The Boys (TV series)

The Boys
File:The Boys Title Card.png
Genre	Superhero Thriller Black comedy Drama Action
Based on	The Boys by Garth Ennis Darick Robertson
Developed by	Eric Kripke
Starring	Karl Urban Jack Quaid Antony Starr Erin Moriarty Dominique McElligott Jessie T. Usher Laz Alonso Chace Crawford Tomer Kapon Karen Fukuhara Nathan Mitchell Elisabeth Shue Colby Minifie Aya Cash
Composer	Christopher Lennertz
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	11
Production
Executive producers	Eric Kripke Seth Rogen Evan Goldberg James Weaver Neal H. Moritz Pavun Shetty Ori Marmur Dan Trachtenberg Ken F. Levin Jason Netter Craig Rosenberg Phil Sgriccia Rebecca Sonnenshine
Producers	Hartley Gorenstein Gabriel Garcia
Production locations	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Cinematography	Jeff Cutter Evans Brown Jeremy Benning Dylan Macleod Dan Stoloff
Editors	David Trachtenberg Nona Khodai David Kaldor Cedric Nairn-Smith William W. Rubenstein
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	55–66 minutes
Production companies	Sony Pictures Television Amazon Studios Kripke Enterprises Point Grey Pictures Original Film Kickstart Entertainment KFL Nightsky Productions
Original release
Network	Prime Video
Release	July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26) – present (present)

The Boys is an American superhero web television series developed by Eric Kripke for Prime Video. Based on the comic book of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, it follows the eponymous team of vigilantes as they combat superpowered individuals who abuse their abilities.

The series premiered on July 26, 2019. Ahead of the premiere, Amazon renewed The Boys for a second season, which premiered on September 4, 2020. A third season has also been ordered.

Premise

The Boys is set in a universe where superpowered individuals are recognized as heroes by the general public and owned by 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 International's premier superhero team, and the titular Boys, vigilantes looking to keep the corrupted heroes under control.

The Boys are led by Billy Butcher, who despises all superpowered people, and the Seven are led by the egotistical and unstable Homelander. As a conflict ensues between the two groups, the series also follows the new members of each team: Hughie Campbell of the Boys, who joins the vigilantes after his girlfriend is killed by one of the Seven; and Annie January / Starlight of the Seven, a young and hopeful heroine forced to face the truth about the heroes she admires.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of The Boys characters

Main

• Karl Urban as Billy Butcher, the leader of the Boys and a former CIA operative 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 Hughie Campbell, a member of the Boys who joins the vigilantes after his girlfriend Robin is killed by A-Train. While not formally trained in any military or intelligence-gathering disciplines, he demonstrates an aptitude for deception and blackmail, quickly becoming a valued teammate.
• Antony Starr as John / Homelander, the extremely powerful leader of the Seven and the main antagonist of the series. Beneath his public image as a noble hero, he is arrogant, sadistic, and cares little about the well-being of those he professes to protect.
• Erin Moriarty as Annie January / Starlight, a light-emitting superhero and new member of the Seven. Unlike many other superpowered individuals, Annie is genuine in her efforts to help the public.
• Dominique McElligott as Queen Maeve, a veteran member of the Seven who once wanted to protect innocent lives, but has become disillusioned and suffers from burnout. As the former girlfriend of Homelander, she knows his true character.
• Jessie T. Usher as A-Train, a speedster member of the Seven. He is determined to maintain his status as the fastest speedster, resulting in him becoming addicted to Compound-V.
• Laz Alonso as Marvin T. Milk / Mother's Milk (MM), a member of the Boys responsible for organizing and planning the vigilantes' operations. He continually promises to leave the group for the safety of his family, in part due to his frequent clashes with Frenchie, but finds himself lured back by Butcher.
• Chace Crawford as Kevin / The Deep, 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 Deep's gills.
• Tomer Capon as Frenchie, a member of the Boys and mercenary skilled in munitions, ordinance, infiltration, and communications. Frenchie has a tendency to not follow the team's plans, which puts him in repeated conflicts with Mother's Milk.
• Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko / The Female, a mute, feral member of the Boys with enhanced strength and regenerative healing. 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), the charismatic, scheming vice president of Vought International.
• Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett (season 2–present; recurring season 1), a publicist for Vought International who acts as Starlight's agent. After she was fired by Stillwell, she was rehired by Edgar following Stillwell's death becoming the new vice president of Vought International.
• Aya Cash as Stormfront (season 2–present), the new female member of The Seven who publicly challenges Vought's sexist portrayal of female superheroes. She is a closeted racist with the ability to strike lightning at people. Cash also portrays the World War II-era superhero known as Liberty in photographs.

