The hit Netflix show The Umbrella Academy wrapped up after its fourth season, but it wasn't the creators' choice to end the series. Stars Ritu Arya and Justin H. Min told People that the pandemic and industry strikes caused significant delays between seasons, making the young cast noticeably older over time.
There was talk about a fifth season, but the writers, with Steve Blackman in charge, decided it made more sense to finish the Hargreeves' story in Season 4.
As Blackman stated in an interview with Radio Times,
"At the end of the day, it's up to Netflix. I have a number of different spin-offs I would do."
The last season kicked off on August 8, 2024, wrapping up loose ends and giving fans a satisfying ending, unlike other shows that got abruptly canceled. Cosmopolitan says the rumored spinoff about The Sparrow Academy from Season 3 isn't happening anymore.
Why was The Umbrella Academy canceled, making season 4 the last?
One of the main factors influencing this decision was showrunner Steve Blackman's initial vision for a four-season arc. He wanted to give the audience a conclusive ending to the story of the Hargreeves family and not drag it on for many seasons, which can lead to disappointing conclusions.
First, the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with the production schedule. Additionally, the 2023 industry strikes made things even more chaotic, and The Umbrella Academy was no exception. Both hit hard on the show's timeline and pacing.
Season 4 features only six episodes, a significant reduction from the ten episodes of previous seasons. While the first two seasons got praise, the last season sparked mixed reactions from viewers. Some thought the storylines weren't as deep and felt that characters like Allison didn't get enough screen time. The finale disappointed people as the siblings didn't solve their problems, and the Handler walked away without consequences.
Is there going to be a season 5 of The Umbrella Academy?
In August 2022, Netflix announced that The Umbrella Academy would wrap up with its fourth season instead of going on to a fifth. Showrunner Steve Blackman shared in a chat with Capital FM, saying,
"I remember writing the last scene of the last script, the finale, and thinking, 'Oh, I'm never going to write these characters again.'"
In the last season of The Umbrella Academy, the Hargreaves siblings lived pretty normal, boring lives in a rebooted universe without their superpowers.
After stopping yet another apocalypse at the end of season 3, they get thrown into a reality where they never got their abilities, and their dad, Sir Reginald Hargreeves, never adopted them.
The last season's six episodes wrap up the storylines from earlier on, like what happened to Ben and the Jennifer Incident. The siblings deal with their everyday lives now and the fact that they no longer have powers.
The Hargreaves siblings might not be excited about it, but they're starting to settle into their everyday lives in this new universe. Luther's dancing, Diego's doing delivery runs, Allison's in laundry detergent ads, Viktor's running a bar, Klaus is all about self-improvement, and Five is thinking about their past adventures.
You can only watch The Umbrella Academy on Netflix.
