Netflix is preparing to conclude their hit series The Umbrella Academy with a fourth season. As such, fans are both upset and excited to see the series come to an end. However, some drama has surfaced prior to the final season’s release, with allegations being made against Steve Blackman, showrunner of The Umbrella Academy.
It’s been shared by Rolling Stone in a new exposé, via THR, that as many as 12 different anonymous sources stepped forward to allege Blackman of bullying and harassing the staff of the hit series. Rolling Stone’s report adds that Blackman, while praising his staff in public, would later belittle them privately.
He is said to have stole their ideas and insulted them as shared in an HR complaint from early 2023. However, Blackman denies these allegations, and he further believes they’ve merely been made by upset writers. Here’s what he shared through his representative:
“Over six years and four seasons overseeing thousands of crew, actors and writers, Steve Blackman led The Umbrella Academy to become a beloved series with devoted fans, enthralling stories and a dedicated team making it all possible,” Blackman’s rep began. “These allegations from a handful of disgruntled employees are completely false and outrageous, and in no way reflect the collaborative, respectful and successful working environment Mr. Blackman has cultivated.”
An additional example was shared that relates to Elliot Page‘s decision to come out as transgender during the making of the series. Page’s transition was written into the series, with his character similarly coming out as transgender. While fans and the LGBTQ community were rather supportive of the idea, texts shared from one of Blackman’s accusers allege that he felt differently. Here’s what his texts regarding Elliot Page’s transition shared:
“Elliot [Page] wants to come out as trans on the show. As Ivan. Oh my f—king God. Kill me now.”
Blackman’s representative also spoke about the texts, claiming that Blackman was merely stressed about rewriting the series after the scripts were finished. He described it as “a complete rewrite under a wildly compressed timeline and the responsibility to handle this with sensitivity and care.”
Other texts from Blackman were shared, including his alleged scheme to fire a writer from the series:
“We have the perfect opportunity to jettison her via studio cover and replace.”
As for allegations that Blackman would steal ideas and credit from other writers, the report includes mention of an intervention from the Writer’s Guild of America. They apparently got involved after Blackman credited himself as the sole writer on one of the show’s episodes. By the time the episode aired, there were four different writers’ names credited.
Blackman was also involved with an investigation from Universal Content Productions in 2023 after the HR memo was released. Their investigation did indicate that Blackman made “inappropriate and unprofessional remarks” as well as “foul and derogatory language.” This lines up with another text from Blackman, in which he referred to a female staff employee’s breasts as her “rack.”
Ultimately, the accusers criticized the investigation, and further claimed they weren’t contacted. While Blackman’s situation was “addressed” by HR, his deal with Netflix did not change. As such, we’ll have to see how these allegations could impact the release of The Umbrella Academy Season 4 or any other projects Blackman might have lined up as part of his $50 million Netflix deal.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates regarding this situation with The Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman and the conclusion of the hit Netflix series as we have them.