Mary J. Blige continues to plant some roots at Netflix.
After starring in the streaming giant’s Mudbound (in an Oscar-nominated role), she’s now been tapped for a role in the upcoming Netflix TV series adaptation of The Umbrella Academy, according to multiple industry publications.
Blige will be a series regular in the adaptation of Gerard Way’s comics.
The live action series follows the estranged members of a dysfunctional family of superheroes (The Umbrella Academy) – Luther, Diego, Allison, Vanya, Klaus and Number Five – as they work together to solve their father Reginald Hardgraves’ mysterious death, while coming apart at the seams due to their divergent personalities and abilities. It takes place in an alternate universe where the assassination of JFK did not happen.
She joins previously announced cast members: Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, David Castaneda, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher and Ellen Page.
Blige’s role, set at a one-year deal for now, is described as the following: Cha-Cha is a ruthless and unorthodox hitwoman who travels through time to kill assigned targets. Even though she has a few gripes about the bureaucracy of her employers, this job is her life. She is sadistic, sociopathic, and her reputation precedes her. Her true love is torture, and she thinks of herself as a “pain artist.” She really doesn’t care for people—except for her partner Hazel.
This is Blige’s biggest TV role to-date.
The Umbrella Academy will be produced by Universal Cable Productions. Steve Blackman (Fargo, Altered Carbon) will serve as executive producer and showrunner, with additional executive producers Bluegrass Television and Mike Richardson and Keith Goldberg from Dark Horse Entertainment. Gerard Way will serve as co-executive producer. The pilot script was adapted from the comic book series by Jeremy Slater (The Exorcist).
