‘The Umbrella Academy’: Why Do So Many People Love the Netflix Show?
The Umbrella Academy premiered on Netflix in February 2019 and is currently one of the platform’s most popular shows of the year. Based on the comics written by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá, the Netflix original has gained a huge following of fans after just a short amount of time.
But why exactly is The Umbrella Academy so popular? Let’s explore the details below.
‘The Umbrella Academy’ is about a team of superheroes
To start off, the series is about a team of superheroes, but these guys are not your typical cookie-cutter, all-around-perfect guardians of the world.
The main characters are a group of siblings who were adopted by an eccentric billionaire after their respective mothers gave birth to them in very unusual circumstances. The siblings grew up in the billionaire’s care, developed superpowers, and became famous for fighting crimes. However, they became estranged as adults, though the series starts at the point where they all gathered to figure out why their adopted father had died and also to save the world from an impending apocalypse.
It has superhero themes that fans who love the genre can enjoy. However, The Umbrella Academy also features things such as family relationships, romance, and humorous elements.
‘The Umbrella Academy’ received high viewing numbers in its first month
According to a letter sent by Netflix to its shareholders, The Umbrella Academy received more than 45 million household member views within its first month of being released. It should be noted that Netflix counts a “view” for a series as one episode having been watched at least 70% by a user. Nevertheless, given the fact that The Umbrella Academy has been talked about by all kinds of news outlets these past few months that many people around the world definitely have watched it.
For comparison, Netflix revealed that their documentary FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened was watched by 20 million members in the first month. The Highwaymen, starring Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner, is on track for 40 million views. However, The Umbrella Academy was eclipsed by Ben Affleck’s Triple Frontier, which got more than 52 million views.
The Umbrella Academy‘s ratings are still impressive nonetheless, and the show was instantly renewed for a second season the same month that it went online.
Why do so many people love ‘The Umbrella Academy’?
One factor behind the success of The Umbrella Academy is perhaps the timing of its premiere and how it is currently filling in the gap in the superhero genre on Netflix. There used to be a few Marvel shows on the service, though most of them have ended. (Jessica Jones is the only one still standing, but its upcoming season will be its last.) Thus, fans who love watching superheroes naturally gravitated towards The Umbrella Academy.
Fans have also cited the characters as being a reason why they like the show. The siblings, especially, all have their own personalities and backstories, and each of them bring something unique to the table.
“The characters were interesting and well-developed,” a user on Quora.com said. “Many ensemble shows tend to prioritize some characters over others, but I was impressed with how Umbrella Academy handled their wide array of characters. Not only did they delve into the six lovable protagonists, they even made compelling stories for three of the main antagonists.”
The Umbrella Academy also has interesting story lines that compel viewers to continue watching.
Another user said: “For every twist I predicted, there were another two that took me by complete surprise. It was action packed, wacky, funny, mysterious, and, at times, just straight-up weird. Still, I found myself eagerly awaiting the next segment for answers to the burning questions that seem to pile up after each new episode.”
