Big Talk Productions has optioned Jonathan Stroud's Lockwood & Co. YA series with plans to adapt the books for television, Deadline reported, adding that the deal comes as the fifth and final installment, The Empty Grave, is set to be published this week by the Penguin Random House imprint Corgi. The other titles are The Screaming Staircase, The Whispering Skull, The Hollow Boy and The Creeping Shadow.
Big Talk's head of film Rachael Prior and CEO Kenton Allen said they "feel a great affinity" with the Lockwood books' "distinct Britishness, innovative world building, vibrantly drawn characters and joyful command of genre," and that the series will be "a highly original, distinctively authored, ghost-detective show to enthrall audiences of all ages."
Stroud noted that he is "hopping with delight at the prospect of Lockwood being brought to the screen by Big Talk.... Their unique sensibility blends comedy, adventure and horror beautifully, and is in perfect synthesis with Lockwood's world. I can't wait for us to take up our rapiers, salt bombs and iron chains and get to work."