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The Boys season 4

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The Boys
Season 4
Promotional poster
ShowrunnerEric Kripke
Starring
No. of episodes4
Release
Original networkAmazon Prime Video
Original releaseJune 13, 2024 (2024-06-13) –
present (present)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 3
List of episodes

The fourth season of the American satirical superhero television series The Boys, the first series in the franchise based on the comic book series of the same name written by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, was developed for television by American writer and television producer Eric Kripke. The season is produced by Sony Pictures Television in association with Point Grey Pictures, Original Film, Kripke Enterprises, Kickstart Entertainment and KFL Nightsky Productions.

The show's fourth season stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Cameron Crovetti returning from prior seasons, with Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan joining the cast. Taking place six months after the events of the previous season, Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the control of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. With only months to live, Billy Butcher must find a way to work with The Boys, who are fed up with his lies, if they want to save the world before it's too late.

The season was announced following the third season premiere. Its first three episodes were released on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video on June 13, 2024, after which episodes are slated to be released on a weekly basis. The season has received critical acclaim for its action sequences, character development, dark humor, emotional depth, storyline, blend of political commentary and surrealism, and performances (particularly Urban and Starr); though audience response has been divisive.[1]

On May 14, 2024, the series was renewed for a fifth season; Kripke announced that the fifth season would serve as the series' final season on June 11, two days before season four premiered.[2][3][4]

Episodes[edit]

No.
overall		No. in
season		Title [5]Directed byWritten by [5]Original release date [6]
251"Department of Dirty Tricks"Phil SgricciaDavid ReedJune 13, 2024 (2024-06-13)
The CIA tasks The Boys to eliminate Neuman, but the mission goes wrong when they fail to kill Neuman and her daughter Zoe attacks the group. Ryan learns Butcher has approximately six months to live. Homelander, obsessed with his aging and fed up with his sycophant group, recruits Sister Sage to join The Seven. Homelander is found not guilty. He and Sage have three supporters killed and thrown into a riot, leaving the Starlighters blamed. Butcher arranges a meeting with Neuman for the Red River files, but change plans at the last second after having a hallucination of Becca. Hughie learns his father has suffered a stroke and reunites with his mother.
262"Life Among the Septics"Karen GaviolaJessica ChouJune 13, 2024 (2024-06-13)
Butcher tells The Boys his remaining time to live and is kicked out. However, Butcher tracks them and helps them to spy on Sage, who is recruiting alt-right Supe Firecracker at TruthCon. Billy and M.M. have a fight, causing the former to leave. Their plan is thwarted when Sage, Firecracker, and Splinter intervene. A fight ensues in which Butcher returns and results in the killing of Splinter; Firecracker escapes in the aftermath. Guilty over his actions, A-Train gives Hughie and Annie files regarding Starlighters accused of murder. Homelander and Sage organize Ryan's first public mission, a scripted rescue. The mission ends awfully when Homelander appears off-script and forces Ryan to kill the stuntman disguised as the criminal. Butcher opens up to M.M. into returning to The Boys, to no success.
273"We'll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here"Fred ToyeEllie MonahanJune 13, 2024 (2024-06-13)
Homelander introduces Sage and Firecracker as new members of The Seven and appoints Sage as the new CEO in Ashley's place. Butcher meets a friend, Joe Kessler, and they come up with a plan to kidnap Ryan. The former arranges a meeting with Ryan, with the intent of drugging him, but they instead spend time bonding together. M.M. recruits A-Train as a spy, who reluctantly accepts. Frenchie and Kimiko go on a mission to destroy a Shining Light Liberation Army cell. During the mission, a drugged Frenchie hallucinates about his past, while Kimiko is confronted by an old acquaintance. Annie confronts Firecracker, who reveals that she holds a grudge against her because of a rumor she spread that ruined her career. Hughie and M.M. infiltrate a meeting between Homelander, Neuman, and Sage to assassinate Robert Singer, which goes awry when Homelander detects Hughie; A-Train rescues him. Hughie's mother, Daphne, reveals that depression and a failed suicide attempt led to her departure. Ryan returns to his room only to be confronted by Homelander for visiting Butcher, causing Homelander to have a mental breakdown.
284"Wisdom of the Ages"Phil SgricciaGeoff AullJune 20, 2024 (2024-06-20)
Homelander returns to the laboratory where he was raised to torment and slaughter the staff, except for its director Dr. Barbara Findlay. Daphne decides to take Hugh Sr. off life support, much to Hughie's anger. Annie meets with Singer to assist him if he promises to take down Vought. Hughie and Kimiko meet with A-Train for Compound V intended for his father. The two are then ambushed by the Shining Light; they fight them off. M.M. brings Butcher back in The Boys and they attempt to blackmail Firecracker into revealing Sage's plan but fail. Firecracker delivers a public talk, organized by Sage, to discredit and reveal Annie's abortion. Outraged, Annie brutally beats Firecracker during the broadcast, souring her reputation before M.M. pulls her away; Singer declares their deal off. Frenchie investigates Firecracker's trailer but is attacked by Ezekiel. Butcher intervenes before blacking out only to find Ezekiel dead. He later follows Hughie while he receives the V from A-Train. Butcher confesses to having taken V to cure his illness, to no avail. Frenchie confesses to Colin about killing his family, resulting in the latter beating him and ending their relationship. Hughie visits his father and decides not to inject him with Compound V, but it is already injected, waking him up from his coma. Homelander leaves the lab with Dr. Findlay locked in a room with the dead staff members.
295"Beware the Jabberwock, My Son"TBAJudalina NeiraJune 27, 2024 (2024-06-27)
306"Dirty Business"TBAAnslem RichardsonJuly 4, 2024 (2024-07-04)
317"The Insider"TBAPaul GrellongJuly 11, 2024 (2024-07-11)
328"Assassination Run"Eric Kripke[7]Jessica Chou & David ReedJuly 18, 2024 (2024-07-18)

