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There should be an expectation that we’re in for an entertaining high drama World Series. After all, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers are two well-matched underdogs who got here off their grit, some bulletin board material, and some well-channeled anger following a benches clearing brawl in Houston. And yet, despite those ingredients, there are some that are down on the matchup.

You’ve likely seen and heard the complaints. “This year’s World Series lacks star power!,” a strange critique considering it includes the likely AL MVP runner-up in Corey Seager, a likely top-3 NL Cy Young finisher in Zac Gallen, guaranteed NL Rookie Of The Year Corbin Carroll, and two stars in Adolis Garcia and Ketel Marte who are having historic postseasons. What I’m saying is, there are plenty of reasons to look forward to this specific World Series matchup, which is why we wanted to reach out to the Intentional Talk crew for a World Series preview.

While Kevin Millar is the stalwart “Baseball Ambassador Of Fun,” he’s been joined this season by Ryan Dempster and Sierra Santos for a show that’s long been a go to for player interviews that showcase more than a little personality. And for the World Series, they’re each bringing a unique connection to the teams involved. For Dempster, a champion with the 2013 Red Sox, that connection comes from his experience playing for the Rangers near the end of his career. Santos is from Arizona and was at Game 7 in 2001 when Luis Gonzalez blooped the Diamondbacks to their first title. Millar? He’s got his own ring from his time with the 2004 Red Sox and once regaled us with tales about the legendary 2-foot long Boomstick hamburger that the Rangers serve at their stadium. In other words, this is the crew.

Before they come to you live at 5 p.m. every day from the site of the World Series as a part of MLB Network’s wall-to-wall coverage (and before they debut the pretty serious Barbie and Ken Halloween costumes that they teased), we’re talking with them about the players that can carry each team, whether there are weaknesses on these rosters, the value of underdog stories, and why we should all stop stressing and enjoy the series.

The underdog nobody ever believes in us mentality, both these teams have a degree of this. Can that take you all the way to a title?

Kevin Millar: I think that’s the whole thing, right? I think (Rangers manager Bruce) Bochy and these guys grinded this thing out the last month of the season. Their bullpen was not very good. They were almost going to fall out in the playoffs. You saw the Seattle Mariners making a run. You saw the Astros. It was one of those stressful things, but they fought their way into the dance, and now you just go on ahead and get yourself a nice looking girl for the dance and do your thing. It’s really awesome to see.

This game’s not played on paper. That’s what’s great about baseball. It goes the same with (Diamondback’s manager) Torey Lovullo, right? They fought their way in and beat a great Dodgers team. The Phillies beat a great Braves team, just not the favorites going into that. But the bottom line is, it’s just believing in your clubhouse.

Ketel Marte and Adolis Garcia really carried their respective teams (in the previous round), can these guys keep this up?

Millar: Marte, obviously 16 straight postseason games with a hit. There’s no doubt in my mind that he is a player who can keep this up. Garcia, you don’t want to boo him. If I’m Arizona, I’m standing up, and giving him an ovation, because he feeds off that.

Ryan Dempster: It takes a team. We keep talking about that. This is a team. What Torey Lovullo said, for the Diamondbacks, “A connected team is really hard to beat.” You know? It’s not their turn. It doesn’t have to be their (Marte and Garcia) turn, is what I’m saying. Can they do it? For sure, but now it’s somebody else. Now it’s somebody else who is out there and they carry the team. That’s what a championship team does. Very few times is it the same NLCS MVP, or ALCS MVP, and then the World Series MVP. Somebody else’s turn. You got us here. I got us from here now.

What is each teams biggest weak spot going into this?

Dempster: They don’t got one.

Aw, come on. They’ve got to have something.

Dempster: That’s why they’re there. They don’t have weak spots. That’s why they’re the last two teams playing.

