The dysfunctional-family superheroes of “The Umbrella Academy” are landing on Netflix worldwide on Feb. 15, 2019.
The live-action series is based on the “Umbrella Academy” comic books created and written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá, published by Dark Horse Comics. The Netflix original series comprises 10 one-hour episodes.
“The Umbrella Academy” stars Ellen Page, Mary J. Blige, Cameron Britton, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Colm Feore, Adam Godley, John Magaro, Ashley Madekwe and Kate Walsh.
The story’s setup: On the same day in October 1989, 43 infants are inexplicably born to unconnected women who showed no signs of pregnancy a day prior. In the Netflix adaptation, six are adopted by billionaire Reginald Hargreeves (aka “The Monocle”), who creates the Umbrella Academy and preps his “children” to save the world: Vanya/The White Violin (Ellen Page), Luther/Spaceboy (Tom Hopper), Diego/The Kraken (David Castañeda), Allison/The Rumor (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus/The Séance (Robert Sheehan) and Number Five/The Boy (Aidan Gallagher).
The members of the estranged brood reunite to solve the mystery surrounding the death of their father (played by Colm Feore). But the Umbrella Academy begins to come apart because of their divergent personalities and abilities, not to mention the imminent threat of a global apocalypse. (Page’s Vanya is the only one of the adopted children with no supernatural powers.)
Shot in Toronto, the show is produced by NBCUniversal’s Universal Cable Productions for Netflix, with Steve Blackman serving as executive producer and showrunner. Additional executive producers are Jeff F. King, Mike Richardson, Keith Goldberg, Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá.
Watch the teaser trailer for “Umbrella Academy,” featuring Tiffany’s 1987 rendition of “I Think We’re Alone Now”: