“The Umbrella Academy” is a show that aired its first season on Netflix in Feb. 2019 and its second season in July 2020. The story is based on the comic book series “The Umbrella Academy” written by a singer, Gerard Way. I would say the genre of the show is comedy, superhero, action, science fiction, and possibly a few others, such as romance, drama, family, and so on.  

The story started with seven children who were born at the same time on Oct. 1, 1989. They ended up being adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves, a powerful and influential man. He basically trained these children and formed a superhero team, The Umbrella Academy, to fight against bad people.  

However, this part of the story is all condensed in the first episode of the first season. The plot of the show is about challenges that the children face both from outside and within the family. They are no longer children after years, except for one of them, who still has the physical appearance of a young boy. 

I want to point out two observations. First, these seven characters bring diversity in their skills and race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation. The fact that all the children are adopted makes it possible that the children can be all different. I have never seen any movies or shows that have this unique, diverse set of characters before, so I found this casting unique compared to other shows. 

My second observation is that the show brings historical events and figures and connects dots from here and there, especially on season two. The plot revolves around the assassination of the president, John F. Kennedy, in 1963, and you also hear about another historical figure, Jack Ruby. I enjoy watching any shows or movies that create or recreate a story around historical events. 

Overall, “The Umbrella Academy” provides an interesting plot, and I cannot wait for season three if it comes out. If not, I will read the comic book so that I know what happens after season two.  

Rotten Tomato Rating: 82% 

Rotten Tomato Audience Rating: 87% 

IMDb Rating: 8.0/10 

*The ratings are from 10/23/2020.