The story
Superheroes are celebrities, brands and corporate assets, managed and marketed by the all-powerful Vought International – and many of them are monstrous once the cameras stop rolling. Electronics clerk Hughie Campbell falls in with Billy Butcher, a vengeful ex-operative whose ragtag vigilante crew sets out to expose and bring down The Seven, Vought's elite team led by the terrifying Homelander.
Why it matters
By skewering the superhero boom rather than joining it, The Boys gave Prime Video a pop-culture hit: it was the first non-Netflix series to appear on Nielsen's Top 10 streaming chart, its second season earned the first Outstanding Drama Series Emmy nomination for a comic book adaptation, and it spawned a whole franchise of spin-offs.
Notable facts
- The project began life at Cinemax in 2016 before Amazon acquired it from Sony Pictures Television in November 2017. (source)
- Nielsen reported 8 million viewers in its first 10 days, and it became the first non-Netflix series on Nielsen's Top 10 streaming shows list. (source)
- It was the first comic book series adaptation nominated for the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series (2021). (source)
- Its shared universe includes the spin-offs Gen V and Diabolical, with the prequel Vought Rising set for 2027. (source)