Siera Santos: I think anyone probably would’ve said, for the Diamondbacks, it was their starting pitching. And I think we can all put that to bed now. I mean, look at what Brandon Pfaadt has done through this postseason. It’s been nothing short of shocking. You’re looking at a rookie pitcher who has stepped up to the challenge, and he’s done everything the Diamondbacks could’ve asked him to do. I think what Demp said is 100 percent true. There are not a whole lot of weaknesses in this. I think one of the other focal points, before we started this postseason as well, was the Rangers bullpen. We buried that very quickly as well. The biggest question mark would’ve been Dbacks starting pitching, and the Rangers bullpen. We’ve all been proven wrong.

Respectfully, there have to be questions with some things, like Scherzer. Is Scherzer going to be able to be relied upon? I mean, I know he’s done it, posted up time and time again, but he hasn’t looked exactly crisp, which, he’s been off for a month, so obviously he wouldn’t be. But he was not been incredibly crisp in the ALCS. Chapman’s a question mark.

Millar: I don’t think they’re question marks, because I think Chapman’s stuff plays. Yes, he has command issues, but when you’re watching a 102 mile an hour fastball, the stuff’s there. Scherzer, obviously not as tight as, probably, he’d want to be, because he hasn’t thrown, and the command of his slider, or breaking stuff … But I wouldn’t bet against these guys. I don’t think anybody wants to make a living against these guys. Right now, at this time of year, I think Bochy trusts all of his guys, and obviously, he has a pecking order, but I like those two guys on a stage like this. Two veteran guys, and that adrenaline starts going. As long as Scherzer’s arm feels good, we should see the numbers. I wouldn’t bet against them.

Speaking of betting against a team, your colleague, Chris Russo. Would you guys ever put your jobs on the line, and say you’re going to retire if a team won? Would you ever go that far out on a limb?

Millar: I got $1,500 bucks in my checking account, so I couldn’t afford to even make that bet.

(Laughs) What do you guys say to people who are down on this series because they’re not the highest profile teams? It’s not the Dodgers, not the Braves, not the Mets, or the Yankees. What do you say to people that say this isn’t an exciting series because of that?

Millar: Those are just fans talking.

Santos: Here’s the thing: If you are a small market team, if your team has just racked up 100 losses this season, this should be inspiration to stand behind your team and back them all the way. You’re looking at a couple of teams where no one even gave them a single shot a couple years ago, and look at where they are now. This is baseball. Anything can happen, and that’s what’s so beautiful about this game.

Dempster: You don’t know what you’re going to see. You can’t predict it. You can’t write it down on a piece of paper, and then hand it over and say, “All right. That’s it. We’re good.” We don’t know. Something special is going to happen. Somebody’s going to have a moment. Why would you want to miss that? The Phillies aren’t in it, or the Astros aren’t in it, and the Yankees aren’t in it, and the Dodgers… Who cares? This is greatest game in the world, the biggest stage. Tune in. Otherwise, you’re just going to miss something really great, and that’s the truth.

There should be an expectation that we’re in for an entertaining high drama World Series. After all, the Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers are two well-matched underdogs who got here off their grit, some bulletin board material, and some well-channeled anger following a benches clearing brawl in Houston. And yet, despite those ingredients, there are some that are down on the matchup.

You’ve likely seen and heard the complaints. “This year’s World Series lacks star power!,” a strange critique considering it includes the likely AL MVP runner-up in Corey Seager, a likely top-3 NL Cy Young finisher in Zac Gallen, guaranteed NL Rookie Of The Year Corbin Carroll, and two stars in Adolis Garcia and Ketel Marte who are having historic postseasons. What I’m saying is, there are plenty of reasons to look forward to this specific World Series matchup, which is why we wanted to reach out to the Intentional Talk crew for a World Series preview.

While Kevin Millar is the stalwart “Baseball Ambassador Of Fun,” he’s been joined this season by Ryan Dempster and Sierra Santos for a show that’s long been a go to for player interviews that showcase more than a little personality. And for the World Series, they’re each bringing a unique connection to the teams involved. For Dempster, a champion with the 2013 Red Sox, that connection comes from his experience playing for the Rangers near the end of his career. Santos is from Arizona and was at Game 7 in 2001 when Luis Gonzalez blooped the Diamondbacks to their first title. Millar? He’s got his own ring from his time with the 2004 Red Sox and once regaled us with tales about the legendary 2-foot long Boomstick hamburger that the Rangers serve at their stadium. In other words, this is the crew.

