The Umbrella Academy was easily one of the most talked-about Netflix shows at the time of its release this past February. Holding a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the consensus described it as a show “that unfurls an imaginative yarn with furtive emotion and an exceptionally compelling ensemble, but the series’ dour sensibility often clashes with its splashy genre trappings.”
But that “furtive emotion” and “exceptionally compelling ensemble” really gelled with people apparently. According to Netflix, The Umbrella Academy has been viewed by over 45 million member households. Wow. That’s a lot of households.
It joins the ranks of other big Netflix originals this year such as Birdbox, which also had a staggering 45 million households watching. And while we’re on that subject, it should be noted that Netflix’s definition of a ‘viewing household’ as a Netflix account that has watched at least seventy percent of a film or series.
The Umbrella Academy was released on February 15th, 2019. The series is produced by Borderline Entertainment, Dark Horse Entertainment, and Universal Cable Productions and has a large ensemble cast. It includes Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Cameron Britton, and Mary J. Blige. Before its eventual fate as a web-series, The Umbrella Academy was initially going to be a film by Universal Pictures in 2011. Although a script was written, the project was stuck in development hell until it was eventually decided to be a TV series in 2015.
The show is helmed by showrunner Steve Blackman, a former lawyer who helped create 2001 Canadian drama The Associates and has since worked on Bones, Fargo and Private Practice among other shows.
The Umbrella Academy itself is based on a comic book series written by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance fame. The comic has run for three series’ and a fourth has been proposed.
Did you enjoy this show? Or did you find it over-rated? Share your opinions with us in the comments below!
