The Boys (2019 TV series)
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| The Boys | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
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| Based on | |
| Developed by | Eric Kripke |
| Starring | |
| Composer | Christopher Lennertz |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 16 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Production locations | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Cinematography |
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| Editors |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 55–68 minutes[1] |
| Production companies |
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| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television Amazon Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Picture format | 4K (UHDTV) HDR |
| Audio format | 5.1 Dolby Digital |
| Original release | July 26, 2019 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Boys is an American superhero streaming television series developed by Eric Kripke for Amazon Prime Video. Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, which was originally published by DC Comics under their Wildstorm imprint before moving to Dynamite Entertainment; it follows the eponymous team of vigilantes as they combat superpowered individuals who abuse their abilities. The series stars an ensemble cast that includes Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Laz Alonso, Tomer Capon, and Karen Fukuhara as the vigilantes, and Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Chace Crawford, Jessie T. Usher, and Nathan Mitchell as members of the "Seven", an official superhero group run by the conglomerate Vought International, who, while maintaining a lofty façade, are shallow celebrity figures prone to doing horrendous things in secret.
The series premiered on July 26, 2019.[2] The series has received critical acclaim for its writing, storyline, humor, and the performances of the cast, particularly Urban and Starr. Ahead of the premiere, Amazon renewed The Boys for a second season, which premiered on September 4, 2020.[3][4] Ahead of the second season premiere, the series was renewed for a third season in July 2020 which is scheduled to be released on June 3, 2022, and two spin-off shows were ordered in September 2020 and December 2021.[5][6][7]
Premise[]
The Boys is set in a universe where superpowered individuals are recognized as heroes by the general public and work for the powerful corporation Vought International, which markets and monetizes them. Outside of their heroic personas, most are arrogant and corrupt. The series primarily focuses on two groups: the Seven, Vought's premier superhero team, and the eponymous Boys, vigilantes looking to bring down Vought and its corrupt superheroes.
The Boys are led by Billy Butcher, who despises all superpowered people, and the Seven are led by the narcissistic and violent Homelander. At the start of the series, the Boys are joined by Hughie Campbell after the drug-addicted member of the Seven named A-Train accidentally kills his girlfriend, while the Seven are joined by Annie January, a young and hopeful heroine forced to face the truth about those she admires. Other members of the Seven include the disillusioned Queen Maeve, the insecure Deep, the mysterious Black Noir, and white supremacist Stormfront. The Boys are rounded out by tactical planner Mother's Milk, weapons specialist Frenchie, and superpowered test subject Kimiko. Overseeing the Seven is Vought executive Madelyn Stillwell, who is later succeeded by publicist Ashley Barrett.
Cast and characters[]
Main[]
- Karl Urban as William "Billy" Butcher – The leader of the Boys and former SAS operator who distrusts all individuals with superpowers. He has a particular hatred towards Homelander, who he believes is responsible for the disappearance of his wife.
- Jack Quaid as Hugh "Hughie" Campbell Jr. – A civilian member of the Boys who joins the group after his girlfriend Robin is killed by A-Train.
- Antony Starr as John / Homelander – The extremely powerful leader of the Seven. Beneath his public image as a noble hero, he is narcissistic, sadistic, and cares little about the well-being of those he professes to protect.
- Erin Moriarty as Annie January / Starlight – A devout Christian, light-emitting superhero and member of the Seven. One of the few superpowered individuals sincere in helping the public, she questions her loyalty to the Seven after learning of their true character.
- Dominique McElligott as Maggie Shaw / Queen Maeve[8] – A veteran member of the Seven with enhanced physical strength and durability. Although she once wanted to protect innocent lives, she has become disillusioned and suffers from burnout.
- Jessie T. Usher as Reggie Franklin / A-Train[8] – A speedster member of the Seven. He is determined to maintain his status as the fastest speedster in the world, resulting in him becoming addicted to Compound V.
- Laz Alonso as Marvin T. Milk / Mother's Milk – A member of the Boys responsible for organizing and planning their operations. Formerly a medic in the United States Marine Corps, he is motivated by his attorney father working himself to death while attempting to bring Vought down.
- Chace Crawford as Kevin Moskowitz / the Deep[9] – A member of the Seven who possesses the ability to communicate with aquatic life and breathe underwater. He is looked down upon by the other members of the Seven due to his status as the group's token aquatic hero. Patton Oswalt voices his gills.
- Tomer Capon as Serge / Frenchie[8] – A member of the Boys and international arms trafficker skilled in munitions, ordnance, infiltration, and communications. After being coerced into joining to protect his criminal friends, he seeks redemption for his past crimes while battling Vought.
- Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro / the Female[8] – A mute member of the Boys with enhanced strength and regenerative healing who speaks through sign language. Involuntarily injected with Compound V as part of a scheme to create superpowered terrorists, she joins the Boys after they rescue her.
- Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir – A silent member of the Seven who possesses superhuman strength and agility and conceals his physical appearance behind a dark costume.
- Elisabeth Shue as Madelyn Stillwell (season 1; guest season 2) – The charismatic, scheming vice-president of Hero Management at Vought International.
- Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett (season 2–present; recurring season 1) – A publicist for Vought International who later becomes Stillwell's successor.
- Aya Cash as Klara Risinger / Liberty / Stormfront[9] (season 2) – The first successful Compound V subject and member of The Seven with several abilities, including the ability to discharge burning energy from her hands. A former Nazi, she holds bigoted views towards minorities and individuals without superpowers. Cash (who is Jewish) noted in an interview that "honestly, the gender swap (from the comic) was a smaller concern than the fact that I'm playing a white supremacist, racist bigot," noting that she had actually received hate mail regarding her portrayal of the Nazi character.[10]
Recurring[]
- Simon Pegg as Hugh Campbell Sr. (season 1)[11] – Hughie's father. He cares deeply for his son, but does not believe Hughie has the confidence to stand up for himself after his mother abandoned the pair. Pegg was the visual inspiration for Wee Hughie in the comic book series from which the series is drawn.[12]
- Shaun Benson as Ezekiel (season 1) – A homophobic Christian superhuman with elastic powers who is secretly gay himself.
- Ann Cusack as Donna January – Starlight's mother. She groomed Annie to be a superhero since childhood out of a vicarious princess-by-proxy mentality.
- Jennifer Esposito as Susan Raynor (season 1; guest season 2) – The deputy director of the CIA.
- Jordana Lajoie as Cherie – Frenchie's former criminal associate and lover, a weapons specialist.
- Malcolm Barrett as Seth Reed (season 1; guest season 2) – A Vought public relations writer.
- Christian Keyes as Nathan Franklin (season 1) – A-Train's older brother and trainer.
- Shantel VanSanten as Becca Butcher (seasons 1–2) – Butcher's wife, whose disappearance motivates his battle against the Seven.
- Nicola Correia-Damude as Elena – Queen Maeve's girlfriend.
- Laila Robins as Grace Mallory (season 2; guest season 1) – The former deputy director of the CIA and informal founder of the Boys.
- Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar (season 2; guest season 1) – The corrupt CEO of Vought International and Stillwell's superior.
