Steve Blackman, the showrunner of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, has been accused of fostering a hostile workplace. Multiple individuals who have worked with Blackman have come forward to expose his on-set behavior, however, he has called these claims “entirely untrue” and “completely absurd.“
Fans of the Horizon video game series are very disappointed to hear about these allegations, since Blackman was confirmed to be the showrunner for a Horizon Zero Dawn adaptation on Netflix. Gamers now fear that these allegations will slow down production of the series.
The Umbrella Academy’s Steve Blackman Has Been Accused Of Fostering A Hostile Workplace
As per Rolling Stone, Steve Blackman, the showrunner of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, has been accused of fostering a hostile workplace by people who worked on the show. The report from Rolling Stone claims that Blackman has a “long history of toxic, bullying, manipulative, and retaliatory behavior.”
Blackman has been painted as “a manipulative and chaotic showrunner” who allowed for 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.
Rolling Stone gathered this information from a January 2023 human resources complaint submitted to Universal Content Productions. After the complaint, UCP investigated Blackman in the spring of 2023 and mostly cleared the showrunner of the accusations.
Steve Blackman Is Also The Showrunner Of Netflix’s Horizon Zero Dawn Adaptation
Fans of the Horizon video game franchise are now worried as Steve Blackman was confirmed to be the showrunner for the Netflix adaptation of the iconic video game series.
The live-action Horizon TV series will not be released until at least 2026, as production is still in the early stages. At the moment, it seems like Blackman is more focused on the fourth and final season of The Umbrella Academy, which is all set to drop on Netflix later this year.
The Horizon series focuses on the adventures of Aloy, a young huntress living in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by zoomorphic robots. The series was kicked off with 2017’s Horizon Zero Dawn, which was well-received by the fans as well as the critics.
After Horizon Zero Dawn, Guerrilla Games developed a sequel called Horizon Forbidden West, which was also a hit among the community just like its predecessor.
Fans of the franchise fear that Steve Blackman’s controversy could further delay the show. Do you think he should be replaced? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
