If it gets picked up, Umbrella Academy showrunner already has big plans for Season 3

Today at the CTAM (or Cable Telecommunications Association for Marketing) summer press tour day for Netflix, several of the actors who play the Hargreeves siblings on The Umbrella Academy series reunited with their showrunner/executive producer, Steve Blackman, to discuss Season 2 and share some teases for a potential Season 3.

Fresh off the show's 10-episode drop on July 31, Blackman says the official order from Netflix for a third season has not yet come. But he’s hopeful they get a chance to answer the cliffhangers left in the season finale, “The End of Something.” 

Credit: Netflix

Emmy Raver-Lampman (Allison), Ellen Page (Vanya), David Castaneda (Diego), Aidan Gallagher (Number 5), and Justin Min (Ben) admit in the last week they’ve watched their social media blow up with fan reactions to the second season. “It was already a massive fanbase but it seems to have doubled overnight,” Min says of the reception. “We get a sense that people are binging it all at once, much faster than for Season 1. Maybe there’s a more addictive quality to this season.”

Blackman says some of that urgency may come from the leaner approach they took to writing episodes for Season 2. On average, a second season episode is 10 to 15 minutes shorter than Season 1 episodes. “We were looking at the longer episodes from Season 1 and felt they were lagging,” the showrunner said with candor. “We want a season to feel like a 10-hour movie so 45 minutes feels right. And that pushed us to think about shortening the show a little bit.”

**SPOILER WARNING! Spoilers for The Umbrella Academy Season 2 below!**

One of the clear winners for the season is the new character, Lila Pitts (Ritu Arya), who worms her way into Diego’s life via their shared stay as patients in a mental hospital. There’s  a huge reveal about her as the season progresses, and another issue that comes to light in the finale which opens the door for more of her character. Blackman confirms that Lila’s story isn’t finished. “She has unfinished business with the family. So we can safely say, that’s not the end of Lila Pitts.”

And it’s certainly not the end of Ben Hargreeves, just the Ben we’ve come to know over two seasons. Revealed to be alive and corporeal as a member of The Sparrow Academy in the alt-timeline the Hargreeves return to, Min says they spent a lot of time making sure there was a total contrast for audiences to process in the finale reveal. “He’s alive and not a ghost,” the actor assures. "Hopefully, if we get a Season 3, you’ll get to see he has quite a different personality and appearance.”