Recurring

• Simon Pegg as Hugh Campbell Sr. (season 1), Hughie's father. He cares deeply for his son, but does not believe Hughie has the confidence to stand up for himself. Pegg was the visual inspiration for Wee Hughie in the comic book series from which the series is drawn.
• Jennifer Esposito as Susan Raynor (season 1; guest season 2), the deputy director of the CIA.
• Shaun Benson as Ezekiel (season 1), an elastic Christian superhuman who is secretly gay and leads a "Capes for Christ" campaign.
• 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.
• Christian Keyes as Nathan, A-Train's older brother and trainer.
• Brittany Allen as Charlotte / Popclaw (season 1), an actress and superhero in a secret relationship with A-Train.
• Shantel VanSanten as Becca Butcher, Butcher's wife who went missing eight years earlier.
• Nicola Correia-Damude as Elena, Queen Maeve's ex-girlfriend.
• Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar, the CEO of Vought International and Stillwell's superior.
• Parker Corno and Cameron Cravetti as Ryan Butcher, Becca and Homelander's son. Parker Corno portrayed him in the first season and Cameron Cravetti portrayed him in the second season.
• Laila Robins as Grace Mallory, an ex-CIA operative, informal founder of the Boys, and Butcher's mentor.

Guests

Season 1

• Alex Hassell as Translucent, 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.
• Jordana Lajoie as Cherie, Frenchie's girlfriend and a weapons specialist.
• Malcolm Barrett as Seth Reed, a Vought Public Relations writer.
• David Reale as Evan Lambert, a Vought Public Relations writer alongside Seth.
• Jess Salgueiro as Robin Ward, Hughie's girlfriend who was killed by A-Train in a high-velocity impact in the beginning of the series. She periodically makes appearances as a hallucination seen by Hughie due to a combination of PTSD and guilt.
• Dan Darin-Zanco as Doppelganger, a shapeshifting Supe that works for Vought and was used by Stillwell to blackmail Senator Calhoun to allow Supes to enlist in the military.
• John Doman as Jonah Vogelbaum, the Vought scientist who created and raised Homelander in a sterile laboratory.
• Haley Joel Osment as Charles / Mesmer, an ex-superhero and former child-star who can read minds via skin-to-skin contact.
• Alvina August as Monique, MM's girlfriend and mother of their daughter, Janine.
• Nalini Ingrita as Janine, the daughter of MM and Monique.
• Brit Morgan as Rachel, Becca's sister and Butcher's sister-in-law.
• Jackie Tohn as Courtenay, a Vought production assistant.
• Débora Demestre as Isadora, Vought's suit designer.
• Brendan Beiser as Jeff, a Vought operative who oversees Deep's sabbatical in Sandusky, Ohio.
• Samer Salem as Naqib, an explosive terrorist.

Jimmy Fallon, Seth Rogen, Billy Zane, Mike Massaro and Tara Reid appear as themselves.

Season 2

• Jim Beaver as Robert Singer, the US Secretary of Defense. Beaver's name is a gag reference to his character Bobby Singer on the Kripke-created series Supernatural.
• Goran Višnjić as Alistair Adana, the charismatic and shadowy leader of a mysterious church.
• Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman, a young congresswoman.
• Shawn Ashmore as The Lamplighter, a former member of the Seven.
• Langston Kerman as Eagle the Archer, an archery-themed superhero operating out of Cleveland who bails the Deep out of jail.
• Jessica Hecht as Carol, Eagle the Archer's "teacher" and therapist who recruited him into a religious group and works on Deep.
• David Thompson as Gecko, a former superhero with regenerative abilities and technician at Vought who profits off his powers, allowing people to hurt him for money.
• Chris Mark as Blindspot, a blind superhero with super hearing who tried to join the Seven.
• Adrian Holmes as Dr. Park, the head of a gated community-type compound that Becca is in.
• Abraham Lim as Kenji Miyashiro / The Male, Kimiko's younger brother who possesses hand-focused telekinetic abilities.

Seth Rogen and Chris Hansen appears as themselves.

