The Umbrella Academy is back for its final go-around.
Based on the comics written by My Chemical Romance’s leading vocalist, Gerard Way, the series follows the Hargreeves family as they fight to protect the world from multiple apocalypses, some of which they unintentionally cause.
Despite the comic’s first publication in 2007, the series only has three mainline comics. A fourth installment was announced in 2020, but to this day, it has not been printed. However, there is no news of it coming out any time soon. Despite the series’ discontinued state, Netflix took many liberties based on the comics written by Way. After three seasons, the series is ready to bow out with one final bang.
A Recap
In the first season, we meet the dysfunctional superhero family, the Hargreeves. We learn of their unethical training by their father and the effects it had on all seven siblings. The family comes together for Reginald’s funeral, and the season ends with the family preventing an apocalypse caused by their brother, Viktor.
In season two, the family finds themselves scattered throughout different moments in the early 60s due to a time-traveling miscalculation. This misstep averts JFK’s assassination and causes a nuclear doomsday. In a wild series of events, the family fixes the timeline. Unfortunately, the correction marks the Hargreeves as terrorists for supposedly aiding in Kennedy’s assassination. With these events and Viktor somehow unintentionally starting a different apocalypse, the family comes together to prevent a different end of the world.
In season three, the family meets an alternate version of themselves, led by Ben, a brother who is dead in their timeline. The titular family is now known as The Sparrow Academy and is filled with new faces. Soon, the danger of the Kugelblitz, a new apocalyptic threat, looms its ugly head, threatening to wipe out time itself. By the end of season three, the two sets of Hargreeves mix to create a bigger blended family, only to split once they enter a new timeline.
For a more in-depth look at the series, check out our past reviews.
What We Do Know
In a video promoting the new season, the cast tells us nothing about the new season besides a few fun buzzwords, but it is great to see them all again. Despite the cast’s teasing silence, there are a few things we do know.
Unlike past seasons, this season will have six episodes instead of the usual 10. This final season features Nick Offerman and Meghan Mullally playing Drs. Gene and Jean Thibedeau, two midwestern community college professors, whose lives will become chaotic once they meet The Umbrella Academy. David Cross joins the cast as Sy Grossman, a shy man looking to reconnect with his estranged daughter.
Unlike past seasons, the siblings had their superpowers to help them navigate through unknown times and places. However, the siblings are now stuck in a different timeline thanks to dear old Papa. Nothing else is new, but the Hargreeves are without their powers and a way back home in this timeline.
The final season of The Umbrella Academy will air in 2024.