- Claudia Doumit as Victoria "Vic" Neuman (season 2) – A congresswoman who publicly opposes Vought and a Supe who secretly uses her powers to assassinate those who speak out publicly against Vought.[13][14]
- Langston Kerman as Eagle the Archer (season 2) – An archery-themed superhero who introduces the Deep to the Church of the Collective.
- Jessica Hecht as Carol Mannheim (season 2) – Eagle the Archer's "teacher" and therapist who recruits the Deep into the Church of the Collective.
- Abraham Lim as Kenji Miyashiro (season 2) – Kimiko's younger brother who possesses telekinetic abilities.
- Cameron Crovetti as Ryan Butcher (season 2) – Becca's and Homelander's son. The character was previously portrayed by Parker Corno in the first season.
- Goran Višnjić as Alastair Adana (season 2) – The leader of the Church of the Collective.[14]
Guest[]
Introduced in season 1[]
- Alex Hassell as Translucent (season 1) – A member of the Seven who can turn invisible by changing his skin into a diamond-hard carbon meta-material that warps light around him.
- Jess Salgueiro as Robin Ward (season 1) – Hughie's girlfriend who was killed by A-Train in a high-velocity impact in the pilot episode. She periodically makes appearances as a hallucination seen by Hughie.
- Mishka Thébaud as Shockwave (seasons 1–2) – A rival speedster to A-Train.
- Dan Darin-Zanco as Doppelganger (seasons 1–2) – A shapeshifting Supe that works for Vought.
- David Reale as Evan Lambert – A Vought public relations writer alongside Seth.
- Brittany Allen as Charlotte / Popclaw (season 1) – An actress and superhero in a secret relationship with A-Train.
- Débora Demestre as Isadora (season 1) – Vought's suit designer.
- Brit Morgan as Rachel (season 1) – Becca's sister and Butcher's sister-in-law.
- Haley Joel Osment as Charles / Mesmer (season 1) – A former superhero in Teenage Kix who can read minds via skin-to-skin contact.
- Jackie Tohn as Courtenay (season 1) – A Vought production assistant.
- John Doman as Jonah Vogelbaum (seasons 1–2) – The Vought scientist who created and raised Homelander in a sterile laboratory.
- Alvina August as Monique (season 1) – Mother's Milk's wife and mother of their daughter, Janine.
- Brendan Beiser as Jeff (season 1) – A Vought operative who oversees the Deep's sabbatical in Sandusky.
- Nalini Ingrita as Janine – The daughter of Mother's Milk and Monique.
- Krishan Dutt and Samer Salem as Naqib (seasons 1–2) – A superpowered terrorist with explosive-based powers. Dutt portrayed the character in the first season and Salem played him in the second.
- Jim Beaver as Robert "Bob" Singer – The US Secretary of Defense. Beaver's name is a reference to his character Bobby Singer on the Kripke-created TV series Supernatural.
Jimmy Fallon, Mike Massaro, Billy Zane, Seth Rogen, and Tara Reid appear as themselves.
Introduced in season 2[]
- David Thompson as Gecko – A former superhero with regenerative abilities and test subject at Vought.
- Chris Mark as Blindspot – A blind superhero with super hearing who attempts to join the Seven.
- Adrian Holmes as the voice of Dr. Park – The head of the compound that Becca is being held prisoner in.
- P. J. Byrne as Adam Bourke – A film director helming a movie for Vought starring the Seven titled Dawn of the Seven.
- Dawnn Lewis as Valerie – A witness to Stormfront's racist murder in the 1970s.
- Howard Campbell as Myron – Valerie's brother.
- Katy Breier as Cassandra Schwartz – A member of the Church of the Collective who becomes the Deep's wife.
- Shawn Ashmore as Lamplighter – A former member of the Seven with pyrokinesis.
- Barbara Gordon as Judy Atkinson – Butcher's aunt who takes care of his dog Terror.
- Andrew Jackson as Love Sausage – A Compound V test subject with a prehensile penis that can stretch to enormous lengths.
- Jason Gray-Stanford as Dennis – A man whose car Butcher and Starlight take to drive Hughie to the hospital.
- Ess Hödlmoser as Cindy – A telekinetic Compound V test subject.
- Michael Ayres as Jay – Frenchie's deceased former criminal associate and best friend.
- John Noble as Sam Butcher – Butcher's estranged father.
- Lesley Nicol as Connie Butcher – Butcher's mother.
Kym Wyatt McKenzie and Birgitte Solem portray Butcher and Stillwell in a reenactment of the latter's death.
Greg Zajac, Anthony Lake, and Dylan Moscovitch play pornographic impersonators of Homelander, Jack from Jupiter, and the Deep.
Chris Hansen, Maria Menounos, Greg Grunberg, Nancy O'Dell, Katie Couric, and Christopher Lennertz appear as themselves.
Introduced in short films[]
- David S. Lee as Jock – A former Royal Marine Commando and an old friend of Butcher whom he seeks help from.
Episodes[]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||
| 1 | 8 | July 26, 2019 | |||
| 2 | 8 | September 4, 2020 | October 9, 2020 | ||
| 3 | 8[7] | June 3, 2022[7] | July 8, 2022[7] | ||
Season 1 (2019)[]
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Name of the Game" | Dan Trachtenberg | Eric Kripke | July 26, 2019 | |
| Hugh "Hughie" Campbell suffers mental trauma after his girlfriend Robin is killed in a high-velocity impact with celebrity superhero A-Train. Lawyers offer a $45,000 settlement, which Hughie hesitates to accept. Aspiring superhero Annie January auditions as "Starlight" and is accepted to join the superhero group The Seven following the Lamplighter's retirement. Arriving at the Seven's headquarters, she is greeted by the Deep, who blackmails her into performing oral sex on him.[15] Vigilante Billy Butcher offers Hughie a chance to expose superhero corruption, taking him to a secret "Supes Club" to show him security footage of A-Train laughing about Robin's death. Butcher asks Hughie to take the settlement money and to secretly place a bug at Seven Tower, but Hughie initially refuses. In Central Park, Annie meets Hughie by happenstance and they motivate each other to stand up for themselves and face their challenges. Hughie plants the bug, but Translucent discovers it and confronts him. Butcher arrives and helps Hughie incapacitate Translucent. Elsewhere, Homelander destroys the mayor of Baltimore's plane while in flight, killing all passengers, in response to the mayor's attempt to blackmail Vought. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "Cherry" | Matt Shakman | Eric Kripke | July 26, 2019 | |
| Butcher and Hughie take Translucent to former partner Frenchie, who makes a meta-bullet to pierce the hero's diamond-hard skin, but it fails to kill him. Butcher turns to CIA Dept. Director Susan Raynor for the "Mallory files", but she refuses. Vought VP Madelyn Stillwell tells Homelander about evidence Deep found incriminating him for the plane crash, so she handles it while he talks to Deep. While working with the Deep, Starlight promises to kill him if he tries to sexually assault her again. Stillwell uses shapeshifting Supe Doppelganger to blackmail Senator Calhoun into allowing a vote that could enable Vought to contract superheroes to the military. Annie stops a rape, unaware she is being recorded. Her agent, Ashley, reprimands her potentially causing negative exposure and legal implications. While Homelander searches for Translucent, Frenchie decides to place C-4 explosives in Translucent's colon, who fearfully reveals A-Train was with his girlfriend Popclaw before he killed Robin. The Boys learn Homelander is nearby, so they cannot risk killing Translucent with an explosion. While Frenchie and Butcher create a distraction elsewhere with another explosion, Translucent escapes his cage and convinces Hughie to let him go. However, Hughie changes his mind and detonates the C-4, killing Translucent. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "Get Some" | Philip Sgriccia | George Mastras | July 26, 2019 | |