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	8		July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26)
2	8		September 4, 2020 (2020-09-04)	October 9, 2020 (2020-10-09)

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 (2019-07-26)
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 Seven headquarters, she is greeted by the Deep, who blackmails her into performing oral sex on him. 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", a tiny covert listening device, at Seven Tower, but Hughie refuses. In Central Park, Annie meets Hughie and they motivate each other to stand up for themselves and face their challenges. Hughie plants the bug, but Translucent discovers it and confronts Hughie alone at work, an electronics store. Butcher arrives and helps Hughie incapacitate Translucent by using an electrical wire on his carbon skin. Elsewhere, Homelander destroys the Mayor of Baltimore's plane while in flight, killing all passengers including the mayor's son, in response to the Mayor's attempt to blackmail Vought about Compound V.
2	2	"Cherry"	Matt Shakman	Eric Kripke	July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26)
Butcher and Hughie take Translucent to 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 the evidence Deep found, incriminating him for the plane crash, so she handles it while he talks to Deep. The night Starlight teams-up with the Deep, she promises to kill him if he ever tries to sexually assault her again. Stillwell blackmails Oklahoma Senator Calhoun into allowing a vote that could enable Vought to contract superheros to the military upon enlisting the shapeshifting supe, Doppelganger. Annie stops a rape, unaware she is being recorded. Her agent, Ashley, rages at her because of the negative exposure and legal implications. While Homelander searches for Translucent, Frenchie decides to place C-4 explosives in Translucent's colon, who then 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. Frenchie and Butcher create a distraction elsewhere with another explosion. Translucent escapes and convinces Hughie to let him go, but Hughie changes his mind and detonates the explosives, killing Translucent.
3	3	"Get Some"	Philip Sgriccia	George Mastras	July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26)
As Frenchie and Butcher clean up Translucent's remains, Hughie leaves his home after finally telling his father how he truly feels. Starlight gains positive publicity for stopping the rape. She subsequently learns Stillwell wants her to wear a revealing costume. She declines, but Stillwell forces her to wear it or lose her job. Butcher brings in his former friend, Mother's Milk, to run surveillance on Popclaw. Hughie installs spyware on her computer, and they learn that A-Train takes a performance-enhancing substance known as Compound V. Butcher wants to expose them before supers can be allowed into the United States Armed Forces, but he needs a vial of Compound V from A-Train's upcoming race with another speedster, Shockwave. Beforehand, Hughie meets Annie as Starlight, inviting her to lunch. The two open up to each other, and they exchange phone numbers. A-Train uses a vial of Compound V to win the race. He publicly announces he is single, breaking his promise to Popclaw. With MM deducing Popclaw swiped some vials, they find her heartbroken, high, and in the midst of killing her landlord during hypercharged sex. Butcher uses this opportunity to blackmail Popclaw as an informant. At Vought headquarters, Homelander reveals 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 (2019-07-26)
Following Popclaw's tip, the Boys find a Triad hideout which holds an imprisoned Japanese woman, the Female; whom Frenchie frees. After she kills her guards and runs off, MM finds evidence the Female was a test subject. When Hughie meets Starlight while bowling, Butcher has him bug her phone. With the 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, Flight 37. When the rescue plan fails, Homelander unapologetically abandons the plane and its passengers, forcing Maeve to abandon them and leave with him. Frenchie finds evidence leading to Penn Station. He makes a momentary connection with the Female but loses her in the crowd. They corner her on the tracks, where 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 again, and Frenchie tries talking to her. She attacks them, so Butcher uses knockout gas. Stillwell is pleased to see Homelander use the tragedy to push for militarized supers, rousing the crowd with a heartfelt speech while Maeve grieves for those she allowed to die.
5	5	"Good for the Soul"	Stefan Schwartz	Anne Cofell Saunders	July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26)
At the "Believe Expo", Starlight talks with some teens while being quietly directed to push the Vought agenda while Butcher has Hughie meet Ezekiel, the Expo host and their next lead. Maeve feels guilty for letting Flight 37 crash and visits her former romantic partner Elena, but leaves before explaining herself fully. Butcher takes time to talk with Rachel, his sister-in-law, over putting a tombstone to Becca. A-Train kills Popclaw for betraying him and finds surveillance footage of Frenchie. After Homelander exits a meeting with Ezekiel, Hughie extorts the latter for information about Compound-V. 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 comforts her and sympathizes with her plight by telling her about Robin's death. Butcher and MM discover that Vought is using Compound-V on infants in order to manufacture supers. Frenchie discovers Black Noir is looking for him. 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 then awakens and her wounds immediately heal.
6	6	"The Innocents"	Jennifer Phang	Rebecca Sonnenshine	July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26)
