On The Umbrella Academy, things can get pretty weird. 

From time travel operatives to alternate realities to a talking chimpanzee, there's always a lot going on in the superhero science fantasy. The Netflix show follows seven super-powered siblings who were adopted as children by an eccentric billionaire to form the eponymous team. Now estranged and one member fewer, the siblings reunite after their father's supposed death and must pull together in the face of an apocalypse (or two). 

But underneath the fun genre chaos, The Umbrella Academy tells a story about morally complicated characters still working through their tumultuous childhoods and past trauma. The Hargreeves siblings might not always get along smoothly (and let's face it, they usually don't), but they always have a home with each other. 

Created by Steve Blackman, the show adapts the Eisner Award-winning Dark Horse Comics series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, who both serve as executive producers. The siblings are played by a talented cast: Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, and Justin H. Min. The show's earned awards recognition particularly for its unique visual effects and production design, including six Emmy nominations. 

The Umbrella Academy returned for a third chaotic season in June 2022, but if you've already finished the new episodes and are now stuck waiting for the fourth and final season, Metacritic has rounded up a list of shows that share similar themes and tones that could fill the hole in your watchlist queue. Whether you enjoy The Umbrella Academy because of its absurdist dark comedy, its unconventional take on superheroes, or the indestructible bonds of its highly dysfunctional family, this list will have something for you. 

Here, Metacritic highlights 10 shows to watch after The Umbrella Academy. 

Legion

Metascore: 82
Best for: Fans of inventive visuals and mind-bending science fiction 
Where to watch:

Before The Umbrella Academy, Blackman worked on the offbeat anthology crime drama Fargo, created by Noah Hawley. Hawley's next show Legion takes on superheroes and dials the weirdness up to 11. The series takes place in an alternate timeline of the X-Men film franchise and follows the eponymous Marvel Comics character, otherwise known as David Haller (Dan Stevens). David was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a child and now lives in a psychiatric institution, unaware that he's a mutant with psychic powers — or that he's infected by a malicious parasite. To convey David's distorted view of reality, the series experiments with filming techniques, retro and modern visual elements, and sound design. The result is a surreal psychological thriller. 

"Legion is a dazzling and unusual show — full of extraordinary beings and events — but at its core are the same recognizable, human qualities that Hawley's previously stretched to the limits." — Danette Chavez, The A.V. Club

The End of the F***ing World

Metascore: 77
Best for: Fans of offbeat British comedies and unlikely bonds
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Fans of The Umbrella Academy's throwback-filled soundtrack and vintage designs might enjoy how this dark comedy has its own unique aesthetic. Based on Charles Forsman's mini-comics, The End of the F***ing World follows an unlikely pair who embark on an ill-fated road trip across England. Teenager James (Alex Lawther) believes he is a psychopath, and he thinks rebellious newcomer Alyssa (Jessica Barden) is his perfect first murder target. As things spiral out of control, they surprisingly form a strong bond. The show has a deliberately ambiguous time setting and plenty of retro needle drops. 

"The End of the F***ing World takes more unexpected narrative turns as it goes on, and that makes it worth watching, assuming you can muscle your way through the accompanying gloom and occasional gore." — Jen Chaney, Vulture

The Boys

Metascore: 76
Best for: Fans of dark takes on superheroes and action-packed stunts
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The adult members of the Umbrella Academy aren't always the best at saving the world, even literally causing the apocalypse. But in the universe of The Boys, superheroes aren't just dysfunctional — they're downright rotten. Creator Eric Kripke adapts the comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson in another unconventional entry of the superhero genre. The public reveres superheroes like celebrities, and most beloved are The Seven, a group of supes who hide an extensive list of problems including sexual assault, Naziism, and murder. The show pits the eponymous vigilantes against The Seven with extreme gore and irreverent humor. 

"The darker side of superheroes is an area that's been explored before but not with nearly the intensity and thoughtfulness you'll see in The Boys." — Terry Terrones, The Gazette

Preacher

Metascore: 76
Best for: Fans of dark genre comedies and stories where the religious and otherwise supernatural intersect
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Preacher follows a small-town church pastor who unexpectedly gets the power to persuade people to do his bidding after a mysterious force overcomes him. Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) was never a typical preacher though, and neither are his companions, an Irish vampire and his volatile ex-girlfriend. As he learns the truth about his new power, he resolves to literally find God in a strange quest that takes him across America. The show is based on the comic book series by Ennis and Steve Dillon, and developed by Seth Rogen, Sam Catlin, and Evan Goldberg. 