| Hughie moves out after telling his father how he truly feels. Starlight gains positive publicity for stopping the rape, but subsequently learns Stillwell wants her to wear a revealing costume. She declines, but Stillwell forces her to do so lest she lose her job. Butcher brings in his former friend, Mother's Milk, to run surveillance on Popclaw by having Hughie install spyware on her computer, and they learn that A-Train takes a drug called Compound V. Butcher wants to expose them before supes can be allowed into the United States Armed Forces, but requires a vial of Compound V from A-Train's upcoming race with another speedster, Shockwave. Beforehand, Hughie meets Annie and invites her to lunch, where they open up to each other, while A-Train secretly uses Compound V to win and publicly announces he is single, breaking his promise to Popclaw to announce their relationship. With MM deducing Popclaw swiped some vials, the Boys find her heartbroken, high, and in the midst of killing her landlord during hyper-charged sex. Butcher uses this to blackmail Popclaw as an informant. At Vought headquarters, Homelander presents Translucent's remains to Stillwell along with Butcher's message, "COMING FOR YOU". | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Female of the Species" | Frederick E.O. Toye | Craig Rosenberg | July 26, 2019 | |
| Following Popclaw's tip, the Boys find a Triad hideout holding an imprisoned Japanese woman they call "the Female". Frenchie frees her, and she kills her guards before running off. While MM finds evidence she was a test subject, Hughie goes bowling with Starlight, bugging her phone at Butcher's request. With their Compound V supply compromised, A-Train has Popclaw go into hiding while he searches for the Female. Stillwell sends Homelander and Queen Maeve to save a hijacked airliner, but after he accidentally destroys the control panel, Homelander abandons the plane and its passengers, forcing Maeve to leave with him before she can rescue them. After the Female kills a woman associated with her captors, Frenchie tracks her to Penn Station, and makes a momentary connection with her before losing her in the crowd just as A-Train arrives and tries to kill her. Frenchie attracts a crowd to distract A-Train, allowing the Female to escape. The Boys corner her, but she attacks them before Butcher uses knockout gas. Stillwell is pleased to see Homelander use the airliner tragedy to push for militarized Supes, rousing the crowd with a speech, all while Maeve grieves for those she and Homelander allowed to die. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "Good for the Soul" | Stefan Schwartz | Anne Cofell Saunders | July 26, 2019 | |
| At the Believe Expo, Starlight is quietly directed to push Vought's agenda while Butcher has Hughie use Starlight to meet Ezekiel, the Expo host and their next lead. Feeling guilty for letting the airliner crash, Maeve visits her ex-girlfriend Elena, but leaves before explaining herself fully. Butcher talks with his sister-in-law, Rachel, over putting a tombstone to his wife Becca. After A-Train kills Popclaw for betraying him, he returns to her apartment and finds surveillance footage of Frenchie. Once Ezekiel is alone, Hughie extorts him for information about Compound V, while Homelander rallies the crowd with an impromptu hardline speech. Starlight breaks script to speak candidly on Christianity, her sexual assault, and the compromises she made for her corporate employer. Hughie later sympathizes with her, telling her about Robin's death and the toll it took on him. In a hospital, Butcher and MM discover Vought is using Compound V on infants to manufacture Supes years in advance. Frenchie discovers Black Noir is looking for him and in attempting to escape, he is told to leave the Female behind, but releases her out of sympathy. She seemingly dies protecting him from Black Noir, but her wounds immediately heal. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Innocents" | Jennifer Phang | Rebecca Sonnenshine | July 26, 2019 | |
| Now informed, the Boys know Vought has used super charities to smuggle Compound V disguised as vaccines and make super-babies since 1971. With Ashley fired, Stillwell demands Annie comply with her designed image, but she refuses, remarking that firing her after reporting a sexual assault would hurt Vought's image. Aware it was the Deep, Stillwell has him publicly apologize and transfers him to Sandusky, Ohio, for a "sabbatical". Butcher brings Hughie to a superhuman survivors' support group, but leaves after yelling at them for doing nothing to get justice. Butcher later tells Hughie that Homelander raped his wife, who went missing shortly afterward. Frenchie and MM get help from telepath Mesmer to see into the Female's mind, learning her name is Kimiko and that she was kidnapped by the Shining Light Liberation Army terrorist group. They also learn that Vought is making Compound V-boosted terrorists to push their agenda for militarizing Supes. Butcher tells Raynor, but when she refuses to target Homelander, he calls off the deal. Mesmer gives Homelander surveillance photos of the Boys. Butcher finds out about Hughie and Annie, warning him not to fraternize with the enemy and threatening to tell her about Translucent. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Self-Preservation Society" | Dan Attias | Craig Rosenberg and Ellie Monahan | July 26, 2019 | |
| Hughie and Annie have sex at a hotel, unaware Butcher has followed them. A depressed Deep finds his transfer to Sandusky dull and is sexually assaulted by a fangirl. Holding a meeting discussing Hughie killing Translucent, extorting Ezekiel, and A-Train killing Robin, Homelander accuses Starlight of co-conspiracy, but Maeve defends her. When A-Train calls Hughie, claiming he is holding his dad hostage, the Boys deduce Mesmer betrayed them, for which Butcher later murders him. Hughie obtains Compound V to distract A-Train and allow Kimiko to cripple him. Homelander asks Vought scientist Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum about Becca, who informs him she was pregnant with his child, but claims both died and Vought covered it up. Questioning the revelation's timing, Vogelbaum expresses regret raising him in a lab, calling Homelander his "greatest failure". Butcher asks Raynor to protect Hughie and MM's families in exchange for evidence. As Raynor charges Stillwell and Vought, she learns of the superhuman terrorist "Naqib". Annie confronts Hughie, who explains Vought's use of Compound V before Butcher arrives to exfil him and shoots her. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "You Found Me" | Eric Kripke | Anne Cofell Saunders and Rebecca Sonnenshine | July 26, 2019 | |
| The Pentagon classifies Compound V as a controlled substance and the Boys as fugitives while Annie confronts her mother. Angry at being racially profiled while out of costume, an injured A-Train relapses with Compound V. Butcher takes Hughie to Colonel Grace Mallory, who refuses participation, but informs them about Homelander's connection to Stillwell and warns Hughie about Butcher's desire for vengeance. The Deep learns Stillwell has denied his return to the Seven and suffers an emotional breakdown. Hughie leaves to ask for Annie's help, but she refuses out of distrust. After seeing her old self reflected in her, Maeve opens up to Starlight, asking her to be herself. Homelander confesses to Stillwell that he secretly made the super-terrorists and they have sex. At a black site, Hughie helps Frenchie and MM free Kimiko, before Starlight rescues them. A-Train arrives and briefly fights Starlight until he suffers a heart attack. Hughie applies CPR, but Starlight takes over so he can escape. Butcher takes Stillwell hostage and fits her with explosives to bait Homelander, who, after revealing he tortured Vogelbaum for the truth about Becca, kills Stillwell himself. Butcher detonates the explosives, but Homelander saves him and reveals to him that Becca has been hidden away to raise Homelander's son. | ||||||