Before they come to you live at 5 p.m. every day from the site of the World Series as a part of MLB Network’s wall-to-wall coverage (and before they debut the pretty serious Barbie and Ken Halloween costumes that they teased), we’re talking with them about the players that can carry each team, whether there are weaknesses on these rosters, the value of underdog stories, and why we should all stop stressing and enjoy the series.

The underdog nobody ever believes in us mentality, both these teams have a degree of this. Can that take you all the way to a title?

Kevin Millar: I think that’s the whole thing, right? I think (Rangers manager Bruce) Bochy and these guys grinded this thing out the last month of the season. Their bullpen was not very good. They were almost going to fall out in the playoffs. You saw the Seattle Mariners making a run. You saw the Astros. It was one of those stressful things, but they fought their way into the dance, and now you just go on ahead and get yourself a nice looking girl for the dance and do your thing. It’s really awesome to see.

This game’s not played on paper. That’s what’s great about baseball. It goes the same with (Diamondback’s manager) Torey Lovullo, right? They fought their way in and beat a great Dodgers team. The Phillies beat a great Braves team, just not the favorites going into that. But the bottom line is, it’s just believing in your clubhouse.

Ketel Marte and Adolis Garcia really carried their respective teams (in the previous round), can these guys keep this up?

Millar: Marte, obviously 16 straight postseason games with a hit. There’s no doubt in my mind that he is a player who can keep this up. Garcia, you don’t want to boo him. If I’m Arizona, I’m standing up, and giving him an ovation, because he feeds off that.

Ryan Dempster: It takes a team. We keep talking about that. This is a team. What Torey Lovullo said, for the Diamondbacks, “A connected team is really hard to beat.” You know? It’s not their turn. It doesn’t have to be their (Marte and Garcia) turn, is what I’m saying. Can they do it? For sure, but now it’s somebody else. Now it’s somebody else who is out there and they carry the team. That’s what a championship team does. Very few times is it the same NLCS MVP, or ALCS MVP, and then the World Series MVP. Somebody else’s turn. You got us here. I got us from here now.

What is each teams biggest weak spot going into this?

Dempster: They don’t got one.

Aw, come on. They’ve got to have something.

Dempster: That’s why they’re there. They don’t have weak spots. That’s why they’re the last two teams playing.

Siera Santos: I think anyone probably would’ve said, for the Diamondbacks, it was their starting pitching. And I think we can all put that to bed now. I mean, look at what Brandon Pfaadt has done through this postseason. It’s been nothing short of shocking. You’re looking at a rookie pitcher who has stepped up to the challenge, and he’s done everything the Diamondbacks could’ve asked him to do. I think what Demp said is 100 percent true. There are not a whole lot of weaknesses in this. I think one of the other focal points, before we started this postseason as well, was the Rangers bullpen. We buried that very quickly as well. The biggest question mark would’ve been Dbacks starting pitching, and the Rangers bullpen. We’ve all been proven wrong.

Respectfully, there have to be questions with some things, like Scherzer. Is Scherzer going to be able to be relied upon? I mean, I know he’s done it, posted up time and time again, but he hasn’t looked exactly crisp, which, he’s been off for a month, so obviously he wouldn’t be. But he was not been incredibly crisp in the ALCS. Chapman’s a question mark.

Millar: I don’t think they’re question marks, because I think Chapman’s stuff plays. Yes, he has command issues, but when you’re watching a 102 mile an hour fastball, the stuff’s there. Scherzer, obviously not as tight as, probably, he’d want to be, because he hasn’t thrown, and the command of his slider, or breaking stuff … But I wouldn’t bet against these guys. I don’t think anybody wants to make a living against these guys. Right now, at this time of year, I think Bochy trusts all of his guys, and obviously, he has a pecking order, but I like those two guys on a stage like this. Two veteran guys, and that adrenaline starts going. As long as Scherzer’s arm feels good, we should see the numbers. I wouldn’t bet against them.

