The Umbrella Academy has been watched by 45 million households according to Netflix

The show, which follows a dysfunctional family of anti-heroes as they face the threat of an impending apocalypse, was based on the graphic novel of the same name written by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba.

According to the streaming giant, a total of 45 million member households have watched the show.

Netflix counts a viewer as one person having watched at least 70% of one episode of a series, or at least 70% of a film.

The Umbrella Academy joins the ranks of Netflix originals You and Sex Education, both of which saw over 40 million subscribers view the programmes just one month after they dropped on Netflix.

Netflix has previously been famously secretive about the viewing figures of its programmes, but has now started to drip-feed audience numbers for its more successful shows.

The Umbrella Academy has now, unsurprisingly, been renewed for the second series, with another 10 episodes being ordered by Netflix.

All the main members of The Umbrella Academy cast, which includes Ellen Page and Robert Sheehan, are confirmed to be returning for the second outing.

Showrunner Steve Blackman, who is also back for series two, has said Umbrella Academy could potentially run for at least “four or five seasons.”

"I know Gerard has eight volumes in his mind," he said to Collider, "so whether that translates to eight seasons, I don’t know.

“We combine certain seasons, and bits and pieces. It would be lovely to have four or five years of this show. That would be wonderful."

But if we are going to get a second series of The Umbrella Academy, we’re not likely to receive it until the end of 2020 at the earliest, with Blackman explaining it takes around “18 months” to make each run.

The first season of Umbrella Academy is available on Netflix