Now informed, the Boys know Vought has used super charities to smuggle Compound-V disguised as vaccines and make super-babies since 1971. Annie learns that Ashley was fired, and Stillwell demands she comply with her designed image. Annie refuses, remarking that firing her after reporting a sexual assault would hurt Vought. Stillwell, aware it was Deep, has him apologize publicly and transfers him to Sandusky, Ohio, for a sabbatical. Butcher brings Hughie to a collateral damage survivors support group, but leaves after yelling at them for doing nothing to get justice. Alone, Butcher explains to Hughie that Homelander raped his wife, who went missing shortly afterward. Frenchie and MM get help from Mesmer, a telepath, 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 to militarize supers. Butcher tells Raynor, but when she refuses to target Homelander, he calls off the deal. Meanwhile, Mesmer gives Homelander surveillance photos of the Boys. Hughie and Annie share a kiss, but Butcher finds out, warning him not to fraternize with the enemy and threatens to tell her about Translucent.
7	7	"The Self-Preservation Society"	Dan Attias	Craig Rosenberg & Ellie Monahan	July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26)
Hughie and Annie book a hotel room, where they have sex and he agrees to introduce her to his father. Deep finds his transfer to Sandusky, Ohio dull after Vought's representative Jeff. He brings a fan to his apartment, but she sexually assaults him by his gills. Homelander holds a meeting to discuss Hughie killing Translucent, extorting Ezekiel, and A-Train killing Robin. He angrily accuses Starlight of co-conspiracy, but Maeve defends her. When A-Train calls Hughie, claiming he is holding his dad hostage, the Boys realize Mesmer betrayed them; an enraged Butcher later murders Mesmer. Hughie obtains some Compound-V to distract A-Train and allow Kimiko to cripple him. Homelander asks Vought scientist Dr. Vogelbaum about Becca Butcher, who informs him she was pregnant with his child, but 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's 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 & Rebecca Sonnenshine	July 26, 2019 (2019-07-26)
The Pentagon classifies Compound-V as a controlled substance and lists the Boys as fugitives while Annie confronts her mother. Deep is told by Jeff that Stillwell has denied his return to the Seven, causing him to suffer an emotional breakdown. Angry at being racially profiled while out of costume, an injured A-Train rebounds to Compound-V. Butcher takes Hughie to Mallory, who refuses participation, but informs them about Stillwell and warns Hughie about Butcher's craving for vengeance. Hughie leaves to ask for Annie's help, but she refuses out of distrust. Maeve opens up and asks Starlight to be herself again. Homelander privately 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. Starlight rescues them and when A-Train arrives, she and Hughie fight him until the speedster 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. After revealing he tortured Vogelbaum for the truth about Becca, Homelander kills Stillwell himself, saves Butcher from his suicidal explosion, and shows him where Becca has been secretly raising Homelander's son, stunning both Butcher and Becca as Homelander meets his 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 (2020-09-04)
As Black Noir does away with Naqib, Homelander presides over Translucent's funeral, claiming that he was killed by the El Scorpion Cartel. Ashley is rehired by Edgar to succeed Stillwell, and Homelander disapproves of her recommending Blindspot, a blind supe, as Translucent's replacement. 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 again lead the Boys in facing new threats. Hughie and Starlight 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 knowledge. When Homelander fails to intimidate Edgar, he returns to Becca's house to see Ryan. After being bailed out by Eagle the Archer for causing a disturbance at Sandusky Water Park, the Deep joins the Church of the Collective in attempt to rejoin the Seven.
10	2	"Proper Preparation and Planning"	Liz Friedlander	Rebecca Sonnenshine	September 4, 2020 (2020-09-04)
Butcher arranges a deal with Mallory to capture the superpowered terrorist in exchange for Mallory finding Becca's location. The superpowered terrorist is revealed to be Kimiko's younger brother Kenji, whom the Boys manage to subdue. A-Train threatens to expose Starlight's involvement with the Boys when he awakens from his coma, but Starlight keeps him quiet with the knowledge that he murdered Popclaw. Homelander remains at Becca's house to act as a father figure to his son and teach him to use his powers, despite Becca's discomfort. She is revealed to be living in a gated community-type compound and makes an urgent phone call to Dr. Park, requesting help. The Deep is given hallucinogenic tea by Eagle, and witnesses his gills encouraging him to value himself. Maeve starts to fear that Homelander will kill Elena if he becomes aware of their relationship.
11	3	"Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men"	Steve Boyum	Craig Rosenberg	September 4, 2020 (2020-09-04)
Homelander pushes Ryan into using his powers, which culminates in Ryan attacking Homelander to protect Becca. Using the sample that she acquired from Gecko, Starlight secretly leaks the knowledge that Compound-V is responsible for giving superheroes their powers. Edgar responds by sending the Seven, rejoined by the Deep, after Kenji when he is spotted by the police. The Boys attempt to bring Kenji to a CIA safehouse, but the arrival of the Seven results in Kenji escaping. Stormfront kills Kenji, slaughtering several residents of a housing project in her pursuit, and frames Kenji killing them before her arrival. Tying Stillwell to the drug, Edgar uses the destruction to highlight the necessity of superheroes. Stormfront becomes targeted by Homelander for undermining his leadership and Kimiko for killing her brother.
TBA	TBA	"Nothing Like It in the World"	TBA	Michael Saltzman	TBA
TBA	TBA	"We Gotta Go Now"	TBA	Ellie Monahan	TBA
TBA	TBA	"The Bloody Doors Off"	TBA	Anslem Richardson	TBA
TBA	TBA	"Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker"	TBA	Craig Rosenberg	TBA
TBA	TBA	"What I Know"	TBA	Rebecca Sonnenshine	TBA