Speaking of betting against a team, your colleague, Chris Russo. Would you guys ever put your jobs on the line, and say you’re going to retire if a team won? Would you ever go that far out on a limb?

Millar: I got $1,500 bucks in my checking account, so I couldn’t afford to even make that bet.

(Laughs) What do you guys say to people who are down on this series because they’re not the highest profile teams? It’s not the Dodgers, not the Braves, not the Mets, or the Yankees. What do you say to people that say this isn’t an exciting series because of that?

Millar: Those are just fans talking.

Santos: Here’s the thing: If you are a small market team, if your team has just racked up 100 losses this season, this should be inspiration to stand behind your team and back them all the way. You’re looking at a couple of teams where no one even gave them a single shot a couple years ago, and look at where they are now. This is baseball. Anything can happen, and that’s what’s so beautiful about this game.

Dempster: You don’t know what you’re going to see. You can’t predict it. You can’t write it down on a piece of paper, and then hand it over and say, “All right. That’s it. We’re good.” We don’t know. Something special is going to happen. Somebody’s going to have a moment. Why would you want to miss that? The Phillies aren’t in it, or the Astros aren’t in it, and the Yankees aren’t in it, and the Dodgers… Who cares? This is greatest game in the world, the biggest stage. Tune in. Otherwise, you’re just going to miss something really great, and that’s the truth.

Taylor Swift’s budding relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is at the center of the pop culture zeitgeist. Kelce, a two-time Super Bowl champion, has been famous for a decade, but the Swiftian microscope hits different. Just ask Harry Styles, whose past romance with Swift is back under that microscope with the arrival of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) today (October 27). Or ask Swift herself, whom people have cruelly criticized for simply dating since 2008.

Swift unpacked “‘Slut!’ (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” for Tumblr, explaining why it narrowly missed the cut for 1989 in 2014.

“‘Slut!’ is a song we wrote for 1989, and in it, I kind of sort of cheekily play on the discussions at that time in my life around my dating life,” she said in a 48-second audio clip. “And that’s not the only time on 1989 that I’ve done that. I did that on ‘Blank Space.’ I think that when I came down to having to pick songs for the album, I think I thought, ‘OK, well, I’m gonna choose ‘Blank Space,” and unfortunately had to make some tough decisions in terms of what to put on the tracklist.”

Swift continued, “But I love this song because I think it’s really dreamy and really — I don’t know. Like, I always saw 1989 as a New York album, but this song, to me, was always California. And maybe that was another reason it didn’t make the cut because, sometimes, thematically, I just have these weird little rules in my head. But I’m so happy it’s finally gonna be something that you guys hear because I have always been proud of it. I have always wanted it to come out into the world. And now it is! So, yay!”

Listen to “”Slut!”” above.

Taylor Swift’s budding relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is at the center of the pop culture zeitgeist. Kelce, a two-time Super Bowl champion, has been famous for a decade, but the Swiftian microscope hits different. Just ask Harry Styles, whose past romance with Swift is back under that microscope with the arrival of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) today (October 27). Or ask Swift herself, whom people have cruelly criticized for simply dating since 2008.

Swift unpacked “‘Slut!’ (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” for Tumblr, explaining why it narrowly missed the cut for 1989 in 2014.

“‘Slut!’ is a song we wrote for 1989, and in it, I kind of sort of cheekily play on the discussions at that time in my life around my dating life,” she said in a 48-second audio clip. “And that’s not the only time on 1989 that I’ve done that. I did that on ‘Blank Space.’ I think that when I came down to having to pick songs for the album, I think I thought, ‘OK, well, I’m gonna choose ‘Blank Space,” and unfortunately had to make some tough decisions in terms of what to put on the tracklist.”

