| The Boys | |
|---|---|
 Official franchise logo | |
| Created by | Garth Ennis Darick Robertson |
| Original work | The Boys |
| Owners |
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| Years | 2006–2012; 2020 (comics) 2019–present (television) |
| Print publications | |
| Comics |
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| Films and television | |
| Short film(s) | Mr. Butcher (2019) Butcher (2020) |
| Television series |
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| Web series |
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| Animated series | The Boys Presents: Diabolical (2022) |
| Audio | |
| Podcast(s) | Deeper and Deeper (2022) |
The Boys is an Americanmedia franchise, consisting ofaction-drama/satiricalblack comedysuperhero television series which follow the residents of a world wheresuperpowered individuals calledSupes are recognized as heroes by the general public and work for a powerful corporation known as Vought International, which markets, monetizes, and (secretly) creates them, with most being selfish and corrupt outside of theirheroic personas. Based on thecomic book series of the same name byGarth Ennis andDarick Robertson, originally published byDC Comics under itsWildstormimprint before moving toDynamite Entertainment, the television franchise debut has garnered success both financially and critically.
Thefirst season ofThe Boys, developed byEric Kripke with executive producersSeth Rogen andEvan Goldberg, was released in July 2019, with anensemble cast led byJack Quaid,Erin Moriarty,Karl Urban, andAntony Starr. Asecond season, withColby Minifie andAya Cash, was released from September to October 2020, athird season, withClaudia Doumit andJensen Ackles, was released from June to July 2022, and afourth season was released from June to July 2024, with ananimatedspin-offanthology series,The Boys Presents: Diabolical, releasing in March 2022, and anAudiblepodcast,The Boys: Deeper and Deeper, starringChace Crawford, Katy Breier, and Leigh Bush, releasing in June 2022. The series were released viaAmazon Prime Video, while the promotionalweb seriesVNN: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman and sponsored promotional episodes ofDeath Battle! were released viaYouTube from 2020 to 2022.
The franchise continued with alive-action spin-off series,Gen V, starringJaz Sinclair,Chance Perdomo,Lizze Broadway,Maddie Phillips,London Thor,Derek Luh, andAsa Germann, and centered around the franchise's young adult Supes, whichpremiered with itsfirst season in 2023 and aired itssecond season in 2025, with afifth and final season ofThe Boys also being in development, along with two other live-action spin-off series in production:Vought Rising, aprequel series set in the1950s and based on the characters ofBen / Soldier Boy andKlara Risinger / Clara Vought / Liberty / Stormfront withJensen Ackles andAya Cash reprising their respective roles fromThe Boys, andThe Boys: Mexico, a series set inMexico and starringDiego Luna andGael García Bernal.
The Boys television franchise is based on thecomic series of the same name, which was originally published byWildStorm (DC Comics) from October 2006 to January 2007, before being cancelled and moved toDynamite Entertainment, where it was published from February 2007 until November 2012.[1] Severalspin-offs of the series were published by Dynamite during the latter run, initially known simply asHerogasm,Highland Laddie, andButcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker, before being rebranded as regular volumes ofThe Boys for the series'omnibus re-release.[a] The series was created byGarth Ennis andDarick Robertson. Following the launch of the television adaptation forAmazon Prime Video byEric Kripke, an eight-issueepilogue series toThe Boys comic series,Dear Becky, was published from June to November 2020.[2] All 98 issues of the series have been faithfully adapted into seven full cast audiobooks produced byGraphicAudio beginning in May 2020.[3] All volumes are a combined 31 hours in length.
