, with Cuse and Averill serving as showrunners. Michael Morris directed the first two episodes and serves as an executive producer.
In adapting the comic for the Netflix series, the fictional town where Keyhouse is located was changed from Lovecraft, Massachusetts to Matheson, Massachusetts. According to Cuse and Averill, this change had been suggested by Hill: because of the comic's Lovecraftian themes, the setting's name was to honor author H. P. Lovecraft, but Hill wanted to honor author and screenwriter Richard Matheson for the series instead.
Despite the fact the series had yet received an order for a second season, writing for a potential second season began ahead of the series' first-season premiere. Netflix announced that the series had been renewed for a second season on March 30, 2020.

Casting

In August 2017, it was announced that Frances O'Connor and Jackson Robert Scott had been cast in the pilot's main roles. In September 2017, it was reported that Megan Charpentier and Nate Corddry had joined the pilot's main cast. In October 2017, it was announced that Jack Mulhern, Danny Glover, and Owen Teague had been cast in starring roles in the pilot.
Alongside the announcement of the production's move to Netflix, it was announced that all of the series' roles would be recast with the exception of Jackson Robert Scott as Bode Locke. On December 19, 2018, it was reported that Connor Jessup and Emilia Jones had been cast to replace Mulhern and Charpentier, respectively. In January 2019, it was announced that Sherri Saum, Griffin Gluck, Steven Williams, Darby Stanchfield, Laysla De Oliveira, and Kevin Alves had joined the cast with Gluck, Stanchfield, and De Oliveira in main roles and Williams and Alves set to appear in a recurring capacity. In February 2019, it was reported that Petrice Jones and Thomas Mitchell Barnet had joined the main cast and that Asha Bromfield and Felix Mallard would appear in recurring roles.
Mirroring their appearance as characters in the comic book, creators Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez had cameo appearances in the first season finale as paramedics.

Filming

Principal photography for the series took place from February 11 to July 5, 2019, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Scenes within the fictional Matheson were filmed in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, as well as some other exterior scenes, such as the outside of the Drowning Cave. Keyhouse itself was a constructed set and shot at Cinespace Film Studios in Toronto along with other internal scenes. The second season is scheduled to begin filming on September 21, 2020 and conclude on March 5, 2021.

Music

The score to the show was composed by Torin Borrowdale. When writing the main theme for the series, Borrowdale wanted to ellicit a feeling of magic and whimsey that would come with exploring a house with magical keys for the first time. Borrowdale implemented a solo cello in a low register for Dodge's theme to capture both the beauty and the darkness of Dodge's character. For Bode's theme, he created a simple tune that would be adaptable to the varying situations Bode got himself into, in which the variations on his theme would reflect the current mood of the scene. The soundtrack was released on March 13, 2020.

Release

In December 2019, Netflix announced that the series would be released on February 7, 2020. On January 8, 2020, Netflix released an official trailer for the series..

Reception

The series received generally positive reviews from critics, with the score, set design, and visual effects being singled out as highlights of the series. Critics mainly praised the series' handling of themes relating to loss and trauma, as well as its use of horror genre elements, while criticizing the use of teen drama and romance subplots to drag out the story. The performances of Jackson Robert Scott and Laysla de Oliveira received particular praise.
USA Today claimed that the series was "nearly as strong a debut as Stranger Things was in 2016, but it a few tweaks to jump the hurdle between good and great." IGN credited the series for its portrayal of trauma and its visual effects, and praised the performances of Scott and de Oliveira, while criticizing it for not consistently building tension throughout.
Polygon gave a more negative review, criticizing the decision to make the television adaptation emphasize the coming-of-age story and fantasy elements of the series, while glossing over the horror elements and haunting visuals of the source material. In particular, its review criticized the uninteresting subplots and inconsistent pacing.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the series has a 66% approval rating with 61 reviews, with an average rating of 6.58/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though Locke & Key at times struggles to strike a consistent tone, it captures enough of the essence of its source material to provide a fiendishly fun and sufficiently spooky time." On Metacritic the series has a score of 62 out of 100 based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".