Why The Umbrella Academy season 5 is not happening

The Umbrella Academy officially came to an end with the release of season 4 on Aug. 8, 2024. We've known since August 2022 that The Umbrella Academy season 4 would be the final season of the Netflix original series.

We watched all six episodes and shared our take on The Umbrella Academy ending that's the topic of debate online. We also wanted to share why the fifth season isn't happening despite many more volumes of The Umbrella Academy graphic novel series from Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba in the works.

The Umbrella Academy was meant to run for four seasons

Well, it sounds like the plan for showrunner Steve Blackman was for the series to run for four seasons. That's what Blackman originally pitched to Netflix, according to a report from TV Line. The report was published in June 2022, two months before the show was renewed for its fourth and final season.

"I don’t know how many seasons Netflix wants to go. I pitched them Season 4, and I know the beginning, middle and end of it. When I started the show, I really only knew the first four seasons in my mind."

So, it sounds like two things: this was the plan all along AND Blackman had some say with Netflix over what he felt would be a good place to end the story.

This quote from Blackman was also included in the TV Line report:

"Netflix may want more than that, but I have a sweet thought of where I think the show should end and where we’re going."

So, it all makes sense that the show is ending in 2024. It seems like this was always the plan, and it's honestly great that Blackman and the team got to make the show they wanted on their terms. That's not often the case in the TV industry. Often, shows end earlier than intended.

The Umbrella Academy season 5 was discussed

Although Blackman had a plan to end the series after four seasons, it sounds like there was a conversation about a fifth season. And, it also sounds like the COVID-19 pandemic and writers' and actors' strikes did have some effect on how long the show was going to run, according to star Ritu Arya.

Arya told People that Blackman approached the cast and discussed doing The Umbrella Academy season 5 at the season 3 premiere, but everyone decided it was best to stick with the plan.

Just H. Min also shared some of the problems the cast and crew endured in the later seasons.

"So many things happened, obviously, the main one being the pandemic and the strike and it delaying things. We almost spent a year gap between each of the seasons. Someone like Aidan, he's literally grown right before our eyes. We knew at a certain point it was going to become unsustainable for us to draw this process out. I think ending it at four was the right decision and closing up all those storylines and questions that fans have had over the years."

It's a bummer, obviously, that this is the end, but as mentioned, it's important that the show ended the way it should instead of ending too early or dragging on and on, losing momentum, and fading into nothingness.

Wow, that was dramatic.

Why The Umbrella Academy season 4 is only six episodes

That's another big question fans have. For the first three seasons, each season was actually 10 episodes. The fourth season, on the other hand, is only six episodes.

Blackman recently told Radio Times that they had plans for a full season at Netflix, but then, they agreed to a shorter episode count.

"I had to do a little bit of compressing because we thought there'd be a bit more material, but it turned out to be a perfect number. Could we have done more? Yes, but I think the six we have are just the perfect way to end the season."

It's interesting because production on season 4 wrapped right before the actors' strike. It might have ended right after the writers' strike. If there were more episodes in The Umbrella Academy season 4, it's possible the show would have been forced to shut down in the middle of production and wait to start filming again until the end of 2023 or beginning of 2024. If that happened, we'd probably still be waiting for the final season instead of watching it in early August 2024.

Obviously, we can't say what would have happened at that point, but I don't think it would have worked out the way that it did.

After watching the final season, I agree that six was a good number. Would I have loved to spend some more time with these great characters? Of course! But, I think stretching out this story would have been a mistake. The pacing was already a little bit wonky. Things did come together a little late in the season. Perhaps, we could have seen the Umbrella Academy grapple a bit more with the weight of the world and their important decision, but it's all there, you know? We saw it all play out.

Overall, I enjoyed the season, and I'm happy with how it all happened. Four more episodes would have been cool, but I'm grateful for everything we got.

All four seasons of The Umbrella Academy are now streaming on Netflix.