Swift continued, “But I love this song because I think it’s really dreamy and really — I don’t know. Like, I always saw 1989 as a New York album, but this song, to me, was always California. And maybe that was another reason it didn’t make the cut because, sometimes, thematically, I just have these weird little rules in my head. But I’m so happy it’s finally gonna be something that you guys hear because I have always been proud of it. I have always wanted it to come out into the world. And now it is! So, yay!”

Listen to “”Slut!”” above.

When Disney+ recently dropped a price increase on subscribers in August, the House of Mouse notably didn’t up the cost of its ad-supported tier. That plan stayed at $7.99/month and Disney CEO Bob Iger didn’t hide the reason why.

“We’re actually keeping the advertiser-supported product flat in terms of prices,” Iger told investors during Disney’s latest earnings call via The Verge. “We’re obviously trying with our pricing strategy to migrate more subs to the advertiser-supported tier.”

In layman’s term, Disney+ was banking on more users going for the less-costly ad-supported plan, and it appears to be working. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s new President of Global Advertising Rita Ferro said that over half of the streaming platform’s users are on the ad plan and actively using it:

Ferro says that more than 50 percent of new subscribers to Disney+ are choosing the ad tier (that is up from 40 percent earlier this year), and that engagement on the ad version of the streaming service has increased by 35 percent since March.

“Engagement is one of the key metrics for advertising, so it’s a really important metric that we track,” Ferro says.

The strategy reflects the changing winds across the streaming business as more and more platforms turn to ad-based plans to boost revenue. Turns out, the advertising model of yore was pretty lucrative, and the streaming companies are finding it to be a better alternative than having users pay higher prices for ad-free plans.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

When Disney+ recently dropped a price increase on subscribers in August, the House of Mouse notably didn’t up the cost of its ad-supported tier. That plan stayed at $7.99/month and Disney CEO Bob Iger didn’t hide the reason why.

“We’re actually keeping the advertiser-supported product flat in terms of prices,” Iger told investors during Disney’s latest earnings call via The Verge. “We’re obviously trying with our pricing strategy to migrate more subs to the advertiser-supported tier.”

In layman’s term, Disney+ was banking on more users going for the less-costly ad-supported plan, and it appears to be working. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s new President of Global Advertising Rita Ferro said that over half of the streaming platform’s users are on the ad plan and actively using it:

Ferro says that more than 50 percent of new subscribers to Disney+ are choosing the ad tier (that is up from 40 percent earlier this year), and that engagement on the ad version of the streaming service has increased by 35 percent since March.

“Engagement is one of the key metrics for advertising, so it’s a really important metric that we track,” Ferro says.

The strategy reflects the changing winds across the streaming business as more and more platforms turn to ad-based plans to boost revenue. Turns out, the advertising model of yore was pretty lucrative, and the streaming companies are finding it to be a better alternative than having users pay higher prices for ad-free plans.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)

In the span of three years, Taylor Swift has managed to record four of her past albums including 2008’s Fearless, 2012’s Red 2010’s Speak Now, and lastly, 1989, which was initially released in 2014. But, why is Swift re-recording her albums in the first place? Well, she’s on a mission to own all of her music through each recording’s masters. Although she hasn’t said it explicitly, many artists work toward this goal to ensure they retain full legal rights to their catalog to maintain full creative and financial leverage over the works.

So, what has Swift said publicly about her fight to secure her master by way of re-recording her albums? After completing her second re-recording, Red (Taylor’s Version), she shared more insight during her appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

“I know everyone has busy lives. So, I feel the need to explain what I’m doing because it’s not normal. Basically, I’ve always wanted to own my music since I started making my music… There was something that happened years ago where I made it clear that I wanted to be able to buy [back the ownership rights over] my music,” said Swift.

She continued, “That opportunity was not given to me, and it was [instead] sold to someone else. So, I figured because I was the one who made this music first, I could just make it again. So, that’s what [I’m] doing. So when something in parentheses says, ‘(Taylor’s version),’ next to it, that means I own it, which is exciting.”

