Is The Umbrella Academy woke?

The Umbrella Academy has a woke score of 92/100, which means it is heavily driven by woke themes. The Umbrella Academy follows seven adopted superpowered siblings who reunite after their father's death to stop repeated apocalypses, uncover family secrets, and confront personal trauma across four seasons of action, time travel, and dark humor. The series includes noticeable queer representation through the pansexual and gender-fluid Klaus and a major season 3 storyline in which one sibling transitions from female (Vanya) to trans male (Viktor). Creators and the showrunner explicitly described this arc as a positive story of family acceptance and worked with advocates to shape it. Diverse ethnic casting in the core family and these identity-focused personal arcs stand out to viewers, especially from season 3 onward.

Is there DEI in The Umbrella Academy?

The biggest factors in our score are Legacy character or canon changes, Identity-driven story themes, Representation / casting choices. A dysfunctional family of superheroes comes together to solve the mystery of their father's death, the threat of the apocalypse and more.

TV Show review

The Umbrella Academy

Woke Score

92/ 100

Lower is better

ActionDramaSci-FiFantasy

Breakdown

Factors & Ratings

These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Umbrella Academy.

Representation / casting choices

Prominent trans male lead (Viktor, changed from comic female Vanya), pansexual/gender-fluid Klaus, and multi-ethnic family cast make identity and diversity audience-visible, especially with the actor’s real-life transition mirrored on screen.

72 / 100

Political / ideological dialogue

Season 3 features supportive family dialogue around the trans character’s identity and acceptance presented as positive and natural; no heavy political lectures or broader ideological debates dominate.

30 / 100

Identity-driven story themes

Queer arcs for Klaus (fluid presentation and relationships across seasons) and the detailed Viktor transition (season 3 focus on coming out and family support) carry significant narrative weight; creators framed it as central inclusive storytelling. LGBTQ+ elements receive elevated emphasis per industry patterns and progressive coverage.

78 / 100

Institutional / cultural critique

Abusive adoptive father and family power struggles appear, but these drive personal drama and sci-fi plots rather than modern activist critiques of patriarchy, systemic oppression, capitalism, or Western institutions.

The Umbrella Academy

Factors & Ratings

Summary

Main Cast

Director & Crew