Between 2008 and 2016, a film adaptation ofThe Boys had been in various stages of development at bothColumbia Pictures andParamount Pictures.Adam McKay expressed interest in directing, andMatt Manfredi andPhil Hay were in charge of the screenplay.[4] McKay expressed interest in castingRussell Crowe as Billy Butcher andSimon Pegg as Hughie, as well as shooting the film in 3D.[5][6] On April 6, 2016, it was announced thatCinemax was developing a television series adaptation of the comic book. The production was being developed byEric Kripke,Evan Goldberg, andSeth 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 andDarick Robertson were set as co-executive producers. Production companies involved with the series includedPoint Grey Pictures,Original Film, andSony Pictures Television.[6]
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.[7][8][9] 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 ofkilling 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.[10] On April 30, 2018, it was announced thatDan Trachtenberg would direct the series' first episode, replacing Rogen and Goldberg, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.[11]
Ahead of the series premiere, on July 19, 2019, at the 2019San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Amazon had renewed the series for a second season, which premiered on September 4, 2020.[12][13][14] It was also confirmed that the second season would consist of eight episodes, like the previous season.[15] Kripke confirmed that he was already starting to write the scripts just before the series premiere revealing that it took "a lot of tiptoeing around expectations for the hit's sophomore outing".[16][17] The eight scripts for the second season were completed by November 2019.[18] The season explore issues likewhite nationalism,white supremacy,systemic racism, andxenophobia which Kripke saw this as an opportunity to introduceStormfront due to the character being aracist superhero who also supportsNazism.[19][20] Kripke revealed that unlike the comics where Stormfront is male, the character would be gender swapped for the series with the intention of creating "Homelander's worst nightmare that would be a strong woman who wasn't afraid of him and proceeded to steal his spotlight."[21]
Ahead of the second-season premiere, on July 23, 2020, Amazon renewed the series for a third season at the aftershow hosted byAisha Tyler for the 2020San Diego Comic-Con@Home.[22][23] The third season began filming in early 2021 with an unknown release date.[24] On October 30, 2020, Kripke revealed that the third season would adapt the miniseries comic bookHerogasm, which is centered around superhero orgy festivals.[25][26] It would be adapted for the season's sixth episode, which would be named "Herogasm" after the miniseries.[27][28][29][30] Kripke stated that "Herogasm" had "the craziest dailies he [had] ever seen" and "that people [were] not ready to watch it".[31] However, while "Herogasm" would be adapted, the series'Soldier Boy would be based on theWorld War II-era "Homelander before Homelander", rather than the incompetent modern-day successor from the comic series.[27][32][33][34]
At the 2021CCXP Worlds panel for Prime Video in Brazil, aspin-offanimatedanthology series ofthe Boys was announced, titledThe Boys Presents: Diabolical and likened by executive producersSeth Rogen andEvan Goldberg toThe Animatrix.Diabolical is made up of eight brand new stories created byAwkwafina,Garth Ennis,Eliot Glazer andIlana Glazer, Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, Simon Racioppa,Justin Roiland and Ben Bayouth,Andy Samberg, andAisha Tyler.[35] The series premiered on March 4, 2022.[36]Eric Kripke stated that the idea to createDiabolical arose during theCOVID-19 pandemic, when the producers wanted to release something during the wait for season three ofThe Boys. Due to the restrictions on most live-action productions, they decided to try and make an animated anthology utilizing different forms and styles.[37] Several key cast members were revealed with the firstteaser trailer in February 2022, which included several of the creators.[38] Later that month, a full trailer with the rest of the large cast was revealed. This included the revelation that Pegg would provide the voice ofHughie Campbell, a character who was long associated with Pegg; however, Pegg could not portray him in live action, having aged too much by the time the series was produced.[39][37]
On September 20, 2020, a live-action spin-off ofThe Boys, initially titledThe Boys Presents: Varsity and later retitledGen V,[40] was announced, with Craig Rosenberg writing and executive producing the series withEric Kripke,Seth Rogen,Evan Goldberg, James Weaver,Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Michaela Starr,Garth Ennis,Darick Robertson, Sarah Carbiener, Erica Rosbe, Aisha Porter-Christie, Judalina Neira, and Zak Schwartz.[41] On September 27, 2021, Amazon gave the order for the series and Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters were set as showrunners and executive producers of the series.[42] On October 2, 2020, Kripke statedHunger Games-inspired series would focus on theG-Men team, originally created as aparody ofMarvel Comics'X-Men, who were first mentioned in the first season ofThe Boys and said viaticker tape in the second season to be undergoing a version of the#MeToo movement called "#G-Too".[43]
On June 10, 2022, Amazon renewedThe Boys for a fourth season.[44] On October 19, 2023,Gen V was renewed for a second season.[45]
Three television series make upThe Boys franchise:The Boys,The Boys Presents: Diabolical, andGen V. All series in total amount to 56 episodes across seven seasons of television.
| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | Showrunner(s) | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | ||||||
| The Boys | 1 | 8 | July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26) | Eric Kripke[10][16][21][26][32][33] | Released | ||
| 2 | 8 | September 4, 2020 (2020-09-04) | October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09) | ||||
| 3 | 8 | June 3, 2022 (2022-06-03) | July 8, 2022 (2022-07-08) | ||||
| 4 | 8 | June 13, 2024 (2024-06-13) | July 18, 2024 (2024-07-18) | ||||
| 5[46] | 8 | April 8, 2026 (2026-04-08) | May 20, 2026 (2026-05-20) | Post-production | |||
| The Boys Presents: Diabolical | 1 | 8 | March 4, 2022 (2022-03-04) | Eric Kripke, Simon Racioppa,Seth Rogen, andEvan Goldberg[37] | Concluded | ||
| Gen V | 1 | 8 | September 29, 2023 (2023-09-29) | November 3, 2023 (2023-11-03) | Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters[42] | Released | |
| 2 | 8 | September 17, 2025 (2025-09-17) | October 22, 2025 (2025-10-22) | ||||
| Vought Rising | 1[47] | TBA | TBA | TBA | Paul Grellong[48] | Filming | |
| The Boys: Mexico | 1[49] | TBA | TBA | TBA | Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer[50] | Pre-production | |
The first television series,The Boys, follows theeponymous team ofvigilantes as they combat super-powered individuals who abuse their abilities. At the start of the series,Hughie Campbell is recruited to the Boys byBilly Butcher after the former's girlfriend Robin is accidentally killed by thespeedster A-Train, while elsewhere, the superhero group known asthe Seven are joined byAnnie January, a young and hopeful heroine forced to face the truth about those she admires. As Butcher comes to odds with the Seven's unstable and violent leader,the Homelander, the two independently face the forces ofVought International executive Madelyn Stillwell andCEO Stan Edgar, as well as Edgar's daughterVictoria Neuman, and Homelander's father,Soldier Boy.[51]
The concept of an adaptation ofThe Boys originated whenColumbia Picturesoptioned the then-ongoing comic for a film adaptation in February 2008, to be produced byNeal H. Moritz.[52] andPhil Hay andMatt Manfredi writing the screenplay.[53] In August 2010,Adam McKay said that he had been signed on to direct the film. McKay added, "They already have a script and we're doing a rewrite on it so hopefully getting the whole thing into shape in the Fall with maybe a shoot happening in January."[54] Columbia Pictures reported in February 2012 that it had dropped its option regarding a film adaptation ofThe Boys.[55] However, Adam McKay said in a Twitter response thatParamount Pictures had picked it up, and that it was still in the works.[56] On April 30, 2013, Manfredi and Hay were hired by Paramount to write the film, only for the project to enterdevelopment hell.[57]
In October 2015, it was reported thatCinemax had greenlit a television series adaptation ofThe Boys,[58] and thatSeth Rogen,Evan Goldberg andEric Kripke were producing the series.[59] In September 2017,Variety reported thatAmazon Studios had picked up the series.[60] The first season premiered on July 26, 2019,[61] with a second season (also adaptingButcher, Baker, Candlestickmaker) premiering on September 4, 2020,[62] and a third season (also adaptingHerogasm) premiering on June 3, 2022.[63] The fourth season ofThe Boys premiered on June 13, 2024.[64][65]
On December 5, 2021, at theBrazil Comic-Con,Amazon Prime Video announced thatThe Boys Presents: Diabolical, ananimatedanthology seriesspin-off ofThe Boys, had been given an eight-episode series order.[66] On January 18, 2022, it was announced that the series' first season would premiere in-full on March 4, 2022.[67]
The third television series,Gen V, followsyoung adult Supes as they are tested inThe Hunger Games-style challenges at the Godolkin University School of Crimefighting, run by Vought International.[41]
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 second season ofThe Boys. Described as being "part college show, partHunger 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".[68] On October 2, 2020, Kripke stated the series would focus on theG-Men team that had been mentioned in the first season, aparody of theX-Men, looselyadapting "We Gotta Go Now", the fourth volume ofThe Boys comic book series.[69] On September 27, 2021, the spin-off was given a series order by Amazon Studios.[70] On May 11, 2022, filming of the series began at theUniversity of Toronto in May 2022 and theClaireville Conservation Area,Brampton in July, intended for an October wrap.[71] In July 2022, it was announced that the series would officially be titledGen V.[40]
The series premiered on September 29, 2023.[72][73] In October 2023, less than a month after its premiere,Gen V was renewed for a second season.[74]
A prequel series starringJensen Ackles andAya Cash, reprising their respective roles asSoldier Boy andStormfront, was announced at 2024San Diego Comic Con. The series follows a twisted murder mystery about the origins of Vought in the 1950s, the early exploits of Soldier Boy, and the diabolical maneuvers of Stormfront.[47]
On November 28, 2023, a newspin-off series ofThe Boys with aMexican-led cast was announced to be in the works at Amazon Prime Video. TitledThe Boys: Mexico, the series will be created by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer, producing alongsideDiego Luna andGael García Bernal, who will also star.[49]