Swift’s discography was purchased by her former label head, Scooter Braun.

In the span of three years, Taylor Swift has managed to record four of her past albums including 2008’s Fearless, 2012’s Red 2010’s Speak Now, and lastly, 1989, which was initially released in 2014. But, why is Swift re-recording her albums in the first place? Well, she’s on a mission to own all of her music through each recording’s masters. Although she hasn’t said it explicitly, many artists work toward this goal to ensure they retain full legal rights to their catalog to maintain full creative and financial leverage over the works.

So, what has Swift said publicly about her fight to secure her master by way of re-recording her albums? After completing her second re-recording, Red (Taylor’s Version), she shared more insight during her appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers.

“I know everyone has busy lives. So, I feel the need to explain what I’m doing because it’s not normal. Basically, I’ve always wanted to own my music since I started making my music… There was something that happened years ago where I made it clear that I wanted to be able to buy [back the ownership rights over] my music,” said Swift.

She continued, “That opportunity was not given to me, and it was [instead] sold to someone else. So, I figured because I was the one who made this music first, I could just make it again. So, that’s what [I’m] doing. So when something in parentheses says, ‘(Taylor’s version),’ next to it, that means I own it, which is exciting.”

Swift’s discography was purchased by her former label head, Scooter Braun.

Warning: Spoilers for Gen V episode seven below.

In Gen V’s Season 1 penultimate episode, “Sick,” the Suped-up students of Godolkin University are most definitely not alright.

A plan to expose Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn) has a bloody, unexpected end that could tie into the upcoming season of Eric Kripke’s The Boys in interesting ways, but the possibility of Homeland standing trial and a supe-killing plague being weaponized by opportunistic politicians must wait because Cate Dunlap is about to wage war on campus and no human is safe.

We spoke with showrunner Michele Fazekas about Shetty’s brutal death at the hands of her former protégé, how Cate’s choice has caused a rift in the supe crew, and how what Victoria Neuman’s scheming could mean for season four of The Boys.

Cate made a choice there’s really no going back from when she killed Shetty at the end of the episode. What’s her state of mind at the moment?

Well, I think they broke her. They put her in a position and just sort of squeezed her and squeezed her. This whole season, she had all these plates spinning, “I want to protect my friends. The way I protect them is to keep them from finding out what happened, but they keep finding out. Okay, now I’m going to erase their memory.” So, the goalposts keep moving. She knows what it did to Luke. [They’ve] put Cate in a position where she’s either going to destroy or be destroyed. I don’t even blame Cate for the choices that she makes.

There seems to be a line being drawn between Cate and Same (and their hatred of humans) and the rest of the supe crew. How is that going to play out in the finale?

I think both Cate and Sam have been manipulated by humans. Sam has been tortured and abused. In the world of The Boys, there’s that sort of Supe supremacy that does pit superheroes against humans, and I think Cate and Sam are very susceptible to that mindset.

What does that mean for Sam’s relationship with Emma?

It’s going to be hard. It’s not the best setting for a great relationship. This is [Sam’s] first relationship. In some ways, superpowers or not, it’s the trials and tribulations of what it’s like to be in your first relationship. What is it like to be in love with someone at first? What is it like when they break your heart? So it’s going to happen at this age, whether you’re a superhero or not.

But with Supes, the fallout is a little bit more catastrophic.

Yeah, people don’t really end up dead or maimed.

What’s it been like to see the fan reaction to Marie and Jordan’s relationship, and what does their future look like at the moment?

I really am so happy because I think there may have been some trepidation about that relationship. Not on the writers’ part, but on other people’s part. Essentially, it’s a queer relationship. And even Marie’s kind of like, ‘What does this mean about me?’ And Emma’s like, ‘Who gives a fuck?’