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.

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.

On November 8, 2017, it was announced that Amazon Video 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.

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.

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.

Ahead of the series premiere, on July 19, 2019, it was announced that Amazon Video had renewed the series for a second season. The eight scripts for the second season were completed by November 2019.

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 San Diego Comic-Con@Home.

Casting

Filming of the series at Pecaut Square in Toronto

On December 18, 2017, it was announced that Erin Moriarty has been cast in the lead role of Annie January/Starlight. On January 17, 2018, it was reported that Antony Starr, Dominique McElligott, Chace Crawford, Jessie Usher, and Nathan Mitchell had joined the main cast. In March 2018, it was announced that Laz Alonso, Jack Quaid, and Karen Fukuhara had been cast in series regular roles. On April 5, 2018, it was reported that Karl Urban had been cast in the series' lead role of Billy Butcher. On May 16, 2018, it was announced that Elisabeth Shue had been cast in the series regular role of Madelyn Stillwell. On June 25, 2018, it was reported that Tomer Kapon had joined the main cast in the role of Frenchie. On August 30, 2018, it was announced that Jennifer Esposito had been cast in the recurring role of CIA Agent Susan Raynor. 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. 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.

On September 5, 2019, Goran Višnjić and Claudia Doumit were cast in recurring roles for the second season. A month later, Patton Oswalt was announced in an unspecified role. Aya Cash was confirmed to be portraying superheroine Stormfront in March 2020 following contract negotiations that began when the second season was announced. On August 10, 2020, it was reported that Shawn Ashmore was cast as Lamplighter for the second season. A week later, Jensen Ackles joined the cast for the third season as Soldier Boy.

Filming

Principal photography for the first season began on May 22, 2018, in Toronto, and was scheduled to last until September 25, 2018. Principal photography for the second season took place from June 17 to November 13, 2019, in Toronto. Filming for the third season is scheduled to begin in 2021.

Music

The score for The Boys was composed by Christopher Lennertz.

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

Release

File:TheBoysPoster.png

Promotional poster depicting the members of the Boys, based on the cover for The Boys Volume 1

On September 26, 2018, the official poster for the series was released. 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. On January 24, 2019, another teaser trailer was released via Seth Rogen's official Twitter account. The series premiered on July 26, 2019, after another teaser was released. On July 22, Slipknot released a new single called "Solway Firth" with an accompanying music video which featured clips and audio from the show. On June 26, 2020, it was announced that season two will debut on September 4, 2020, with the first 3 episodes available and the rest debuting on a weekly basis. A companion short film titled "Butcher" will be released at some point after season two starts streaming. The second season's official trailer was released on August 4, 2020.

Reception

Critical response

Season 1

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 84% based on 99 reviews, with an average rating of 7.72/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Though viewer's 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." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Christopher Lawrence of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote: "Irreverent, deliciously cynical, The Boys follows the greed and corruption behind the superhero industrial complex." Matthew Gilbert of Boston Globe wrote: "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." Kristy Puchko at IGN gives the first episode a score of 7.2/10 and appreciates how the story comes from the comics but with clever changes. Puchko praises the cast, particularly "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." Liz Shannon Miller of AV 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."

Season 2

On Rotten Tomatoes, season two holds an approval rating of 97% based on 58 reviews, with an average rating of 8.28/10. 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." On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Eric Deggans of NPR described the second season as "a wonderfully subversive, cynically entertaining piece of work".

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.

External links

• Official website
• The Boys at IMDb