“The Boys” was first released on Amazon Prime in 2019 with a groundbreaking 4.1 million viewers within the first 10 days — making it the most streamed Amazon original show. In 2022, it was the most popular superhero show on any streaming service — beating those on Disney Plus.
Due to the overwhelming popularity of gritty superhero stories, a spin-off set in the same universe was announced on Sep. 20, 2020. “Gen V” was first released on Sep. 29, 2023, and has released a new episode every Friday.
“Gen V” brings us a different point of view of the supes, instead now being in the point of view of college students attending Godolkin University — a school for supes in training.
We meet a new set of characters who each have their flaws but interact with each other in interesting ways.
The story casts Jaz Sinclair as the blood manipulator Marie Monroe, Maddie Phillips as the telepathic Cate Dunlap, both London Thor and Derek Luh as Jordan Li, Chance Perdomo as the metal manipulator Andre Anderson and Lizze Broadway as the size alterer Emma Meyer.
“In the Gen V world, the kids are still idealistic. They’re not fully formed into either a hero or a villain,” Sinclair said in an interview with Collider.
The show introduces a new mystery in the shared universe, but not before showing the audience what supe college life can be: drugs, sex and murder.
The main conflict is the death of the school’s resident golden boy, Luke Riordan, played by Patrick Schwarzenegger — not to mention the professor, Rich Brinkerhoff — played by Clancy Brown — whom Luke murders before his own death.
The introduction of the mystery behind “The Woods” sets up the future of the shared universe. It ties “Gen V” and “The Boys” together, with the group finding out Cate was secretly betraying them — ultimately causing them to lose their memories any time they got too close to finding out the truth about her identity.
With this, the group realizes what Dean Shetty was up to — creating a virus to kill supes and making it airborne. This revelation subsequently leads to her death at the hands of Cate — with the support of Luke’s brother Sam.
Victoria Neuman enters “Gen V” as an already fleshed-out character from “The Boys” and stirs up more problems when she reveals her powers are the same as Marie’s and acts as her sponsor for Goldolken. She also adds tension to the show when she murders Dr. Cardosa.
The finale ties the next season of “The Boys” into the show entirely when Homelander appears to fight Marie, and the group paints Cate and Sam as the heroes to the public.
The mid-credit scene of the show includes Billy Butcher meeting the now-imprisoned group — the screen goes black.
I’m excited for the upcoming season of “The Boys” and what it will lead to. With the supe-killing virus and the possibility of seeing Cate and Sam again — but now maybe in The Seven — the show has a variety of plotlines to choose from. Season two of “Gen V” has also already been announced by Amazon Prime.
If you’re interested in watching “Gen V” but haven’t watched “The Boys,” don’t fret!
“You get something extra out of it by having seen ‘The Boys.’ But there’s nothing that you’re not going to understand without it,” showrunner Eric Kripke said in an interview with Variety.
