If you somehow haven’t watched it already, it’s more than likely that over the past few weeks you’ve come across some promotion for the new Netflix Original show The Umbrella Academy. It could be easy to dismiss this as just another superhero story if you’re not into that sort of thing, but hear me out when I say that this show deserves all the attention it can get. And don’t worry, no spoilers around here.
This is a story about family above all else. It follows seven children, all born impossibly on the same day across the world, who are adopted by millionaire inventor Reginald Hargreeves. But six of these children possess inexplicable abilities; everything from conversing with the dead to teleportation and time travel. As kids, they were the famous crime-fighting Umbrella Academy. Flash forward to 2019, though, and they’re just estranged adults coping with the trauma they experienced in the past, only reunited with their siblings under the pretense of their emotionally distant adoptive father’s death.
The story started out as an award-winning Dark Horse Comics series conceptualized and written by Gerard Way. Does that name sound familiar? Well, it should if you were anything like me in middle school: he’s the former frontman of My Chemical Romance.
When the band broke up in 2013, Gerard went off to do his own thing – some solo music, sure but also writing comic books, which he is deeply passionate about. Before My Chemical Romance, he studied illustration and even had an internship at DC Comics. It all seems to have been building up to comics for him.
People doing what they love is something I really admire, so when I heard that The Umbrella Academy was being made into a show, all I felt was the purest form of happiness for Gerard. He’s even an executive producer for the show!
Not to mention that the show stars the amazing Ellen Page as Vanya Hargreeves, the only ordinary child out of the seven. You may recall that this isn’t Ellen’s first appearance within a superhero franchise; she also played Kitty Pryde in a couple of X-Men movies. The Umbrella Academy contains echoes of other famous comics like X-Men, so if you’re a fan of that, then you’ll like this, but it absolutely has its own distinct vibe.
If you’re looking for a show with lovable characters and an all-around entertaining and fun plot, this is definitely for you. These characters will make you laugh, cry, and ache alongside them. I’m not usually one to binge-watch shows as I often simply don’t have the spare time to do it, but The Umbrella Academy kept me hooked enough to watch the whole first season in just a few days. I’d easily recommend it to anyone, even if superheroes aren’t usually their thing.
Netflix recently confirmed filming for season two of The Umbrella Academy, so join in on the hype and watch the first season now!
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