Cast and characters[edit]

Main article: List of The Boys characters

Main[edit]

Recurring[edit]

Guest[edit]

Cameos[edit]

Production[edit]

Development[edit]

On June 10, 2022, Amazon Prime Video renewed the series for a fourth season.[25]

Writing[edit]

According to showrunner Eric Kripke, figuring out a way to save Ryan's soul is a key priority for Butcher in season four, with Kripke saying it's like Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) combined with Avengers: Endgame (2019).[26] On December 4, 2023, Kripke hinted that a scene from season four might include "the batshit craziest thing" ever filmed for the series and expressed his own surprise that he "got away with it".[27] He also teased how each episode this season will play out, saying: "I think every episode has at least one totally fucking bananas moment. I love the ones in episode five. Episode six makes me cover my mouth with my hands every time I watch it. So, I think there's lots of good stuff going on."[28]

Casting[edit]

On July 8, 2022, it was announced Nathan Mitchell (who portrayed the masked Black Noir in the first three seasons), despite his character's death in the third season finale, would continue to portray Black Noir but as a new entity of the character ("Black Noir II") in a main capacity in the fourth season of the series.[8] On August 1, it was reported that Cameron Crovetti had been promoted as a series regular, while Valorie Curry and Susan Heyward were cast as new series regulars for the fourth season.[9] On August 25, Jeffrey Dean Morgan was cast as a recurring guest star for the fourth season.[12] On December 1, Rosemarie DeWitt, Rob Benedict and Elliot Knight joined the cast in undisclosed capacities for the fourth season.[29]

On May 3, 2024, the official trailer revealed Maddie Phillips and Asa Germann would appear in the fourth season, reprising their roles from Gen V as Cate Dunlap and Sam Riordan, respectively.[22] Describing the inspirations of Curry's character, Firecracker, Kripke stated: "I think it's like [politicians] Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert. When we were writing her, [South Dakota Gov.] Kristi Noem wasn't in our heads, but then she comes out and she's shooting puppies and then it's like, 'There's Firecracker! She's literally shooting puppies!'"[28]

Filming[edit]

The fourth season commenced filming on August 22, 2022.[30] Simon Pegg concluded filming his scenes on January 18, 2023.[31] Filming on the finale began on February 12,[32] with Starr concluding filming his scenes on April 4.[33] Filming on the fourth season officially wrapped on April 12, 2023.[34]

Release[edit]

On June 28, 2023, Kripke confirmed that he was withholding release of the new season until the WGA strike was resolved.[35] The following year, the season premiered its first three episodes on June 13, 2024, while the rest of the episodes are set to be released on a weekly basis until July 18.[6]

Reception[edit]

Critical response[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth season holds an approval rating of 95%, based on 80 reviews, with an average rating of 7.65/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Boxing in the political arena with a bloodied smile, The Boys' fourth season is grim and even a little glum while holding up a cracked mirror towards modern society."[36] on Metacritic, the season holds a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 22 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[37]

Audience response[edit]

Following its three-episode premiere, the season received a mixed response among audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Users have mainly criticized the season leaning toward more left-wing political commentary, compared to both left- and right-wing commentary from prior seasons;[38] due to this, critics have attributed the audience response as review bombing.[a] Numerous journalists, fans, and critics have theorized and noted 45th President Donald Trump inspired the series character development of Homelander,[b] a theory which has been confirmed by Kripke.[51] During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kripke described the series as a "story about the intersection of celebrity and authoritarianism and how social media and entertainment are used to sell fascism".[52]

Conversely, one element of the season fans have praised is Starr's performance, particularly in the fourth episode ("Wisdom of the Ages"). Following the aforementioned episode's release, many users on social media campaigned for Starr to win a Primetime Emmy Award, expressing how deserving he is of such an honor,[53] a sentiment that critics have previously concurred with on multiple occasions;[c] Kripke himself also agreed.[60]

Audience viewership[edit]

According to Amazon, the first three episodes of the season received a 21% in total viewers compared to season three in the first four days since launch. Season four is now among the Top 5 most-viewed TV seasons on Amazon Prime Video through its first four days, according to the streamer. It was also reported that season four tallied the second most viewers of any returning season on Prime Video through its first four days, behind only the second season of Reacher. Furthermore, Amazon reported that The Boys has now grown in global viewership every season.[61]

