The Boys (season 1)

Billy Zane, Jimmy Fallon, Mike Massaro, Seth Rogen, and Tara Reid made cameo appearances as themselves, with Zane appearing in a Popclaw fictional film within the series and at a comic convention in the episodes "Good for the Soul" and "The Innocents" respectively, Fallon interviewing Translucent during his talk show in the episode "The Name of the Game", and Massaro portraying an ESPN interviewer for the episodes "Cherry" and "Get Some", while Rogen and Reid appeared as themselves in interviews for the episode "The Innocents".

Between 2008 and 2016, it was originally planned to make a film adaptation of The Boys having been in various stages of development. Columbia Pictures was initially the studio in charge to bring the adaptation with a budget of $100 million and Adam McKay as the director. However the project was abandoned due to a series of creatives differences between the studio and McKay. However the production of the film was revived by Paramount Pictures, having managed to get the rights of the project in August 2012,[17][18][19] but then on April 6, 2016, it was announced that Cinemax would be developing a television series adaptation of the comic book instead, cancelling the original plans for a film adaptation. Eric Kripke, Evan Goldberg, and Seth Rogen were approached and then recruited during the production of the series Preacher, with Kripke serving as the showrunner of the series and Goldberg and Rogen as directors.[20] Kripke, Rogen and Robertson were also selected as executive producer. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson were selected to serve as co-executive producers. The confirmed production companies to be involved with the series were Point Grey Pictures, Original Film, and Sony Pictures Television.[17]

However, on November 8, 2017, Amazon managed to get the rights of The Boys and started the production of the first season consisting of eight episodes, with the production expected to begin at the spring of 2018 for a planned release at 2019. At the time, Amazon was failing to get hits with its originals which led them to make several deals with auspices from other successful series hoping to make the next big genre drama hit show like Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Stranger Things.[21] The series was confirmed to be at development for several months preceding the series order announcement and it was also confirmed that the creative team that were hired for the previous adaptations were still attached to the series.[22][23][24] On April 30, 2018, Dan Trachtenberg replaced Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as the directors of the show.[25] Kripke, Goldberg, Rogen, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Ori Marmur, James Weaver, Ken Levin, and Jason Netter were confirmed to serve as the executive producers for the series. Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson were recruited to serve as the co-executive producers.[17]

The Boys takes place in a universe where the superheroes are interpreted as corrupt celebrities who abuse their powers. Kripke wanted to explore how these heroes would be portrayed in real life, leading to several discussions of how to deconstruct the old myth of superheroes. He has admitted to being a fan of Marvel, but believes that the old superhero myth portrayed in the comics and films would not happen in the real world as he considers that the people are selfish, believing that a person won't do something noble once it suddenly gains superpowers.[26] As a long time fan of the comic-book series The Boys, Kripke began to follow every other work written by Garth Ennis during his college years. However he didn't intend to write the series exactly as the comics, feeling that it would disastrous, leading him to make some changes to the series. The writers agreed that they needed to adjust the characters to fit the story, so long as they were complex and recognizable. In order to balance the show's satire and superhero tropes, Kripke explained: "We let any comedy or absurdity emerge out of the natural contradictions of putting a fantasy element in the real world. And so when those people have to take shits and go get tacos, it just gets funny."[20]

As the comic-book series portrays many of the key events from the storyline in a very graphic way, Kripke realized that many of them would be hard to adapt due to the MeToo movement. However he understood that it was important to adapt some of them as like what on the comics did, the series would be pushing the boundaries, for which he dedided to adapt controversial scenes that would be relevant for the show while the others that weren't would not be adapted.[1] Kripke considered that for the series it would be important to create a similar world that would the society that lives during these days, for which he decided to adapt the superheroes by combining the worst of the celebrities and politicians something that he considered to be a crazy idea that would show "how f—ed we would all, as regular people, be" with such a combination.[27] As the season deals with corruption and the abuse of power that several superheroes commit as the story progresses, the writers were given the freedom to adapt the series faithfully to the comics as they considered that it was the only way to properly adapt the story the were trying to tell. Ennis admitted that he knew that the series would take a different direction from the comics as Kripke had different intentions over how to adapt the storyline, though he considers that the latter was the right guy to take the comic's complex themes to the small screen.[28] The season also develops the relationship between Hughie and Annie and it's progress as the series progresses. Kripke considered to adapt this right as he sees the romantic relationship of the characters to be the emtional core to ensure that the viewers begin to care and worry about the characters and to show how much heart the series was given.[29]