Season 2 (2020)[]
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 1 | "The Big Ride" | Phil Sgriccia | Eric Kripke | September 4, 2020 | |
| The Boys become wanted fugitives, with Butcher framed for Stillwell's murder. In hiding together, Hughie, MM, Frenchie, and Kimiko learn that a superpowered terrorist with telekinetic abilities is on the loose. They attempt to inform Raynor, but she is killed by an unknown assassin. Against Hughie's wishes, Frenchie contacts Butcher to lead the Boys in facing the new threats. Hughie and Annie extort Vought test subject Gecko into stealing a Compound V sample. Homelander's power over Vought is challenged when CEO Stan Edgar has superhero Stormfront join the Seven without his approval. When Homelander fails to intimidate Edgar, he returns to Becca's house to see Ryan. The Deep joins Alastair Adana's Church of the Collective in an attempt to regain favor with the Seven. | ||||||
| 10 | 2 | "Proper Preparation and Planning" | Liz Friedlander | Rebecca Sonnenshine | September 4, 2020 | |
| Butcher arranges a deal with Mallory to capture the superpowered terrorist in exchange for Mallory finding Becca's location. The Boys later learn the terrorist is Kimiko's younger brother, Kenji, whom they manage to subdue. A-Train threatens to expose Annie's involvement with the Boys when he awakens from his coma, but Annie counters with the knowledge that he murdered Popclaw. Homelander forces himself into the secluded facility Becca and Ryan are living in so he can become a father figure to his son and teach him about his powers. Drugged by the Church of the Collective, the Deep hallucinates his gills encouraging him to value himself. Maeve tells Elena she fears Homelander will kill her if he finds out about their relationship. | ||||||
| 11 | 3 | "Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men" | Steve Boyum | Craig Rosenberg | September 4, 2020 | |
| Homelander pushes Ryan into using his powers, which culminates in Ryan attacking Homelander to protect Becca. Using the sample she acquired from Gecko, Annie secretly leaks that Compound V is responsible for giving superheroes their powers. Edgar responds by sending the Seven after Kenji when he is spotted by the police. The Boys attempt to bring Kenji to a CIA safehouse, but the Seven's arrival results in Kenji escaping. Disobeying Homelander's orders, Stormfront kills Kenji, slaughtering several minority civilians in her pursuit, and frames Kenji for their deaths. Edgar uses the destruction to argue that superheroes are necessary to prevent such incidents, while casting Compound V as the work of rogue scientists led by Stillwell. | ||||||
| 12 | 4 | "Nothing Like It in the World" | Fred Toye | Michael Saltzman | September 11, 2020 | |
|
Mallory provides Butcher with information on a superhero called Liberty and Becca's location. Butcher infiltrates the facility, but Becca refuses to leave because he does not accept Ryan. Black Noir discovers Butcher's infiltration. Threatened by Homelander, Annie joins Hughie and MM in investigating Liberty. The three discover that Liberty is Stormfront, who committed a racist murder in the 1970s. Growing more unstable from Stormfront usurping his popularity, Homelander removes the physically-weakened A-Train from the Seven and outs Maeve's relationship with Elena. Frenchie realizes his efforts to protect Kimiko are motivated by guilt over his past crimes. The Church of the Collective enters the Deep into an arranged marriage. "Butcher: A Short Film" was released the day before this episode's release, where Butcher is on the run after being framed for Stillwell's murder, Butcher seeks help from his old friend Jock, only to beat him to death after Jock calls the police on him.[16][17] | ||||||
| 13 | 5 | "We Gotta Go Now" | Batan Silva | Ellie Monahan | September 18, 2020 | |
| Protests emerge against Homelander when a video of him killing a civilian surfaces. Stormfront helps Homelander regain popularity and the two enter a sexual relationship. Butcher plots his retirement at his Aunt Judy's house after failing to rescue Becca, prompting Hughie and MM to intervene. The three are attacked by Black Noir, but Butcher has Edgar call him off by threatening to release information on Ryan. Annie discovers Stormfront has been in contact with Edgar regarding the Sage Grove psychiatric hospital. A confrontation between Annie and Stormfront ensues over the former leaking Compound V to the public and the latter's past as Liberty. Maeve reveals to Elena that she is planning Homelander's downfall and recruits the Deep to assist her. | ||||||
| 14 | 6 | "The Bloody Doors Off" | Sarah Boyd | Anslem Richardson | September 25, 2020 | |
| Infiltrating Sage Grove, MM, Frenchie, and Kimiko discover captive Compound V patients. Frenchie recognizes an orderly as Lamplighter, causing a scuffle that allows patients to break out. Forced to work together in surviving, the Boys learn from Lamplighter that Vought is attempting to stabilize Compound V in adult subjects. Lamplighter is spared by Mallory at Frenchie's behest over his remorse for killing her grandchildren. Stormfront tells Homelander she is the first successful Compound V subject and founder Frederick Vought's widow, wanting him to lead the superpowered to world domination. Maeve obtains a video of Homelander abandoning the plane as leverage against him. Unstable patient Cindy escapes Sage Grove. A-Train is lured into the Church of the Collective. | ||||||
| 15 | 7 | "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" | Stefan Schwartz | Craig Rosenberg | October 2, 2020 | |
| Congresswoman Victoria Neuman schedules a hearing against Vought, with Lamplighter as the chief witness. After Vought uncovers Annie's betrayal, Hughie convinces Lamplighter to join him in a rescue attempt, which results in the latter immolating himself. Annie escapes with the help of Maeve, who subdues Black Noir. Despite the loss of Lamplighter, Butcher strong-arms Vogelbaum into testifying against Vought. However, the hearing is attacked by the assassin who killed Raynor, resulting in the deaths of Vogelbaum and others. Meanwhile, Homelander and Stormfront manipulate Ryan into leaving Becca. A-Train grows suspicious of the Church of the Collective. Maeve and Elena break up over the former failing to save the airliner. | ||||||
| 16 | 8 | "What I Know" | Alex Graves | Rebecca Sonnenshine | October 9, 2020 | |
| Learning from Becca about Ryan's capture, Butcher makes a deal with Edgar to help Vought reclaim him at Homelander's cabin. However, Butcher reneges on the deal and attempts to save Becca and Ryan from Stormfront. When Stormfront attacks his mother, Ryan cripples her with his eye lasers, but accidentally kills Becca. Butcher forgives Ryan after the boy takes his side over Homelander, while Maeve uses the plane footage to force Homelander into letting them go. With Stormfront's Nazi past leaked, Edgar halts his plan to sell Compound V as the Boys are cleared of all charges and Annie is reinstated into the Seven. Adana also has A-Train rejoin, but not the Deep, before the assassin kills Adana. Ryan is taken in by the CIA. Hughie gets a job with Neuman, unaware she is the assassin. | ||||||
Season 3[]
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 1 | "Payback"[18] | TBA | Craig Rosenberg | June 3, 2022[7] |
The sixth episode is titled "Herogasm" and was written by Jessica Chou.[19]
