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You probably already know that The Boys — which ended after its long-awaited fifth and final season dropped in May — is a fantastic satirical superhero drama starring Jack Quaid, Antony Starr and Karl Urban.
If you don’t, it’s not too late for you to dive into The Boys to see what all the fuss was about after all these years.
Watch With Us breaks down why you have to watch it right now — and why a show about ultra-violent superheroes is the perfect piece of media to reflect the crazy state of the world in 2026.
‘The Boys’ Offers a Subversive Take on Superhero Tropes
The Boys centers around the eponymous vigilante group, who have a vested interest in taking down and dismantling the government-backed superheroes known as “Supes.” While touted as benevolent do-gooders, in reality, many Supes, such as Homelander (Antony Starr), are narcissistic sociopaths who abuse their powers and their status for personal gain. The most powerful group of heroes in The Boys universe is the Seven, who work for a corrupt and powerful organization called Vought International, which is the Boys’ chief adversary.
The Boys does something so simple, which is flipping the script on the preconceived notion of superheroes, making them the primary antagonists instead of the good guys. But unlike something deeply superficial like 2019’s Brightburn, The Boys takes this subversion of tropes and expectations and crafts intelligent, nuanced storytelling that embraces a cynical perspective which other mainstream series are often unwilling to tap into. While other superhero fare dabbles in showing “tormented” heroes with inner lives, The Boys is actually realistic: heroes aren’t embodiments of good, and they would probably be exploited by capitalism.
It’s a Darkly Humorous and Gritty Alternative to Mainstream Fare
If you’re tired of the sanitized superhero stories of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC, look no further than The Boys, which deftly blends dark comedy that’s actually funny alongside shocking, gory violence — the kind of carnage and collateral damage that superheroes would actually cause in the real world. The Boys doesn’t pull its punches, but that doesn’t just mean that it goes all out in terms of explicit content and R-rated humor only. The Boys still manages to be surprisingly mature, tackling tough themes like sexual violence, trauma and the negative power of celebrity culture.
Yet despite the dark subject matter (and dark violence) that the show consistently peddles in, it still manages to weave in an irreverent sense of humor that never feels stale or like it’s overstepping a boundary. It’s likely no surprise, then, that comedy giants Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg executive produce the show—they previously helped adapt The Boys author Garth Ennis’ other graphic novel series, Preacher. With such strong, edgy comedy creatives behind the show, The Boys unsurprisingly does a fantastic job of maintaining its comedic touch while depicting shocking violence that is, crucially, never just for the sake of violence.
It Features Sharp, Timely Social Commentary
The Boys ultimately succeeds in an area where a lot of other superhero content fails — or doesn’t even make an attempt at. The Boys doesn’t just satirize mainstream superhero stories and notions of what it means to be a hero, but also imbues intelligent and relevant social critique that reflects real-world problems. For one, the show tackles a number of political tensions that currently face the world we live in, such as rising authoritarianism, right-wing conspiracy theories, fanaticism and the exploitation of extremist ideologies for corporate and political gain — most notably through the arcs of characters like Homelander and Firecracker (Valorie Curry).
Through the highly amoral character of Homelander, The Boys also explores the way absolute power corrupts individuals, and how it becomes difficult to hold unchecked authority accountable; something that the most recent season really digs into with the appointment of Homelander as more or less the supreme leader of the United States. The series also takes a look at corporate greed and how figures in politics are frequently created through PR, with messaging tailored to appeal to specific audiences in a way that merges celebrity, media and politics.
Stream The Boys now on Prime Video.
