Netflix is bringing The Umbrella Academy comics written by Gerard Way (My Chemical Romance) and illustrated by Gabriel Bá to life as a live-action series. Netflix has greenlit a 10 episode season one with Fargo‘s Steve Blackman on board as showrunner. Blackman’s also executive producing the series with Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg, and Gerard Way will be involved as a co-executive producer. The Exorcist‘s Jeremy Slater wrote the pilot script based on the Eisner award-winning comic book series.
The Umbrella Academy series is expected to premiere sometime in 2018.
“I am thrilled that The Umbrella Academy has found a home at Netflix. I couldn’t think of a better place for the vision Gabriel Bá and myself had when creating the comic, and cannot wait for people to experience that world as a live action show,” said Gerard Way.
“What drew us to The Umbrella Academy is that it’s wholly unique, visual and stylized,” stated Cindy Holland, Vice President, Original Content for Netflix. “These aren’t the usual superheroes, and this series will embrace the singular tone of the graphic novels — dark yet humorous, supernatural yet grounded in reality. We’re excited to see this world and introduce these unforgettable heroes to Netflix members around the globe.”
The Plot: The Umbrella Academy is a live action series that follows the estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes (The Umbrella Academy) — The Monocle, Spaceboy, The Kraken, The Rumor, The Séance, Number Five, The Horror, and The White Violin — as they work together to solve their father’s mysterious death while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities. Published by Dark Horse Comics, the comic series garnered much praise from fans and critics alike for its alternate and twisted take on the superhero genre.