Production[]
Development[]
Between 2008 and 2016, a film adaptation of The Boys had been in various stages of development at both Columbia Pictures and Paramount Pictures.[20]
On April 6, 2016, it was announced that Cinemax was developing a television series adaptation of the comic book. The production was being developed by Eric Kripke, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen. Kripke was set to write the series while Goldberg and Rogen were set to direct. Executive producers were reported to include Kripke, Goldberg, Rogen, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Ori Marmur, James Weaver, Ken Levin, and Jason Netter. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson were set as co-executive producers. Production companies involved with the series included Point Grey Pictures, Original Film, and Sony Pictures Television.[20]
On November 8, 2017, it was announced that Amazon had given the production a series order for a first season consisting of eight episodes. The series had reportedly been in development at Amazon for a number of months preceding the series order announcement. It was also reported that the previously announced creative team was still attached to the series.[21][22][23]
Kripke wanted to retain a sense of reality to the show, and to keep the writers disciplined decided "Anything that comes out of this drug is viable, and anything that doesn't we're not allowed to do". He did not want to fall into the overused convention of killing off female characters to motivate the heroes and also saw an opportunity to surprise readers of the comics by changing the story of Butcher's wife Becky.[24]
On April 30, 2018, it was announced that Dan Trachtenberg would direct the series' first episode. He replaces Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.[25]
Ahead of the series premiere, on July 19, 2019, at the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con@Home it was announced that Amazon had renewed the series for a second season which premiered on September 4, 2020.[3][26][27] It was also confirmed that the second season will consist of eight episodes, like the previous season.[28] The eight scripts for the second season were completed by November 2019.[29] In December 2019, a teaser trailer for the second season was released, which confirmed that it would be released in 2020, although the exact date remained unknown until June 2020 when another trailer was released.[30][4]
Ahead of the second-season premiere, on July 23, 2020, Amazon renewed the series for a third season at the aftershow hosted by Aisha Tyler for the 2020 San Diego Comic-Con@Home.[5][31] The third season began filming in early 2021 with an unknown release date.[32] On October 30, 2020, Erick Kripke revealed that the third season will adapt the miniseries comic book Herogasm, which is centered around superhero orgy festivals.[33][34] It will be adapted for the season's sixth episode, which will be taking the same name of the comic book series.[35][36][37][38] Kripke has stated that Herogasm is "the craziest dailies he has ever seen" and "that people are not ready to watch it".[39] However the part in which Soldier Boy is depicted as a superhero who has yearly sex with Homelander in an attempt to gain membership in The Seven, won't be used and instead Soldier Boy will be depicted as the "Homelander before Homelander", a superhero from World War II brought out of retirement.[35][40][41] Kripke also revealed that instead of portraying Soldier Boy as innocent like he is depicted in the comics, he will be way worse than Homelander.[42]
Casting[]
On December 18, 2017, it was announced that Erin Moriarty has been cast in the lead role of Annie January/Starlight.[43] On January 17, 2018, it was reported that Antony Starr, Dominique McElligott, Chace Crawford, Jessie Usher, and Nathan Mitchell had joined the main cast.[44] In March 2018, it was announced that Laz Alonso, Jack Quaid, and Karen Fukuhara had been cast in series regular roles.[45][46][47] On April 5, 2018, it was reported that Karl Urban had been cast in the series' lead role of Billy Butcher.[48] On May 16, 2018, it was announced that Elisabeth Shue had been cast in the series regular role of Madelyn Stillwell.[49] On June 25, 2018, it was reported that Tomer Kapon had joined the main cast in the role of Frenchie.[50] On August 30, 2018, it was announced that Jennifer Esposito had been cast in the recurring role of CIA Agent Susan Raynor.[51] On October 5, 2018, it was announced during the annual New York Comic Con that Simon Pegg had been cast in the role of Hughie's father.[52] According to the artist Robertson, Hughie was drawn in the comics to resemble Pegg after he saw Pegg in the sitcom Spaced, but Pegg thought he was too old to play the role of Hughie in the TV series.[53]
On September 5, 2019, Goran Višnjić and Claudia Doumit were cast in recurring roles for the second season.[14] A month later, Patton Oswalt was announced in an unspecified role.[54] Aya Cash was confirmed to be portraying superhero Stormfront in March 2020 following contract negotiations that began when the second season was announced.[3][55] On August 10, 2020, it was reported that Shawn Ashmore was cast as Lamplighter for the second season.[56] A week later, Jensen Ackles joined the cast for the third season as Soldier Boy.[57] On October 30, 2020, Claudia Doumit and Colby Minifie were promoted to series regulars for the third season.[13] On March 26, 2021, Katia Winter joined the cast in the recurring role of Little Nina for the third season.[58] On June 23, 2021, Miles Gaston Villanueva, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Nick Wechsler were cast as Supersonic, Gunpowder, and Blue Hawk respectively for the third season in undisclosed capacities.[59] Two days later, Laurie Holden joined the cast as Crimson Countess in a recurring role for the third season.[60] On October 5, 2021, Frances Turner, Kristin Booth, and Jack Doolan joined the cast as Monique and twins Tessa and Tommy, a.k.a. the TNT Twins, in recurring roles for the third season.[61]
Filming[]
Principal photography for the first season began on May 22, 2018, in Toronto, Ontario, and was scheduled to last until September 25, 2018.[21][25][62][63] Cast member Laz Alonso posted on his Instagram photos and bloopers of the series with the crew and other cast members during the show's filming.[citation needed] Additional filming took place in Mississauga, Ontario.[64]
For the exterior of the Vought International company headquarters, the crew used Roy Thomson Hall, which is located in Toronto's entertainment district. The building's structure was digitally altered and extended to become the Seven Tower. For the interior of the tower, including some of the rooms and the modern lobby where the company celebrates the corporate parties, the interior of Roy Thomson Hall was used. For Times Square, the crew filmed in Yonge–Dundas Square in Toronto and proceeded to digitally alter it. A-Train's race with Shockwave was filmed at Hamilton's Tim Hortons Field stadium. Lower Bay Station was used for the subway scenes. The crew also filmed at the zinc-clad pavilion of the Sherbourne Common waterfront park for the funeral service for the victims of the hijacked plane. For the mansion where Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum lives, the crew filmed at Parkwood Estate in Oshawa, Ontario. For the scene where Annie refuses to help Hughie, the crew filmed at the Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto.[63][65]