"Preacher's going for gross and, with its tongue planted firmly in cheek, it doesn't shy away from the wise-cracking, pulpy excitement of its genre." — David Sims, The Atlantic

Dark

Metascore: 72
Best for: Fans of time-travel mysteries and international shows
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons: 3

If you're fascinated by The Umbrella Academy's exploration of time travel and alternate realities, this science fiction thriller might be for you. Marking Netflix's first German-language original series, Dark takes place in a town with a complicated past. After children start vanishing, connections are drawn between four estranged families with ties to the town's dark history. As secrets get revealed and relationships suffer, characters discover a time travel conspiracy that spans generations. The show features an extensive cast and follows multiple timelines as the puzzle pieces get put into place. 

"The narrative is forbiddingly elaborate on purpose. What matters is how it feels to the members of this exclusive little club — and Dark, with its absolute sincerity and lush production, is a luxurious myth." — Jack Seale, The Guardian

Doom Patrol

Metascore: 70
Best for: Fans of comedic superhero shows and found family stories 
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Much like The Umbrella Family, Doom Patrol also focuses on a dysfunctional superhero family still working through past trauma. Developed by Jeremy Carver and based on the DC Comics characters, the show follows a team of misfits who got their superpowers through tragic accidents. Scarred and alienated by society, they found purpose through their work with the Chief (Timothy Dalton). Doom Patrol focuses on its characters' human struggles more than explosive fights between good versus evil. These serious considerations get balanced with witty, metatextual humor. Bonus: Though he's not involved with the show, Way wrote a Doom Patrol series for DC's Young Animal imprint. 

"The series is refreshingly self-aware, both in the hilarious meta narration by Alan Tudyk as the team's archenemy Mr. Nobody. ... And in its more fundamental understanding that if you make a show about these characters, you'd best come weird or not come at all." — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone

Marvel's Runaways

Metascore: 68
Best for: Fans of teen adventures and stories about bonding over a common enemy
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In Marvel's Runaways, six Los Angeles teenagers make the shocking discovery that their parents are supervillains. Despite their differences, the fractured group decides to uncover the truth and stop their parents from doing any more harm. Based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name, the show is created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who previously collaborated on other teen dramas including The O.C.and Gossip Girl. Similar to The Umbrella Academy's themes about family, Runaways also highlights how the teens gradually find a family with each other. 

"Runaways maintains an appealing balance of accessible familiarity with a savvy sense of surprise, augmented by a strong cast. Most of all, it's fun without being weighed down by the sense of self-importance that sometimes surrounds Marvel shows." — David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

Sense8

Metascore: 66
Best for: Fans of found family stories and stories that explore many different cultures and backgrounds
Where to watch: Netflix
Seasons: 2

Created by Lana and Lilly Wachowski and J. Michael Straczynski, this ambitious science fiction thriller follows eight strangers who share a psychic connection. Even though they're scattered across the globe, they can sense each other's presence, feel each other's emotions, and share their language and skills. Some of the eight include a Korean kickboxer, a closeted Spanish actor, and an Icelandic DJ with a tragic past. As they discover more about their new bond, they learn a sinister figure is hunting them. While the show got canceled after two seasons, a two-and-a-half-hour series finale was released a year later to help wrap up the cliffhanger ending.

"Sense8 is a show forever trapped between two things — its core artistic impulses and its need to over-explain everything that happens within its confines. That makes it at once beautiful and maddening, either a complete travesty or a whacked-out masterpiece — and sometimes both in the same scene." — Emily St. James, Vox

The Magicians

Metascore: 65
Best for: Fans of fantasies and coming-of-age stories about adults
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Based on the best-selling trilogy by Lev Grossman, this fantasy imagines a world where a magical realm from a childhood book is real. The Magicians follows Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) after he enrolls in Brakebills University, a secretive school that trains real magicians. Only the magical world is more dangerous than it seems and threatens humanity. The show reimagines many fantasy tropes, and finds its emotional core through the family formed between Quentin and his friends. While the series explores many dark themes, it also has a distinct sense of humor and never takes itself too seriously, even having multiple musical episodes. 

"The book's fans may not be completely satisfied — dialogue often doesn't do justice to Grossman's withering prose — but the spirit of this dark-natured series is intact." — Sara Stewart, New York Post

Altered Carbon

Metascore: 64
Best for: Fans of futuristic science fiction that explores existential questions
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Blackman executive produced and wrote on the first season of this cyberpunk television series. Taking place more than 300 years in the future, Altered Carbon envisions a society where technology has made death escapable. Human consciousness is kept on a device that's implanted at the back of the neck, and can be changed to a new body after death. Based on Richard K. Morgan's novel of the same title, the show follows Takeshi Kovacs (Joel Kinnaman), the sole survivor of a rebel group who has been imprisoned for centuries without a body. Now, he has a chance to regain full life — in exchange for solving a murder. 

"When Altered Carbon is unafraid of embracing the pulpiness at its core, it becomes both more enjoyable and more addictively textured." — Maureen Ryan, Variety