Now that Netflix has gotten into the business of canceling movies that have already been completed, those with a soft spot for episodic fantasy have become more fearful than ever before. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter how popular Lockwood & Co. proves to be, there’s a distinctly high chance it’ll end up on the chopping block sooner rather than later.

Recommended Videos

As defeatist as that sounds, the streaming service canning upwards of 25 effects-heavy genre shows in the space of three years provides plenty of evidence to explain why such pessimism as warranted, and Joe Cornish’s supernatural detective series was already being predicted as the next instant smash hit to end up being thrown onto the discard pile the very same day it premiered.

Ted Sarandos may have claimed he’s never executed a popular show despite an outpouring of online fury stating otherwise, so we’ll just have to wait and see what the fates have in store for Lockwood & Co. The eight-episode race through London to unravel a spectral conspiracy is off to a solid start, though, with the early numbers matching its perfect 100 percent Rotten Tomatoes score.

Per FlixPatrol, the latest entrant into the dangerous world of Netflix fantasy has become a Top 10 hit in 66 countries 24 hours after debuting on the platform, but the initial concern is that it’s only managed to snag the number one spot in three of them. On the plus side, if you expect the worst, then it’s hard to be left disappointed.