Netflix’s rumored season 4 release plan for The Umbrella Academy is bold, but it might work in the streaming giant’s favor. Since the confirmed renewal of The Umbrella Academy season 3, which will release on Netflix on June 22, it has been reported that season 4 may have already been given the green light by Netflix. This move wouldn’t be surprising, as The Umbrella Academy is one of Netflix’s top viewed original shows, and their mishandling of content and abrupt show cancellations has been a source of discontentment among its subscribers. By ensuring that one of their biggest shows has an early renewal, Netflix might be able to regain some public favor.

The Umbrella Academy, based on the comic book series of the same name by Gerard Way, features the adventures of the Hargreeves siblings as they try to navigate their mismatched personalities and abilities. With time travel shenanigans and stubborn adversaries complicating their lives to an extreme extent, their attempts to save themselves and the world often make everything worse, and the end of The Umbrella Academy season 2 was no exception. Though the Hargreeves siblings managed to make it back to 2019, their actions in 1960s Dallas throughout season 2 changed the timeline to such an extent that a new group of adopted siblings has taken their place. The Umbrella Academy has morphed into The Sparrow Academy, and season 3 will pick up where season 2’s cliffhanger left off.

Related: Umbrella Academy Season 3 Trailer Secretly Teases The Sparrow's Origin

Netflix renewing a show for an additional season before the latest iteration has even aired is not necessarily surprising. Netflix has done this for other popular shows in the past, such as Stranger Things, which was renewed for season 5 before season 4 premiered, and mega-hit Bridgerton, which was renewed for Bridgerton season 3 and season 4 before season 2 had even debuted on Netflix’s streaming platform. As such, an early renewal of The Umbrella Academy isn’t all that surprising, but it does perhaps indicate that Netflix is starting to take a different approach to content to secure its future, and bold early renewals such as this one may work in Netflix’s favor in the long run.

The Hargreeves together looking in the same direction in The Umbrella Academy

With the reported loss of 200,000 subscribers and an estimated 2 million more to come, Netflix needs to rethink its content strategy if they want to retain subscribers in the long run. Taking stock of their most popular shows and ensuring that those productions can tell their full stories is a great first step. One thing that Netflix is known for is canceling shows before they have even had a chance to develop an audience or finish their narratives, which can be theorized to be one of the reasons why subscribers are drifting towards Netflix’s direct competitors, like Amazon and Disney+.

The Umbrella Academy’s rumored season 4 renewal does pose an interesting question—what will the story be about? So far, The Umbrella Academy’s narrative has been based on the stories released by Dark Horse Comics, but season 3 is telling a story that has not yet been fully fleshed out in comic book form. The Sparrow Academy was gradually introduced in The Umbrella Academy: Hotel Oblivion, but since a Sparrow Academy comic book arc has been announced but is as of yet unpublished, season 3 will be the first foray into the unknown for Netflix’s version of The Umbrella Academy. As such, before season 3 has aired, it is impossible to say where a potential season 4 of The Umbrella Academy may be headed.

The Umbrella Academy combines bizarre and interesting powers, fun and complicated family dynamics, and stubborn and threatening antagonists to create a show which captures the spirit of Gerard Way’s original story. If The Umbrella Academy’s season 4 renewal for Netflix is confirmed, audiences can rest assured that the Hargreeves’ story will continue. And, hopefully, season 3’s upcoming premiere will be able to provide some answers as to what season 4 may be about.

Next: Netflix: Every Movie & TV Show Releasing In June 2022