The Umbrella Academy: Who is Carmichael?

The second season trailer for The Umbrella Academy was released earlier today by Netflix and fans quickly flipped out. There's a lot to take in throughout the video which picks up from the season one cliffhanger that saw the Hargreeves siblings thrust back in time. Fans of the Dark Horse Comics by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá comic series spotted a new character from the comics that will apparently be making their debut in the TV show, Carmichael the talking goldfish. This addition has thrown non-readers for a loop however, but don't worry, we've got an explainer for you, plus, a talking goldfish can't be too much of a leap after Dr. Pogo in the first season.

Introduced in The Umbrella Academy: Dallas, the second volume of the series, Carmichael is a sentient goldfish that works with Number Five at the Temps Aeternalis (the basis for The Commission in the series). In the series, Five describes him as "an Oranda Goldfish that had gained the ability to speak, as well as genius-level intelligence and the strategic instincts of Nathan Bedford Forrest." As Carmichael himself reveals later in the series, he's actually a Shubunkin goldfish. Here's an image of him from the comics.

Following the death of The Handler at the hands of Hazel it makes sense for Carmichael to make his appearance in the TV series. That character, played by Kate Walsh, doesn't hail from the pages of the comic book series. It's unknown at this point who will voice Carmichael in the series, assuming that he speaks at all.

Set to premiere on Netflix on Friday, July 31, the official description for The Umbrella Academy season two can be found below. The first season of the Emmy nominated series is now streaming.

"Five warned his family (so, so many times) that using his powers to escape from Vanya's 2019 apocalypse was risky. Well, he was right - the time jump scatters the siblings in time in and around Dallas, Texas. Over a three year period. Starting in 1960. Some, having been stuck in the past for years, have built lives and moved on, certain they're the only ones who survived. Five is the last to land, smack dab in the middle of a nuclear doomsday, which - spoiler alert! - turns out is a result of the group's disruption of the timeline (déjà vu, anyone?). Now the Umbrella Academy must find a way to reunite, figure out what caused doomsday, put a stop to it, and return to the present timeline to stop that other apocalypse. All while being hunted by a trio of ruthless Swedish assassins. But seriously, no pressure or anything."

The Umbrella Academy stars Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda. Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Emmy Raver-Lampman, and Justin H. Min.