| Short Film | Originally released | Showrunner |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Butcher | August 2, 2019 (2019-08-02) | Eric Kripke |
| Butcher: A Short Film | September 10, 2020 (2020-09-10) |
A promotionalshort film,Mr. Butcher, was released toTwitter on August 2, 2019, withKarl Urban reprising his role asBilly Butcher. The film follows Butcher as he visits an elementary school as a guest speaker, in order to teach children to fear and be wary of Supes, in particularHomelander and The Seven, and of what can be done to combat them.[75]
A companion short film titledButcher, set between the first and second seasons ofThe Boys, was released to Twitter on September 10, 2020, with Urban again reprising his role.[76] Set in the aftermath of "You Found Me", the film follows Butcher as he evades the authorities after being framed for Madelyn Stillwell's murder, and reaches out to Jock (portrayed by David S. Lee), an old friend of his from theRoyal Marines.[77]
| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | Showrunner(s) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||
| Death Battle | The Seven Battle Royale | 2 | September 17, 2020 (2020-09-17) | Ben B. Singer, Joe Clary, and Sean Hinz | ||
| Omni-Man vs. Homelander | May 23, 2022 (2022-05-23) | |||||
| Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman | The Boys Season 2 | 7 | July 7, 2021 (2021-07-07) | January 7, 2022 (2022-01-07) | Matt Motschenbacher[78] | |
| The Boys Season 3 | June 11, 2022 (2022-06-11) | |||||
| Gen V Season 1 | September 28, 2022 (2022-09-28) | |||||
From 2015,Rooster Teeth began to host the 2010 web seriesDeath Battle!, in which pop culture icons would be pit against each other in a fight to the death and determine who would win and who would die based on research of the characters (notable examples includeOptimus Prime against theRX-78 2 Gundam,RoboCop against theT-800 Terminator, and theMegazord againstVoltron, amongst many others), using various distinctive animation styles (using 2D pixelated graphics, 3D computer-generated animation models or 2D traditionally animated rigs), and very rarely—live-action.[79] Originally sponsored byNetflix (prior to the launch of the company'sstreaming service), hosted by Wizard, a.k.a. "Wiz" (voiced by series creator Ben B. Singer), a mad scientist with a robotic arm, and Boomstick (voiced by Chad James), an alcoholic country man with a shotgun for a leg, other content included animated fight shows without research calledDBX (primarily hosted by Marshall, a.k.a. "Ringmaster" (voiced by Billy B. Burson III), apodcast,Death Battle Cast, and an informative show,Desk of Death Battle, hosted by Jocelyn the Intern (voiced byLisa Foiles).[80]
Following the rebranding of the parentYouTube channelScrewAttack as "Death Battle" after the series on February 4, 2019,[81]Amazon Prime Video sponsored two promotional episodes of the series in 2020 to promote the second season ofThe Boys, featuring the series'superhero groupthe Seven partake in abattle royale (withBilly Butcher), withThe Boys characterBlack Noir joining as a guest host:Nathan Mitchell reprising his role from the live-action series, and impersonator voice actors voicing other characters from the series.[82][83] Following these episodes, Noir became a reoccurringsupporting character in theDeath Battle! series, with a further promotional episode pittingHomelander (withYong Yea reprising his role from the first sponsoredDeath Battle!) againstOmni-Man fromInvincible (anothersuperhero series by Amazon Prime Video) being produced in 2022.[84][85]
Following the delay of thethird season ofThe Boys due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Prime Video began releasing video segments in the form of in-universe news reports from the Vought News Network channel onYouTube, of the in-universe seriesVNN: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman. Each of the seven segments 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, also later appeared in the third season ofThe Boys.[86]
| Series | Originally released | Showrunner(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Deeper and Deeper | June 9, 2022 (2022-06-09) | Chris Sacco & Matt Berns[87][88] |
On June 8, 2022,Amazon subsidiary and audio storytelling divisionAudible announced aThe Boys spin-offAudible Originalpodcast, titledThe Boys: Deeper and Deeper, to have been secretly produced, to release the following day, June 9.[89][90] Written by Matt Berns, directed by Chris Sacco, and starringChace Crawford and Katy Breier, reprising their roles from the television series asKevin "The Deep" Moskowitz and his wifeCassandra Schwartz, the series follows the couple as they sit down for a "no-holds-barred podcastinterview" about their relationship and escape fromthe Church of the Collective, and about their recentmemoir andfilm adaptation about as such. Leigh Bush, who plays the couple's interviewerHailey Miller, also later appeared in thethird season ofThe Boys.[91] The podcast has received a positive critical reception.[88]
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in multiple installments in the franchise.
