The Umbrella Academy fans have been left gutted after Netflix confirmed that the series is coming to an end after the fourth season.
The third season of The Umbrella Academy dropped on Netflix over the summer and rocketed to the top of the platform's most-watched lists, racking up 124 million hours watched worldwide.
However, Netflix has now confirmed that the superhero series is set to bow out with its upcoming fourth season.
The streaming giant took to Twitter on Thursday to share the shock news with fans, writing: “The Umbrella Academy has been renewed for a fourth and final season!”
Showrunner Steve Blackman followed up the announcement with his own statement, saying: “I’m so excited that the incredibly loyal fans of The Umbrella Academy will be able to experience the fitting end to the Hargreeves siblings’ journey we began five years ago.
“But before we get to that conclusion, we’ve got an amazing story ahead for season four, one that will have fans on the edge of their seats until the final minutes.”
The news has proved bittersweet for the fans, who briefly worried the show might not return for a fourth season at all after Blackman expressed his doubts on Netflix greenlighting it.
Taking to Twitter as the announcement rocked fans, one wrote: “Damn, another show I'm losing. At least this will get an ending.”
A second posted: “The only thing that is getting me through Stranger Things ending soon and now Umbrella Academy is that I have The Sandman to hold onto for a while.”
“Go away I can’t believe the umbrella academy is ending,” a third devastated fan added.
A fellow Umbrella Academy fan wrote: “Really sad to hear my fav Umbrella Academy is ending but can’t deny I saw it coming.”
Following the particularly convoluting ending of the show’s third season, some viewers may be glad that the showrunners are wrapping up the series.
However, My Chemical Romance frontman and comic creator Gerard Way has signalled he is planning to write more Umbrella Academy storylines, so future spin offs are not out of the question.
Showrunner Blackman shared his plan to shake it up for the final season: “My plan for next year is not to continually tread on the same ground we have before.
“It’s a challenge to come up with a new way to subvert this storyline, and I think we have an idea how to do that. But I think if we got to season four, it would be a great ending for the run of the show.
“I’m not saying I couldn’t do more, but I think that would be very satisfying for the audience, four seasons.”
