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The Umbrella Academy, a strange, absurd and funny “superhero” comic from My Chemical Romance frontman, Gerard Way, is about to become a live-action series on Netflix.
The internet network confirmed today that it has ordered 10 episodes for a first season, which will debut in 2018. Steve Blackman, best known for his work on FX’s Fargo, will act as showrunner. The pilot episode of the series will be written by Jeremy Slater, who is best known for creating The Exorcist TV show currently airing on Fox.
The Umbrella Academy follows a dysfunctional family of siblings with unique powers. The Monocle, Spaceboy, the Kraken, the Rumor, the Séance, Number Five, the Horror, and the White Violin aren’t the most functional, but they’re forced to come together to solve the mystery surrounding their father’s death. A poster for the show can be seen below.
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“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,” Cindy Holland, Netflix’s vice president of original content, said in a press release.
The Umbrella Academy and its spinoff, The Umbrella Academy: Dallas ran for a total of 12 issues between them — and three additional short stories — between September 2007 and 2013. The comic won an Eisner Award in 2008 for Best Finite Series/Limited Series.
More information about the television adaptation is expected to be released soon, with San Diego Comic-Con around the corner.