The season does not fully follow the storyline from the comics despite its faithfulness to the comic book series, as Kripke maintained the writers disciplined with the intention of retaining the show with a sense of reality by saying: "Anything that comes out of this drug is viable, and anything that doesn't we're not allowed to do".[30][31] In order to keep the realism that he wanted to caputre for the series, Kripke decided to replace some of the characters of the comics that he considered to fantastical to be adapted with new characters exclusively created for the series, though keeping their personalities and powers from the comics.[32][33] However, these changes weren't only made to keep the realism of the series as Kripke revealed that the changes were also to adapt series in the modern times. This change was done as Kripke considered that the original material from the comics would not be possible to adapt it to the series, due to the comics taking place in the 2000s with the first comic of The Boys being launched on 2006 stating: "There’s been more than one situation where we’ve come up with a scene or storyline in the writer’s room and then something happened in reality that was crazier than the story we were pitching. So, we’ve had to erase stories ’cause reality outdid us in how insane things are."[34]

On December 18, 2017, it was announced that Erin Moriarty has been cast in the lead role of Annie January/Starlight.[6] On January 17, 2018, it was reported that Antony Starr, Dominique McElligott, Chace Crawford, Jessie Usher, and Nathan Mitchell had joined the main cast as the Seven.[5] In March 2018, Laz Alonso, Jack Quaid, and Karen Fukuhara joined the cast in series regular roles, as the members of the Boys.[7][4][9] On April 5, 2018, it was confirmed that Karl Urban had been cast in the series' lead role of Billy Butcher.[3] On May 16, 2018, it was announced that Elisabeth Shue had been cast in the series regular role of Madelyn Stillwell.[10] On June 25, 2018, Tomer Kapon confirmed that he joined the main cast in the role of Frenchie.[8] On August 30, 2018, Jennifer Esposito revealed that she was selected for the recurring role of CIA Agent Susan Raynor.[14]

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.[11][12] 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.[35] Alex Hassell also made an appearance in the series as a guest actor, appearing as Translucent.[13] Giancarlo Esposito made a guest appearance in the season finale as Vought International CEO, Stan Edgar.[15] Haley Joel Osment also joined the cast in a recurring role, as the retired superhero Mesmer.[16]

During the auditions, Starr and Usher admitted not being optimistic on getting their roles initially. Starr believed that he wasn't the man they were seeking and was convinced that he would never get his role. Starr only filmed a self tape to "spite" his representants, but managed to be cast in the role and decided to finally read the script. Usher believed that his own audition wasn't convincing and when he did it for the second time, he still wasn't convinced but eventually admitted being shocked at having managed to get the role. On the other side Moriarty, Urban and Quaid were more optimistic about being cast at their respective roles. Urban considered the character fun and that would be stupid to turn it down, while Moriarty get through several screen tests for an hour and half that impressed Kripke.[36][37]

Despite the series taking place in New York City like in the comics the show was revealed that instead of the city where the story took place, the series would be filmed in Toronto, Canada.[38] Kripke revealed that the show was intended to begin its filming on the spring of 2018 to release the show at the following year. The filming for the first season officially began on May 22, 2018 in Toronto, with the production for the season expected to end on September 25, 2018.[22][25][39][40] While the prIncipal photography for the series took place in Toronto, it was also confirmed that the show would be partially filmed at the cities of Mississauga and Hamilton in a few locations which include the Central Parkway Mall, the Streetsville Gas Station, Tim Hortons Field stadium, and the Fallsview Residence.[41]

The crew filmed at several touristic locations from the city of Canada such as the Roy Thomson Hall, the Yonge–Dundas Square, Lower Bay Station, and the Sherbourne Common. In order to make it look like New York City and create the fictional places of the series such as the Seven Tower intending to capture the series universe, several of these locations were digitally altered through CGI including the interiors of several buildings, with several rooms being digitally altered and extended.[40][42] One of the series cinematographers Dan Stoloff revealed that as the series was set to portray the dark side of the characters such as greed, jealousy and pride, it was important to create a dark atmosphere and the colors that reflect the universe that was created. During the filming, Stoloff revealed that Kripke gave the crew a sense of ownership in order to freely develop the series ideas during the production, allowing the VFX crew to test and figure out how the production would be given in order to combine the visual effects and lighting prior to the shooting.[43] Filming for the first season wrapped on October 11, 2018.[44]