| Title | Season | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Boys | 1 | 85% (105 reviews)[92] | 74 (19 reviews)[93] |
| 2 | 97% (105 reviews)[94] | 80 (15 reviews)[95] | |
| 3 | 98% (146 reviews)[96] | 77 (20 reviews)[97] | |
| 4 | 94% (72 reviews)[98] | 76 (21 reviews)[99] | |
| The Boys Presents: Diabolical | 1 | 97% (30 reviews)[100] | 70 (7 reviews)[101] |
| Gen V | 1 | 95% (59 reviews)[102] | 73 (26 reviews)[103] |
| 2 | 91% (44 reviews)[104] | 74 (15 reviews)[105] |
Score albums were released for every season ofThe Boys.Christopher Lennertz served as composer of the show's score.[115][116] During an interview at the 2019 Comic-Con, he stated that his work forThe Boys was the "craziest thing" he has ever done, after collaborating withSeth Rogen forSausage Party.[117] On July 22, 2019,Slipknot released a new single called "Solway Firth" with an accompanying music video which featured clips and audio from the show.[118][119]
For the second season's soundtrack, Erin Moriarty provides her own vocals for the song "Never Truly Vanish", which was nominated for anEmmy.[120] The music video for "Never Truly Vanish" was released onYouTube on June 4, 2021.[121] Jessie T. Usher also performed an original song for the second season's soundtrack and on September 1, 2021, the music video for "Faster" was released on YouTube.[122] The third season's soundtrack included two songs performed by Miles Gaston Villanueva being "You've Got a License to Drive (Me Crazy)" and "Rock My Kiss", while Laurie Holden performed "America's Son" which were released on June 3, 2022.[123] On June 17, 2022, a video for another song performed by Holden was "Chimps Don't Cry."[124]
On October 3, 2020, Eric Kripke said that the in-universepornographicsuperhero film scenes briefly glimpsed in the second seasonThe Boys episode "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" had been produced in full, expressing interest in releasing them under the nameSupe Porn to the website of the same name, registered toSony Pictures,[125] as well as supposedly requestingSeth Rogen,Evan Goldberg,Antony Starr and the other followers of hisTwitter page to join him in petitioning Prime Video andAmazon Studios to allow the potentialweb series to be uploaded.[126]
Following the airing of the third season episode "Glorious Five Year Plan", SupePorn.com was turned into a fictionalsex toyonline store where the Supe-themeddildos seen in the episode could be bought, before SupePorn.com was featured on the following episode, "The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies", as the siteCrimson Countess used to host hercam girl business. At the bottom of the website there is a message saying that its contents are for entertainment purpose only and not actually for sale.[127]
In June 2021, it was announced that atie-invideo game ofThe Boys was in early development.[128][129]
Funko released Pop! Vinyl figures ofQueen Maeve,A-Train,Billy Butcher,Hughie Campbell,Starlight,Homelander andTranslucent in 2020, andthe Deep in 2022.[130][131]
Kripke wanted to also avoid 'fridging,' which sees women being killed off as motivation for male heroes.
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