Netflix’s Umbrella Academy Showrunner Steve Blackman Accused of Abusive Behavior on Set

Netfflix’s Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman has been accused of abusive behavior in the workplace, according to a “January 2023 human-resources complaint filed to Universal Content Productions, the NBC-owned production company behind The Umbrella Academy.” There are reportedly two other active complaints against Blackman, that were filed by writing team member and an actress who worked on the show. 

There are extensive details to the complaints that Rolling Stone investigated; the accusations assert that Blackman was “a manipulative and chaotic showrunner who fostered a toxic workplace by pitting staffers against one another; creating an environment of fear and distrust; taking credit for other people’s work; and allegedly making lewd remarks that sources say they found to be sexist, homophobic, and transphobic.” 

The allegations paint Blackman as a scheming and two-faced boss, who would often begin friendly professional relationships is writers and support staff, only to trash-talk them behind their backs to other staffers, playing people off of one another and generally creating a cutthroat environment on set, while often taking undo credit for the ideas or work of staff writers or even assistants: 

“Everyone’s writing a few scenes of his episode that he’s gonna slap his name on,” one support staffer told Rolling Stone. “He’s getting pitches from the assistants so that he can go back in the room [to pitch their idea] while he sends them on an errand.” 

One particularly damning portion of the complaint delves into Umbrella Academy star Elliot Page’s transition. Page came out as a trans man in early December of 2020, months after Umbrella Academy Season 2 had been released. When Season 3 went into production, Blackman, Netflix, and the creative team of Umbrella Academy had decisions to make about how to handle Page’s transition in the show. Publicly, Blackman seemed to be extremely supportive of Page; however, behind the scenes, some staffers claim the showrunner was very negative about the situation. In one text message provided to Netflix’s Human Resources personnel, Blackman wrote:  “Elliot wants to come out as trans on the show. As Ivan. Oh my fucking God. Kill me now.” 

Blackman disputes the allegations that he had any ill-will toward Page, with his reps telling Rolling Stone in a statement that, “Faced with a tremendous undertaking — a complete rewrite under a wildly compressed timeline and the responsibility to handle this with sensitivity and care — Mr. Blackman commented on his stress level related to this and other responsibilities of managing a show and a large team.”

And yet, other portions of the complaint allege that Blackman had a history of making borderline if not offensive LGBTQ+ jokes, “He could be very good at dropping something that starts to be transphobic or homophobic, like, ‘They’re a he/she,’” a staffer described. “But then [he’ll say], ‘It’s all good, I support it. It’s awesome, live your best life.’ … He toes the line of seeing who will join in and laugh with him, and then if nobody does, really skillfully backpedals.”

Other accounts state that Blackman would also make “sexist, lewd, and disparaging comments,” with one female staffer claiming, “I found it to be an incredibly sexist environment. If you were female, you were treated with hostility, or like you were stupid.”

The general consensus from those who were willing to speak up is that Blackman is a showrunner who knew the power of his position and had no qualms about wielding that power in abusive ways, using entire careers as cannon fodder: 

“When we feel like one person holds the keys to our career, it’s hard,” a support staffer said. “They’re saying, ‘Hey, write these scenes,’ and making all these big promises, and you pour everything you have into the job only to be discarded after. It’s just devastating…” 

That same staffer had suggestions for corrections, which echo a lot of the points discussed during the 2023 Writer’s Strike in Hollywood: “If we have protections for being credited for the work we do or have somebody to go to, I think it can protect us from this type of toxic behavior.”

UCP apparently looked into the allegations in the Spring of 2023, ultimately clearing Blackman of many of them (the WGA ruled against Blackman on the issue of writing credits on the Season 4 finale). There is still some room for discrepancy, as many staffers claim these sorts of investigations aren’t handled seriously, and that the culture of Hollywood still gives showrunners of popular shows a corruptive level of power and influence:

“I’ve never known anything to come of these investigations,” said a writer who worked on Umbrella Academy, referring to other such cases. “All those showrunners were still in place and went on to run other shows and get bigger deals. I don’t even know why they do them.” 

Blackman’s team issued a statement to Rolling Stone, basically stating that the showrunner’s overall track record speaks for itself: 

“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. 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.” 

Netflix falls somewhere in the middle, with a producer on Umbrella Academy painting the situation as typical workplace conflict: 

 “We do have empathy for anyone who came away feeling unhappy with the show,” a producer said. “Steve always says that ‘everyone’s the hero of their own story,’ and in this case I think everyone probably believes their own truth.”

Umbrella Academy Season 4 Premieres on Netflix on August 8th.