‘Umbrella Academy’ on Netflix: Kate Walsh Is Almost Unrecognizable as the Handler

Netflix’s newest superhero show is unlike any you’ve seen before. Yeah, The Umbrella Academy is tonally off-kilter and the Dark Horse Comics source material is way more obscure than the Marvel heroes, but it’s also different in that it’s a true ensemble show. There’s a team of heroes, their mentor and surrogate family, and a few bad guys constantly getting in their way. There are a lot of faces and names to keep track of in The Umbrella Academy–and some of those faces are surprisingly familiar. By the way, SPOILERS AHEAD for those of you still in the first few episodes of Season 1.

One such face first appears in Episode 5 in a major turning-point for the season. That face is one that TV viewers have definitely seen before and will probably be surprised to see saunter into the show’s post-apocalyptic nightmare scenario. That face… is Kate Walsh!

Walsh appears at the top of Episode 5 when her character, a mysterious woman dressed to the nines amidst the wreckage and rubble, pops up in the crosshairs adult Number Five’s rifle.

Walsh’s character, referred to only as The Handler, reveals she works for The Commission, an agency tasked with preventing disruptions to the timeline by dispatching assassins to take out those that wish to mess with history. She’s there to offer Number Five a job, since his teleportation and time travel abilities make him a natural fit for the gig. All he has to do is give The Commission five years of service, and then he’ll be able to retire anywhere and anywhen he wants.

Despite having spent 20+ years on a number of hit shows, Walsh is almost unrecognizable on The Umbrella Academy, all because her normally eye-catching red hair has been turned into a retro-chic blond bob. If you’re still having trouble placing where you know Kate Walsh from, here’s a brief overview. You may remember her from her recurring role on The Drew Carey Show in the late ’90s where she played Nicki, one of Drew’s serious girlfriends. After that, she jumped over to Grey’s Anatomy where she played Dr. Addison Montgomery first in a recurring role and then as a series regular. That character was spun off into her own series, Private Practice, which ran for six seasons on ABC.

After Private Practice closed in 2013, Walsh appeared in a few episodes of FX’s Fargo (Season 1, the Martin Freeman season) and also had a part in 2017’s mega-hit comedy Girls Trip. She can currently be seen in a main role on another Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why. On that show she plays the mother of Hannah, a high school girl whose suicide acts as the inciting incident for the series.

Now Walsh adds another scene-stealing character to her already impressive filmography, and this one, with her veil, pillbox hat, and cigarette holder, is the first character of hers that you’ll probably see at comic conventions for years to come.

Stream The Umbrella Academy on Netflix

Stream Grey's Anatomy on Netflix

Stream Private Practice on Hulu