I’m really glad that people are on board for it and invested in it because I am too, and I like how it makes those characters ask questions about themselves. I think as we’ve developed these characters, it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I understand even more why Marie and Jordan are drawn to each other.’ Even though they started out hating each other, there’s a similar [view of] the world as very black and white. There’s a good thing to do, and there’s a bad thing to do, and you know exactly what that is. They’re really similar in that way. So yeah, I’m happy that people are on board with it.

We see Neuman walk away with Shetty’s virus at the end of the episode. Is she the bridge to bringing this storyline into season four of The Boys?

I cannot answer that question. What I will say is Neuman probably suffers from the hubris that a lot of politicians suffer from, which is, ‘Well, if I have something, it’s fine. If other people have it, it’s terrible. I’m totally capable of handling this.’ I think a lot of politicians are like, ‘I’m the one who can fix everything.’ It’s like, can you really?

What’s her real interest in Marie?

Neuman knows that when there’s someone who she feels can help her, she needs to recruit them to her side. There is a reason she thinks Marie can help her, and it’s not just because they were both orphans at the same Vought-run orphanage.

Of the two, who is the more powerful?

I think Neuman has a better understanding of her powers and what she can do. I think Marie, maybe her only weakness is she doesn’t know the extent of her powers. That’s essentially what Neuman told her. ‘You don’t know what you could do.’ I think there’s even further that Marie could go.

The Boys loves its dick scenes and it seems Gen V does too. Is there a penis requirement for each season of these shows?

[Laughs] There is no penis requirement. One thing I learned coming into this universe is straight dudes love penises. They love penises. They love talking about them. They love seeing them. Eric says they’re the most hilarious thing. I don’t think I really understood that until I came onto the show. That being said, both of those scenes — the scene with Emma where she’s hanging off of a gigantic penis, the scene where Marie explodes a penis — they came out of real stories. Emma was basically coerced into having sex with that dude, which is something that I think a lot of women [can relate to]. And then Marie was basically almost sexually assaulted by Rufus and there’s no sweeter revenge on a would-be rapist than blowing his dick off.

The writer’s room is working on season two at the moment. Are there characters you want to spotlight next season?

It’s an interesting question. I’ll sort of answer it from a different way which is, what I like to do is once you’ve established a show, you look at your characters and ask, ‘Who haven’t I seen in a scene together? Who haven’t we seen interact that much? What happens when we put them in scenes?’ So I’ll give you an example. Jordan and Emma, we’re like, ‘I want to see them hang out more together. There’s something fun about that.’

So that’s kind of what we’re doing. Who do we want to put together and what would happen? We’re not fishing romantically at all. It’s just like, ‘What would their relationship be? Would they be sort of bickering with each other? Would they totally dig each other?’ That’s what we’re playing with.

Amazon’s ‘Gen V’ streams new episodes on Fridays.

Warning: Spoilers for Gen V episode seven below.

In Gen V’s Season 1 penultimate episode, “Sick,” the Suped-up students of Godolkin University are most definitely not alright.

A plan to expose Dean Shetty (Shelley Conn) has a bloody, unexpected end that could tie into the upcoming season of Eric Kripke’s The Boys in interesting ways, but the possibility of Homeland standing trial and a supe-killing plague being weaponized by opportunistic politicians must wait because Cate Dunlap is about to wage war on campus and no human is safe.

We spoke with showrunner Michele Fazekas about Shetty’s brutal death at the hands of her former protégé, how Cate’s choice has caused a rift in the supe crew, and how what Victoria Neuman’s scheming could mean for season four of The Boys.

Cate made a choice there’s really no going back from when she killed Shetty at the end of the episode. What’s her state of mind at the moment?

Well, I think they broke her. They put her in a position and just sort of squeezed her and squeezed her. This whole season, she had all these plates spinning, “I want to protect my friends. The way I protect them is to keep them from finding out what happened, but they keep finding out. Okay, now I’m going to erase their memory.” So, the goalposts keep moving. She knows what it did to Luke. [They’ve] put Cate in a position where she’s either going to destroy or be destroyed. I don’t even blame Cate for the choices that she makes.