The visual effects were provided by DNEG TV, Framestore, Folks VFX, Mavericks VFX, Method Studios, Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies VFX, Mr. X, Pixomondo, Rocket Science VFX, Rodeo FX, and Soho VFX, creating over 1400 visual effects shots for the season which for the crew took over five months to complete.[45] The creation for the visual effects for the season were overseen by visual effects supervisor Stephan Fleet.[46] While working in the production to adapt the blood and gore from the comics to the series, Fleet revealed that the crew decided to reduce a little amount of blood from the comics, as they wanted to the realism of those scenes for the series, following discussions of how to interpret the comics in a different medium. The crew mostly used practical fake blood for the series most violent moments, though they also used CGI for the creation of the some of them due to their complexity of shooting by using the practical ones as a reference.[47][48]

Having already worked in several superhero movies, one of the series visual effects company Framestore was hired to develop several of the fight sequences for the series with several fight sequences with VFX supervisor Pedro Sabrosa stating "While they are about superheroes, Ennis and Robertson’s graphic novels are much more grounded in reality than the high-concept superheroes we’re used to seeing adapted for the big screen. With that in mind, we wanted our effects to reflect that by being more believable and having a certain level of realism to them. The big challenge in this sequence was adding CG elements to live action footage shot at a high frame rate because you don’t have anywhere to hide; our work needed to be flawless."[49] Framestore was in charge of creating the pilot's opening scene was indeed the last scene to be filmed and edited, with one of the visual effects supervisors stating that "We came into the process relatively late on and found out they wanted to do the opening sequence, which was… um, you know, no pressure there! Interestingly, they shot that late: I think it was last in the shooting schedule. So yeah, we jumped on board very late in the day and had to turn it around quite quickly."[50]

Christopher Lennertz was confirmed to be the composer of the show's soundtrack, having previously worked with the showrunner Kripke for other two shows which are Supernatural and Revolution.[51] Lennertz was hired by Kripke while the former was working for the soundtrack of the adult animated film Sausage Party, where he learned that Rogen and Goldberg where working for a show about corrupt superheroes.[52] Kripke wanted the soundtrack to be "dirt and grime of a messy garage band with the energy of British punk" in order to make a sloppy sound that would make fun of the superhero cliches. Lennertz revealed that the soundtrack combines traditional orchestra and electronics sounds in order to shatter of the comic book heroes.[53] The original soundtrack album for the first season which consists of 50 songs was released digitally through Madison Gate Records on July 26, 2019, alongside the season's release.[54][55]

The first season was released on Blu-ray as part of a six-disc box set of the first two seasons by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on May 31, 2022. Special features included deleted scenes and a blooper reel.[67]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the first season holds an approval rating of 85% based on 104 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. 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."[68] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on reviews from 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[69]

Christopher Lawrence of the Las Vegas Review-Journal wrote: "Irreverent, deliciously cynical, The Boys follows the greed and corruption behind the superhero industrial complex."[70] 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."[71] Daniel Fienberg from 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."[72] 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."[73] 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."[74]

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."[75] 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."[76] Andrew Wyatt from Cinema St. Louis praised the series for its humor and themes by 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."[77] Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting praised the series for its entertaining story, scoring 4.5 of a 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."[78] 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."[79]

Ben Travers from IndieWire gave the show a "B". He commented that "Given the top-notch special effects and sharp writing at the core of “The Boys,” there are still loads of potential within this well-realized universe. Let's just hope this ending really did save the cat."[80] Mike Hale from The New York Times praised the series for its departure from the traditional superhero shows including the ones produced by Netflix stating: "The Boys, meanwhile, is offering the kind of smart, easygoing pleasure that most of the Marvel Netflix shows, its closest analogues, didn't quite reach."[81] Daniel D'Addario from Variety recognized the first episode for the potential, though criticized its tone by writing: "All viewers at Tribeca had to go on was a first episode, and “The Boys” could become any number of things as it rolls on. But the tone it struck in its first outing was a dully familiar one — the sense that to transgress, alone, is enough. If this show is to actually satirize the wide-open target of superhero entertainments, it'll need to find a second gear, and quickly."[82] Vinnie Mancuso from Collider appreciated the show social commentary themes and scoring the entire season 5 out of 5 stars: "Like Alan Moore's Watchmen in the late-80s, The Boys TV series has the chance to be the superhero deconstruction of our time. Less a peek behind the curtain, and more a seedy glimpse behind the social media likes and box office numbers, a story that manages to be heartbreakingly relevant while still finding time to have Karl Urban kill a room full of goons with a super-powered baby."[83]

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.[84][85]

Wade Barnett, David Barbee, Mason Kopeikin, Brian Dunlop, Ryan Briley, Chris Newlin, Christopher Brooks, Joseph T. Sabella and Jesi Ruppel was nominated for their work on "The Name of the Game" for the Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One-Hour) award at the 2020 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[86]