Principal photography for the second season took place from June 17 to November 13, 2019, in Toronto, like the previous season.[66] For Translucent's funeral ceremony, the crew filmed at the Meridian Arts Centre which is located at the North York district in Toronto. The crew filmed at the Wet 'n' Wild Toronto Waterpark for the scene where the Deep is arrested, with some CGI modifications in order to recreate the series' fictional Splash Zone Sandusky park. For the scenes of the church of the Collective, filming took place at the Scottish Rite Club in Hamilton, Ontario. To create the Sage Grove psychiatric hospital, the crew filmed at the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care complex which is located in the city of St. Thomas in Ontario.[63][67]
Principal photography for the third season took place from February 24 to September 10, 2021.[68][69][70]
Music[]
Score albums were released for the series' first and second seasons. Christopher Lennertz served as composer of the show's score.[71][72] During an interview at the 2019 Comic-Con, he stated that his work for The Boys was the "craziest thing" he has ever done, after collaborating with Seth Rogen for Sausage Party.[73] Erin Moriarty provides her own vocals for the song "Never Truly Vanish", which was nominated for an Emmy.[74] The music video for "Never Truly Vanish" was released on YouTube on June 4, 2021,[75] and on September 1, 2021, the music video for "Faster" was released on YouTube.[76]
Season 1[]
All music is composed by Christopher Lennertz.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Translucent Alive" | 1:15 |
| 2. | "Truck Robbery" | 1:34 |
| 3. | "Butcher" | 2:39 |
| 4. | "Starlight" | 1:17 |
| 5. | "On the Trail" | 0:55 |
| 6. | "Homelander and Stillwell" | 2:16 |
| 7. | "Race of the Century" | 1:04 |
| 8. | "Boys Arrive" | 1:19 |
| 9. | "Hughie Stalls Starlight" | 1:23 |
| 10. | "Maeve Spars" | 0:37 |
| 11. | "Start the Race" | 2:00 |
| 12. | "Popclaw Climaxes" | 0:56 |
| 13. | "Hijacking" | 2:45 |
| 14. | "Kidnapping Translucent" | 1:10 |
| 15. | "Ass Bomb" | 2:42 |
| 16. | "Translucent Explodes" | 4:06 |
| 17. | "Hughie Trashes Room" | 1:29 |
| 18. | "Translucent Visits Hughie" | 1:13 |
| 19. | "Planting Bug Plan" | 0:51 |
| 20. | "Dock Patrol" | 1:50 |
| 21. | "I'm the Hero" | 3:15 |
| 22. | "Vought" | 1:14 |
| 23. | "Starlight Teams Up" | 0:43 |
| 24. | "Frenchie's First Kill" | 1:35 |
| 25. | "Homelander's Speech" | 1:42 |
| 26. | "Butcher's Pep Talk" | 2:28 |
| 27. | "Rescue the Female" | 1:35 |
| 28. | "Frenchie Lost Female" | 1:46 |
| 29. | "Dead Shooter" | 0:57 |
| 30. | "Hospital Shootout" | 1:12 |
| 31. | "Graveside Sledgehammer" | 2:24 |
| 32. | "Maeve's Girlfriend" | 1:57 |
| 33. | "NICU" | 0:51 |
| 34. | "Tent Confrontation" | 1:22 |
| 35. | "Starlight's Speech" | 2:13 |
| 36. | "Come In" | 1:50 |
| 37. | "Black Knight Not" | 1:07 |
| 38. | "Kimiko's Backstory" | 1:20 |
| 39. | "Subway Chase" | 1:01 |
| 40. | "Mesmer and Homelander" | 1:36 |
| 41. | "The Mesmerizer" | 0:30 |
| 42. | "Butcher Tells Hughie" | 1:53 |
| 43. | "Hughie Kisses Starlight" | 1:03 |
| 44. | "Robin's Memory" | 2:02 |
| 45. | "SBS" | 2:09 |
| 46. | "Always a Choice" | 2:39 |
| 47. | "Supe Terrorist" | 1:36 |
| 48. | "A-Train Shows Up" | 1:34 |
| 49. | "Shoot Out" | 2:49 |
| 50. | "I Got Teddy" | 2:40 |
Season 2[]
All music is composed by Christopher Lennertz except where noted.
| No. | Title | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Never Truly Vanish" | Erin Moriarty | 3:34 |
| 2. | "Her Brother" | 0:51 | |
| 3. | "Break Every Bone" | 2:19 | |
| 4. | "Faster" (featuring Aimee Proal) | Jessie T. Usher | 2:34 |
| 5. | "Standoff" | 1:23 | |
| 6. | "Father and Son" | 0:51 | |
| 7. | "Meeting Blindspot" | 0:39 | |
| 8. | "A Billion Dollar Liability" | 2:22 | |
| 9. | "Fake News" | 2:09 | |
| 10. | "Homelander in Hallway" | 0:34 | |
| 11. | "Rebecca's Drive" | 1:11 | |
| 12. | "Pitch" | 1:05 | |
| 13. | "Halloween Store" | 1:39 | |
| 14. | "Brother and Sister" | 2:56 | |
| 15. | "Don't Lie to Me" | 1:44 | |
| 16. | "Sharks!" | 2:06 | |
| 17. | "Flame On" | 1:39 | |
| 18. | "Helicopter Attack" | 2:06 | |
| 19. | "Red Cross Center" | 2:28 | |
| 20. | "Explosion and Black Noir Faceoff" | 3:56 | |
| 21. | "Back to the Cabin" | 3:41 | |
| 22. | "Black Noir on Roof" | 1:22 | |
| 23. | "Real Action" | 1:33 | |
| 24. | "Still on the Roof" | 0:56 | |
| 25. | "Elevator" | 1:08 | |
| 26. | "Church of the Collective" | 1:52 | |
| 27. | "I Heard the Goldfish" | 1:37 | |
| 28. | "Light Up the Room" | 1:33 | |
| 29. | "Cindy" | 2:38 | |
| 30. | "He's OD'ing" | 1:32 | |
| 31. | "Let Them Go" | 1:20 |
Release[]
On September 26, 2018, the official poster for the series was released.[81] On October 5, 2018, in tandem with the series' panel at the annual New York Comic Con, a teaser trailer for the series was released.[82] On January 24, 2019, another teaser trailer was released via Seth Rogen's official Twitter account.[83] The series premiered on July 26, 2019, after another teaser was released.[2] On July 22, Slipknot released a new single called "Solway Firth" with an accompanying music video which featured clips and audio from the show.[84][85] On June 26, 2020, it was announced that season two would debut on September 4, 2020, with the first 3 episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis.[4] The second season's official trailer was released on August 4, 2020.[86] On January 6, 2022, it was reported that the third season is set to premiere on June 3, 2022, with the first 3 episodes available immediately and the rest debuting on a weekly basis until the season finale on July 8.[7]
A companion short film titled Butcher, set between the first and second season, was released on September 10, 2020, with Karl Urban reprising his role as Billy Butcher.[17][16] Characters from The Boys also appeared in an episode of Death Battle sponsored by Amazon Prime Video, which was released on September 17, 2020.[87][88]
Reception[]
| Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 84% (103 reviews)[89] | 74 (19 reviews)[90] |
| 2 | 97% (100 reviews)[91] | 80 (15 reviews)[92] |
Season 1[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 84% based on 103 reviews, with an average rating of 7.65/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though viewers' mileage may vary, The Boys' violent delights and willingness to engage in heavy, relevant themes are sure to please those looking for a new group of antiheroes to root for."[89] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[90]
Christopher Lawrence of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote: "Irreverent, deliciously cynical, The Boys follows the greed and corruption behind the superhero industrial complex."[93] Mel Campbell of Screen Hub commented: "Shockingly violent and pointedly political, this Amazon series is an ironic but refreshing antidote to supe franchising. ... The Boys throws our ugly cultural obsessions back in our faces."[94] Daniel Fienberg from The Hollywood Reporter, in a positive response, commented: "I'll have to check in again on The Boys after a few more episodes to get a sense of whether or not the encroaching cynicism topples what I find initially promising here."[95] Graeme Virtue from The Guardian gave the series four of five stars and wrote:"While both have an appealing innocence, it is Moriarty's maltreated but undaunted Starlight who, appropriately, feels like she is preventing the whole thing from collapsing into darkness."[96] Kristy Puchko at IGN gave the first episode a score of 7.2/10 and appreciated how the story came from the comics but with clever changes. Puchko praised the cast, particularly Moriarty: "Moriarty brings a nuance to her performance that refuses to let Starlight feel like a two-dimensional damsel. She's not naïve. She's hopeful. And she's a fighter. The Boys makes all of that clear in short order." She concludes:
