The highly anticipated The Boys spinoff, Gen V, is set to drop in a few days, and judging by the first batch of reviews, the college-based series will definitely tide fans over until The Boys Season 4 arrives. (Whenever that is.)
Set at Godolkin University, Gen V follows a burgeoning crop of young Supes who are dreaming of joining The Seven, the seemingly elite and righteous superhero team led by Homelander. However, as fans of The Boys know, The Seven are anything but righteous thanks to the machinations of Vought Industries. But if there’s anyone who can sniff out corporate bullsh*t, it’s college students.
The cast of Gen V will be put through the wringer as they learn the truth about The Seven and navigate their new powers through a sea of dong jokes and horror that only the world of The Boys can deliver.
You can see what the critics are saying below:
Kimberly Ricci, Uproxx:
Ultimately, Gen V will please The Boys fans as much as any spinoff possibly could without the physical presence of Homelander. And I understand why they’ve kept him away. His revolting charisma would distract the audience from getting to know a whole new roster of screwed-up Supes. Like the original, this spinoff is subversive and giddy and full of characters worth caring about as they cope with a deluge of bodily fluids that confirms that, yes, this is very much The Boys territory.
David Opie, Empire:
Bizarre sex scenes, a cascade of prosthetic cocks, and the kind of extreme violence Tarantino could only dream of all come into play — this is The Boys still, after all — but just like in the main show, these R-rated moments are grounded with real concerns that try to say something beyond mere shock value.
Alison Herman, Variety:
Is “The Boys” a satire of superhero franchises or a superhero franchise itself? Such is the question posed by a show that is, among other things, a cautionary tale about corporate monopoly that airs on Amazon. So far, though, the answer is both — a delicate balance “The Boys” has sustained through three acclaimed seasons, an animated anthology series and, now, a live-action spinoff, the college-set “Gen V.” The contradictions of success may eventually take their toll on the pitch-black comedy and its satellites, which portray so-called superheroes as pawns of the rapacious Vought International. But “Gen V” retains the edge, cynicism and (aptly) adolescent humor that make its parent show tick.
Joshua Rivera, Polygon:
Gen V hews closely to The Boys’ methodology of gleeful provocation in the service of existential angst, giddily pushing the boundaries of good taste in order to inventively present, say, a giant penis, or perhaps a new sexual organ invented for a throwaway gag, only to show how its characters press forward to find meaning in this horrible mess. If The Boys is about the corporate overlords of the media ecosystem, then Gen V is about its lifeblood: the young consumers and fans who aspire to have a part in that system, to carve out their own niche in the attention economy, to be a star on their own terms.
Ben Travers, IndieWire:
With Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters as showrunners (plus Kripke producing the series and co-writing the pilot), it all works well enough to satisfy franchise fans, though one has to wonder if that’s enough. “The Boys” clicked (in part) because it felt like an antidote to superhero fatigue; an outlet for everyone who’s grown frustrated with the same ol’ bloodless stories of angelic men in spandex crashing through buildings with zero consequences. “Gen V” may scratch the same irritated itch, but with “The Boys” Season 4 right around the corner, all that scratching will eventually draw blood.
Nick Schager, The Daily Beast:
Gen V skillfully juggles numerous plot threads without ever losing sight of its protagonists and their problems, most of which will be relatable to anyone who’s had to deal with body shaming moms, overbearing dads or guys eager to seize every opportunity to be date-rapey—the last of which is particularly worrisome when the creeps in question are MAGA-esque telepaths. For all its outlandishness, the show’s supe-populated reality never prioritizes insane spectacle over humanity. As a result, it routinely grounds what winds up being a wide-ranging quest by Marie and company to expose God U for its crimes, rescue victims of horrific abuse, maintain friendships, define identities, and achieve long-sought dreams.
Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter:
With the new spinoff Gen V, The Boys is at least briefly able to take a much-needed reset, bringing in a largely new group of characters, adjusting the satirical targets, and although the new series is still deeply invested in transposing our internal goo to the outside, it does some new things with its corporeal spatter. There’s no single performance as likely to earn accolades as Antony Starr’s ultra-intense take on Homelander, but the cast of relative newcomers is generally sturdy. If the series becomes frustratingly rushed as it progresses, within that rush and those choppy narrative choices, I kept finding enough moments of giddy inspiration to be entertained and sometimes more than that.
Nate Richard, Collider:
While Gen V is able to retain The Boys’ knack for graphic violence and exposing corporate corruptness, it is also able to stand on its own two feet. For better and for worse, Gen V diverges from the more satirical elements of the flagship series and decides to tackle issues that many young adults in our everyday world face, including gender, sexuality, drugs, and eating disorders. At times, the series recaptures the snark of its predecessor. At others, the show resembles something closer to a CW series with a much higher budget.
Gen V premieres September 29 on Amazon Prime Video.