The Umbrella Academy is the type of show that came into the world at the best moment possible. It was initially created as a comic book by My Chemical Romance frontman, Gerard Way. Season one premiered in February 2019 and season two just premiered on July 31st, 2020. The show tells the story of the Hargreeves siblings, an adopted group of seven, all born with supernatural powers. The dubbed “Umbrella Academy” has grown up and have gone their separate ways, but are all brought back together by the death of their father. It is then that they discover that they all must work together to prevent the apocalypse that is supposedly happening ten days after their father’s death. The characters and their powers are, Number One: Luther (super strength), Number Two: Diego (perfect aim), Number Three: Allison (mind control), Number Four: Klaus (can speak to the dead), Number Five: Five (can travel through space and time), Number Six: Ben (can unleash a monster from his chest), Number Seven: Vanya (ordinary). The show may appear at first glance to be a little bit scary, but the humorous script is to die for.
Having diversity in the media is incredibly important, but sometimes shows don’t portray it well. The Umbrella Academy does a great job of portraying diversity in their cast of characters. Some of the main characters are Hispanic, East Asian, South Asian, and African American. The show has a gay man and woman as two of their leads. We have the representation here and the best part is how the writers don’t make the sexuality of the characters their entire personality. This sounds like something so basic and yet, there are so many shows and films who don’t give their LGBTQ characters real problems or personalities other than their sexuality. The show also deals with topics of addiction and PTSD. It does not glamourize these issues and the actor who portrays these issues does a phenomenal job.
The soundtrack to the show is absolutely incredible. It features music from a range of decades, with catchy songs like Istanbul (Not Constantinople), Don’t Stop Me Now, Right Back Where We Started From, Bad Guy, and a violin cover of Phantom of the Opera.
This is a show for everyone, not just superhero lovers. It features so much humor and characters you will fall in love with. Each character is so different from one another and it provides so much heart to the show. Each episode leaves you wanting more. Some incredible shows don’t live up to expectations when it comes to a second season, trust me when I say, The Umbrella Academy does, and continues to find new ways to keep itself fresh. It will be interesting to see how the show continues to grow and change. If you are looking for a show to binge with intriguing characters, a fun plot, and a wonderful script, I highly recommend The Umbrella Academy to you.