The Umbrella Academy showrunner opens up on the pressures of ending the beloved Netflix show, as he admits he’s known how he wanted to end it since the "very beginning"

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Exclusive: Showrunner Steve Blackman talks endings, Gerard Way, and spin-offs

Aidan Gallagher in The Umbrella Academy season 4
(Image credit: Netflix)

The Umbrella Academy season 4 is nearly here, wrapping up the story of the superpowered Hargreeves siblings for good. Endings are never easy and the Netflix series, in showrunner Steve Blackman's own words, is "beloved" by its fanbase.

"Yeah, I felt a certain responsibility," Blackman tells SFX magazine in the new issue, which hits newsstands on July 10 and features Doctor Who on the cover. "But I knew how I wanted to end the show from [the] very beginning. We wanted to explain the Jennifer Incident [AKA the death of original Umbrella Academy alumnus Ben], and to talk about [Sir Reginald] Hargreeves’s origins. There will still be mysteries left, but I think the bigger ones are solved. I talked to Gerard Way [author of the comic book the show is based on] the other day, and he was very satisfied with the way we did it. It may not match what he does, but I think he loves some of the things we did."

The final season is set to be shorter than the previous three, clocking in at six episodes rather than the usual 10. Blackman isn't fazed, though, and doesn't think he needed any extra minutes to wrap things up. "If you’d asked me if there’s anything else I could have done if I had five more episodes somewhere, I don’t think so," he says. "I think we got to what I feel is a very natural ending, the right ending for the show. It’s a surprise ending, but I think it’s a good ending."

But is this really the end of the road for Viktor, Diego, Luther, and the rest of the Hargreeves siblings? Blackman hopes not. "I can think of a number of spin-offs off the top of my head that I would love to see," he continues. 

"I hope this isn’t the end of the Umbrella Academy, it’s just so beloved, but we’ll have to see where Netflix wants to go down that road. I think it’s a world that could be spun off. There’s so many interesting timelines and different characters we’ve met along the way that I think it’s deserving of a spin-off one day. I really hope it’s not the end of this."

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The Umbrella Academy releases on Netflix on August 8. Read more in the latest issue of SFX magazine, which features Doctor Who on the cover and is available from Wednesday, July 10. Check out what to look for on newsstands below... 

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Emily Garbutt
Emily Garbutt
Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related. I help bring you all the latest news, features, and reviews, as well as helming our Big Screen Spotlight column. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism.