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Comic book shows are highly popular these days but they mostly focus on superheroes. While there's nothing wrong with it, it's always refreshing to see a show that takes a different approach. Locke & Key is a magical series about siblings who move into a house full of mysterious doors and strange keys that can lead them to very curious places.
The first two seasons enchanted audiences and the series is showing no signs of slowing down. However, before another season premiere, eager fans can look for fantasy shows that are in some ways similar to Locke & Key. Be it their genre, the fact they're based on comic books, or because the same creative team stands behind them, some fantasy shows have the potential to captivate the Locke & Key audience.
8 Lucifer
Just like Locke & Key, Lucifer is also based on a successful comic book series. The adaptation does change the main character as well as the story but everybody who likes crime dramas with fantasy elements should try the series out.
When Lucifer gets bored with ruling Hell, he leaves for Earth and opens a club in Los Angeles. The series is both witty and dramatic, and it has an excellent cast, most notably Tom Ellis as Lucifer. Plus, even though it is technically a part of the Arrowverse, Lucifer stands entirely on its own.
7 Stranger Things
Stranger Things is one of the most popular shows today and for a good reason. Just like Locke & Key, Stranger Things is a horror capable of creating an intense atmosphere.
Its heroes are sympathetic and it's easy to fear for them, especially once the audience realizes (before the heroes themselves do) that they're in over their heads.
Along with the three seasons currently available on Netflix, Stranger Things also has games as well as books so it's possible to enjoy this captivating story in more ways than just one.
6 Titans
Some superhero shows are fairly light and funny (such as Legends of Tomorrow), while others choose a more serious tone similar to Locke & Key. In Titans, the group of heroes faces multiple threats, including a potential end of the world.
Another thing that connects both series is that Titans also work with young characters who are, however, more powerful and influential than their older counterparts could imagine. For example, one of the heroes, Raven, is a daughter of a demon and when she uses her skills for real, it's enough to make the world shake. Just like Lucifer, Titans are also a wider part of the Arrowverse as both shows belong to the DC universe but they stand on their own.
5 Black Mirror
Story-wise, Black Mirror, and Locke & Key choose a different approach. Black Mirror is an anthology so each episode introduces a different story. However, both shows manage to create a strong atmosphere of silent terror and tension.
In the world of Black Mirror, the future the audience sees is far from perfect, and even when the characters have good intentions, they often make things worst. Bode, one of the main heroes of Locke & Key also means well, but his actions endanger his closest family.
4 The Mist
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Unlike other Stephen King adaptations, this 2017 series mostly flew under the radar. However, it'd be a mistake to miss in on Netflix. The series focuses on a group of people who end up trapped in a mall after mysterious mists full of monster surrounds the place.
The connection between The Mist and Locke & Key is then obvious – Joe Hill, who wrote the comic book Locke & Key, is Stephen King's son, and both authors excel at creating horror stories.
3 Castle Rock
Another show inspired by Stephen King, this Hulu original focuses on the mysterious Castle Rock town in Maine where the author often sets his stories. In this case, the series tells about the city's people and what happened to them.
Fans of Stephen King will recognize a lot of traits typical for his work in the show, such as the gradually increasing sense of terror. Castle Rock has two seasons and despite its name, the second season focuses more on another King's city, Jerusalem's Lot, known best thanks to King's vampire horror novel Salem's Lot.
2 The Boys
Where the story is concerned, The Boys and Locke & Key couldn't possibly be more different. One is a poetic horror series while another is a superhero show for adults. However, what connects them is the fact that they're both vastly different from the rest of the production of the same genre, and, of course, they're both based on comic books.
Even though The Boys is a superhero show, it's different from the Arrowverse or even the MCU shows. It presents superheroes not as heroic people but mostly as the bad guys who commit awful actions and have no moral qualms about it.
1 NOS42A
The best show to close this article is another series based on Joe Hill's work. Once again, NOS42A is a horror story, but this one uses Hill's novel as an inspiration source, not a comic book series. Zachary Quinto stars as the immortal Charlie Manx who steals children's souls to stay young.
The series is perfect to watch in winter since it takes place during this season and it redefines the definition of a Christmas horror story. If anybody's eagerly waiting for new seasons of Locke & Key, NOS4A2 is the best option how to get through it.