There seems to be a line being drawn between Cate and Same (and their hatred of humans) and the rest of the supe crew. How is that going to play out in the finale?

I think both Cate and Sam have been manipulated by humans. Sam has been tortured and abused. In the world of The Boys, there’s that sort of Supe supremacy that does pit superheroes against humans, and I think Cate and Sam are very susceptible to that mindset.

What does that mean for Sam’s relationship with Emma?

It’s going to be hard. It’s not the best setting for a great relationship. This is [Sam’s] first relationship. In some ways, superpowers or not, it’s the trials and tribulations of what it’s like to be in your first relationship. What is it like to be in love with someone at first? What is it like when they break your heart? So it’s going to happen at this age, whether you’re a superhero or not.

But with Supes, the fallout is a little bit more catastrophic.

Yeah, people don’t really end up dead or maimed.

What’s it been like to see the fan reaction to Marie and Jordan’s relationship, and what does their future look like at the moment?

I really am so happy because I think there may have been some trepidation about that relationship. Not on the writers’ part, but on other people’s part. Essentially, it’s a queer relationship. And even Marie’s kind of like, ‘What does this mean about me?’ And Emma’s like, ‘Who gives a fuck?’

I’m really glad that people are on board for it and invested in it because I am too, and I like how it makes those characters ask questions about themselves. I think as we’ve developed these characters, it’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, I understand even more why Marie and Jordan are drawn to each other.’ Even though they started out hating each other, there’s a similar [view of] the world as very black and white. There’s a good thing to do, and there’s a bad thing to do, and you know exactly what that is. They’re really similar in that way. So yeah, I’m happy that people are on board with it.

We see Neuman walk away with Shetty’s virus at the end of the episode. Is she the bridge to bringing this storyline into season four of The Boys?

I cannot answer that question. What I will say is Neuman probably suffers from the hubris that a lot of politicians suffer from, which is, ‘Well, if I have something, it’s fine. If other people have it, it’s terrible. I’m totally capable of handling this.’ I think a lot of politicians are like, ‘I’m the one who can fix everything.’ It’s like, can you really?

What’s her real interest in Marie?

Neuman knows that when there’s someone who she feels can help her, she needs to recruit them to her side. There is a reason she thinks Marie can help her, and it’s not just because they were both orphans at the same Vought-run orphanage.

Of the two, who is the more powerful?

I think Neuman has a better understanding of her powers and what she can do. I think Marie, maybe her only weakness is she doesn’t know the extent of her powers. That’s essentially what Neuman told her. ‘You don’t know what you could do.’ I think there’s even further that Marie could go.

The Boys loves its dick scenes and it seems Gen V does too. Is there a penis requirement for each season of these shows?

[Laughs] There is no penis requirement. One thing I learned coming into this universe is straight dudes love penises. They love penises. They love talking about them. They love seeing them. Eric says they’re the most hilarious thing. I don’t think I really understood that until I came onto the show. That being said, both of those scenes — the scene with Emma where she’s hanging off of a gigantic penis, the scene where Marie explodes a penis — they came out of real stories. Emma was basically coerced into having sex with that dude, which is something that I think a lot of women [can relate to]. And then Marie was basically almost sexually assaulted by Rufus and there’s no sweeter revenge on a would-be rapist than blowing his dick off.

The writer’s room is working on season two at the moment. Are there characters you want to spotlight next season?

It’s an interesting question. I’ll sort of answer it from a different way which is, what I like to do is once you’ve established a show, you look at your characters and ask, ‘Who haven’t I seen in a scene together? Who haven’t we seen interact that much? What happens when we put them in scenes?’ So I’ll give you an example. Jordan and Emma, we’re like, ‘I want to see them hang out more together. There’s something fun about that.’

So that’s kind of what we’re doing. Who do we want to put together and what would happen? We’re not fishing romantically at all. It’s just like, ‘What would their relationship be? Would they be sort of bickering with each other? Would they totally dig each other?’ That’s what we’re playing with.

Amazon’s ‘Gen V’ streams new episodes on Fridays.