"The Boys could still be a thrilling ride as it subverts the expectations of the family-friendly genre, with dark twists and unapologetically graphic scenes of sex and violence. The premiere ep has a lot of heavy lifting to do in exposition, yet Kripke works in some stunner moments, jolts of fun, and stellar action sequences."[97]
Liz Shannon Miller of The A.V. Club wrote: "Karl Urban proves to be a thoroughly committed performer as Billy Butcher, whose dedication to taking down "supes" of course has a personal edge, but then again, when you see what men like the blatantly fake and evil Homelander (Antony Starr) are getting up to it makes sense that he's devoted his life to taking down the cause."[98] Matthew Dessem from Slate commented: "The Boys is an expert deconstruction of superhero stories, with an appropriately wintery view of institutional power, be it corporate, governmental, religious, or caped."[99] Andrew Wyatt from Cinema St. Louis praised the series for its humor and themes, writing: "Yes, it's cynical and ultra-violent, but what distinguishes The Boys is its sincere fascination with its characters' anxieties, compulsions, and human failings."[100] Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting praised the series for its entertaining story, rating it 4.5 out of 5 and wrote: "Not a frame is spared in crafting this nuanced and darkly humorous universe drenched in blood and violence. All eight episodes are expertly crafted and constructed to tell one cohesive story that will make you gasp, guffaw, and cheer in equal measure."[101] Matthew Gilbert from The Boston Globe wrote: "The premise of the Amazon black comedy is never not fun, and the more we learn about this bizarro world, as the supes go on the late-night talk shows and stage team-up photo ops on various crimes, the better. ... The cast is fine, particularly Shue, who is icily effective; Quaid, whose neurotic but brave fumblings are endearing; and Urban, who is Hughie's gonzo guide. But the real star of The Boys is the situation itself."[102]
Season 2[]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 97% based on 100 reviews, with an average rating of 8.03/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Boys comes out swinging in a superb second season that digs deeper into its complicated characters and ups the action ante without pulling any of its socially critical punches."[91] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[92]
Eric Deggans of NPR described the second season as "a wonderfully subversive, cynically entertaining piece of work".[103] Brian Tallerico of Vulture commented: "The season premiere introduces new cast members without losing focus of what worked about the first year, and just about all of it bodes well for where the next seven episodes could be going."[104] Roxana Hadadi from The A.V. Club wrote: "All of those elements feel most in line with The Boys as author Garth Ennis imagined the series: A portrait of shared capitalist and nationalist corruption, entwined together to create a morass of exploitation and abuse."[105] Ben Travers from IndieWire gave the series a "B" grade rating and commented: "The Boys is still an imperfect beast, but it gets so many parts right – I haven't even talked about the skilled stunt work or expertly staged action scenes – that you're likely to get caught up in its gorging satire."[106] Lorraine Ali from Los Angeles Times wrote: "Pulling dark humor out of that caustic cauldron is not just a skill, it's a warped superpower. Even the most super-skeptic of viewers can agree about that."[107] Sonia Saraiya from Vanity Fair commented: "Even in the midst of stunning brutality, the show has a sardonic sense of humor that keeps the story crackling."[108] Dan Jolin from Empire praised the series for its dark humor and Antony Starr's performance and wrote: "Appropriately enough, Starr remains the, er, star of the show, the very embodiment of its black-hole-dark comedy concept: with great power comes a complete disregard for any form of responsibility, accountability or morality."[109] Liz Shannon Miller of Collider wrote: "Perhaps the most important thing that Season 2 does is push the show's scope beyond the realm of capes and tights; its messages aren't subtle, but then again, neither is putting on a costume and fighting crime."[110]
On Amazon, season 2 of the series saw initial audience review bombing with 49 percent of 1400 reviews left by September 6, 2020, providing a one-star rating, most of which praised the available episodes but criticized Amazon's weekly release schedule.[111]
At the 1st Critics' Choice Super Awards, the series received five nominations: Best Superhero Series, Best Actor in a Superhero Series (Starr, Urban), Best Actress in a Superhero Series (Cash) and Best Villain in a Series (Starr),[112] completely sweeping its genre at the event.
Audience viewership[]
In October 2019, Nielsen announced it had begun tracking viewership of Amazon Prime programs. It said The Boys had attracted 8 million total viewers in its first 10 days of release, making it one of the most successful original programs on Amazon Prime.[113] For the second season, the first three episodes drew a 7.2 percent share of streams relative to the top 100 most-watched TV shows on Reelgood within its opening weekend, beating the third season of Stranger Things (5.8 percent) and The Mandalorian (4.4 percent).[114] The show's audience increased 89 percent compared to the first season. Nielsen ratings revealed that 891 million minutes of the show has been watched, placing it number three on the Nielsen list, just behind Cobra Kai (2.17 billion minutes) and Lucifer (1.42 billion minutes).[115][116] It became the first non-Netflix show to appear on the Nielsen Top 10 Streaming Shows list.[117][118]
Accolades[]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour) | Wade Barnett, David Barbee, Mason Kopeikin, Brian Dunlop, Ryan Briley, Chris Newlin, Christopher Brooks, Joseph T. Sabella and Jesi Ruppel (for "The Name of the Game") | Nominated | [119] |
| 2021 | Critics' Choice Super Awards | Best Actor in a Superhero Series | Antony Starr | Won | [120] |
| Karl Urban | Nominated | ||||
| Best Actress in a Superhero Series | Aya Cash | Won | |||
| Best Superhero Series | The Boys | Won | |||
| Best Villain in a Series | Antony Starr | Won | |||
| Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama | Karl Urban | Nominated | [121] | |
| Best Actress in a Streaming Series, Drama | Aya Cash | Nominated | |||
| Best Streaming Series, Drama | The Boys | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor in a Streaming Series, Drama | Giancarlo Esposito | Nominated | |||
| Motion Picture Sound Editors Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Music Score and Musical for Episodic Long Form Broadcast Media | Christopher Brooks (for "Nothing Like It in the World") | Nominated | [122] | |
| MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Fight | "Starlight, Queen Maeve, Kimiko vs. Stormfront" | Nominated | [123] | |
| Best Hero | Jack Quaid | Nominated | |||
| Best Show | The Boys | Nominated | |||
| Best Villain | Aya Cash | Nominated | |||
| Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | "Never Truly Vanish" – Christopher Lennertz and Michael Saltzman (for "The Big Ride") | Nominated | [124] | |
| Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour) | Alexandra Fehrman, Rich Weingart and Thomas Hayek (for "What I Know") | Nominated | |||
| Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie | Stephan Fleet, Shalena Oxley-Butler, Kat Greene, Rian McNamara, Tony Kenny, Steve Moncur, Julian Hutchens, Anthony Paterson and Keith Sellers | Nominated | |||
| Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Craig Rosenberg, Phil Sgriccia, Rebecca Sonnenshine, Ken F. Levin, Jason Netter, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Michael Saltzman, Michaela Starr, Gabriel Garcia and Hartley Gorenstein | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | Rebecca Sonnenshine (for "What I Know") | Nominated | |||
| Saturn Awards | Best Performance by a Younger Actor in a Television Series | Erin Moriarty | Nominated | [125] | |
| Best Superhero Television Series | The Boys | Won | |||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Comedy or Drama Series | The Boys | Nominated | [126] | |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Television: Dramatic Series | Eric Kripke, Ellie Monahan, Anslem Richardson, Craig Rosenberg, Michael Saltzman and Rebecca Sonnenshine | Nominated | [127] |
Spin-offs[]
G-Men spin-off[]
On September 24, 2020, it was announced that a spin-off centered on a superhero college had been fast-tracked into development upon the ratings success of the series' second season. Described as being "part college show, part Hunger Games", the spin-off is to be set "... at America's only college exclusively for young adult superheroes (and run by Vought International)" and is described as "an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities".[6] On October 2, 2020, Kripke stated the series would focus on the G-Men team that had been mentioned in the first season, a parody of the X-Men.[128] In March 2021, Lizze Broadway, Jaz Sinclair, Shane Paul McGhie, Aimee Carrero, and Maddie Phillips were cast to star.[129][130][131] On April 15, 2021, Reina Hardesty joined the main cast.[132][133][134] On September 27, 2021, the untitled spin-off was given a series order by Amazon Studios.[135]
The Boys: Diabolical[]
On December 5, 2021, at the Brazil Comic-Con, Prime Video announced that The Boys: Diabolical, an animated anthology series, had been given an eight-episode series order.[136] On January 18, 2022, it was announced that the series would premiere on March 4, 2022.[137]
Other media[]
Supe Porn[]
On October 3, 2020, Eric Kripke confirmed that the in-universe pornographic superhero film scenes briefly glimpsed in the second season The Boys episode "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" had been produced in full, expressing interest in releasing them under the name Supe Porn to the website of the same name, registered to Sony Pictures,[138] as well as formally requesting Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Antony Starr and the other followers of his Twitter page to join him in petitioning Prime Video and Amazon Studios to allow the potential web series to be uploaded.[139]
Vought News Network[]
Ahead of the premiere of the third season, the series had released video segments in the form of fake news reports from the Vought News Network channel on YouTube. Each segment contains seven stories that tease events in upcoming episodes and introduce new cast members, and acts as a bridge between Season 2 and 3. Matthew Edison, who plays news anchor Cameron Coleman, will also appear in the third season of the series. [140]
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman (July 2021)"[141] | July 7, 2021 | |
| An update on America's favorite hero, Homelander/ Meet the new man: Victoria Neuman announces FBSA hire/ Where is Alastair?: Church of the Collective head missing amidst new allegations | |||
| 2 | "Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman (August 2021)"[142] | August 7, 2021 | |
| Is Starlight headed for a supernova?/ Making Waves: Deep's bombshell allegations about Church of the Collective/ Wall They've Got: Homelander fans stand up against super-terrorists | |||
| 3 | "Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman (September 2021)"[143] | September 7, 2021 | |
| Is the FBSA Strong Arming Vought?/ San Diego Superhero Sees Popularity Soar!/ A-Train's New Single Speeding up the Charts | |||
| 4 | "Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman (October 2021)"[144] | October 7, 2021 | |
| Starlight Sells Out - Heroine's costume is almost as popular as Homelander's this halloween/ Black Noir hunts serial killer to keep tri-state area safe/ FBSA oversteps again as they target Ezekiel | |||
| 5 | "Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman (November 2021)"[145] | November 7, 2021 | |
| Victoria Neuman Gives Herself a Virtual Victory Parade/ A Train: "I Promise To Have A New Race As Fast As Possible"/ Payback's Legendary Hero Gunpowder Teaches Kids About The 2nd Amendment | |||
| 6 | "Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman (December 2021)"[146] | December 7, 2021 | |
| Silent Knight Brings Bulletproof Cheer/ Gecko On Vought's Naughty List/ Starlight Awarded Top Honor at Holiday Benefit | |||
Notes[]
- ^ Known as Sony Pictures Television Studios for some episodes of season 2
References[]
- ^ "The Boys". Amazon. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ a b Petski, Denise (April 17, 2019). "'The Boys' Trailer: First Look At Amazon's Superhero Drama Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
- ^ a b c Petski, Denise (July 19, 2019). "'The Boys' Renewed For Season 2 By Amazon; Aya Cash Closes Deal As Stormfront". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
- ^ a b c Gelman, Vlada (June 26, 2020). "The Boys Gets Season 2 Premiere Date". TVLine. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
- ^ a b White, Peter (July 23, 2020). "'The Boys' Renewed At Amazon For Season 3, Streamer Sets Aisha Tyler-Hosted Aftershow – Comic-Con@Home". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^ a b Andreeva, Nellie (September 24, 2020). "'The Boys' Spinoff Put On Fast-Track Development At Amazon Following Mothership's Record Season 2 Launch". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Gelman, Vlada (January 7, 2022). "The Boys Season 3 Gets Premiere Date — Watch Announcement Video". Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Watch The Boys - Season 2". Prime Video. Archived from the original on September 6, 2020. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
- ^ a b Romano, Nick (October 9, 2020). "How The Boys season 2 crafted its gutsiest season yet". EW.com. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- ^ Romero, Ariana. "Aya Cash Plays A White Supremacist Monster On The Boys. Don't Confuse It With Real Life". Refinery29. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ Radish, Christina (March 17, 2020). "Simon Pegg on New Indie 'Lost Transmissions', Plus 'Star Trek' & 'Mission: Impossible' Futures". Collider.com. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
Are you a part of Season 2 of The Boys, at all? PEGG: No. They got me out of the way. I did my little bit. It was very fun to do that show. I was pleased to be a part of it.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (October 5, 2018). "Simon Pegg, The Inspiration For Wee Hughie in The Boys, Will Play His Father". BleedingCool.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ a b Petski, Denise (October 30, 2020). "'The Boys' Ups Claudia Doumit & Colby Minifie To Series Regulars For Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- ^ a b c Petski, Denise (September 5, 2019). "'The Boys': 'Timeless' Alums Goran Visnjic & Claudia Doumit To Recur On Season 2 Of Amazon Series". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 7, 2019.
- ^ Herviou, Nicole (July 23, 2019). "The Complicated Role of Sexual Violence in THE BOYS". ComicsVerse. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
- ^ a b @TheBoysTV (September 10, 2020). "Wondering what Butcher's been up to? Check out "BUTCHER: A Short Film" while you wait for tomorrow's new episode