Notelist[edit]

  1. ^ Attributed to multiple sources: [39][40][41][42][43][44]
  2. ^ Attributed to multiple sources: [45][46][47][48][49][50]
  3. ^ Attributed to multiple sources: [54][55][56][57][58][59]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Wolinsky, David (June 11, 2024). "Review Roundup for 'The Boys' Season 4". GameSpot. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  2. ^ Maas, Jennifer (May 14, 2024). "'The Boys' Renewed for Season 5 at Amazon". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  3. ^ Kripke, Eric [@therealKripke] (June 11, 2024). "#TheBoys Season 4 Premiere Week is a good time to announce: Season 5 will be the Final Season! Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax. Watch Season 4 in 2 DAYS, cause the end has begun!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 15, 2024 – via Twitter.
  4. ^ Maas, Jennifer (June 11, 2024). "'The Boys' to End with Season 5 on Amazon". Variety. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "The Boys". Writers Guild of America West. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Rice, Lynette (February 22, 2024). "'The Boys': When to Expect Fourth Season Return". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Kripke, Eric [@therealKripke] (February 4, 2023). "Ohhhhh Shit! #TheBoys #TheBoysTV @TheBoysTV @PrimeVideo @Reed_Dave @jesschoutime @SPTV" (Tweet). Archived from the original on April 17, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ a b Romano, Nick (July 8, 2022). "'The Boys' Boss Says This Star Will Play 'A Whole New Character' in Season 4 After That Intense Finale". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d Petski, Denise (August 1, 2022). "'The Boys': Cameron Crovetti Upped to Series Regular, Valorie Curry, Susan Heyward Also Cast in Amazon Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 1, 2022. Retrieved August 1, 2022.
  10. ^ Matadeen, Renaldo (June 15, 2024). "Who is Sister Sage and Why Does Homelander Need Her Powers?". CBR. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  11. ^ Bojalad, Alec (June 13, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4: Who is Firecracker?". Den of Geek. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Cordero, Rosy (August 25, 2022). "'The Boys': Jeffrey Dean Morgan Joins Season 4 Cast". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  13. ^ Rudoy, Matthew (June 13, 2024). "Jeffrey Dean Morgan's 'The Boys' Season 4 Character Explained by Eric Kripke: 'You Need Another Butcher'". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  14. ^ Romano, Nick (May 20, 2024). "Jack Quaid on 'The Boys' Season 4 Bringing in Hughie's Mom: 'Campbell Family Chaos'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
  15. ^ Mullen, Amanda (June 13, 2024). "Who Plays Colin in 'The Boys' Season 4 & Where You Know Them". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  16. ^ Zalben, Alexander (June 13, 2023). "'The Boys' Season 4, Episode 3 recap: Vought on Ice". WinterIsComing.net. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  17. ^ Romano, Nick (June 13, 2024). "The Story Behind Tilda Swinton's Depraved 'The Boys' Season 4 Role". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  18. ^ Elvy, Craig (June 13, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4's 'Supernatural' Reunion Ruins God for the 2nd Time since 'SPN' Ended". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  19. ^ Hayes, Jackson (June 20, 2024). "'The Boys': How Does Billy Butcher Kill Ezekiel in Season 4?". The Escapist. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  20. ^ a b c Gajjar, Saloni (June 20, 2024). "'The Boys' recap: An Agonizing Look at the Making of Homelander". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  21. ^ Leston, Ryan (September 8, 2023). "'The Boys' Spin-off 'Gen V' Finally Introduces Tek Knight". IGN. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  22. ^ a b c Romano, Nick (May 3, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4 Trailer Confirms Returning 'Gen V' Stars as Supes Turn into 'Wrathful Gods'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 10, 2024.
  23. ^ Garside, Megan (June 13, 2024). "Is This Surprise A-list Appearance in 'The Boys' Season 4 the Show's Best Cameo Yet?". GamesRadar+. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  24. ^ Miller, Leon (May 3, 2023). "'The Boys': Clancy Brown's Secret 'Gen V' Role Revealed". CBR. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  25. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 10, 2022). "'The Boys' Renewed for Season 4 by Amazon; Vernon Sanders on Show's Ratings Growth & Spinoffs' Status". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved June 10, 2022.
  26. ^ Meyer, Joshua (April 22, 2023). "'The Boys' Showrunner Eric Kripke Says Ryan is the Key to Season 4". /Film. Retrieved June 15, 2024. Ryan is a really important piece of the story because he's half Becca, half Homelander. If Butcher can figure out how to get his shit together and get the kid back, that could be the single best weapon they have against Homelander. But vice versa. If Homelander wins the kid over, that's apocalyptic because then there's two Homelanders. It's like a child drama with apocalyptic stakes. It's like Kramer vs. Kramer meets Avengers: Endgame. So that will be a really rich story moving forward.
  27. ^ Kripke, Eric [@therealKripke] (December 4, 2023). "I would just like to add that I was in post today, working on a Season 4 scene that miiiiiiight be the batshit craziest thing we've ever done? Like I truly can't believe we got away with it. #TheBoys #TheBoysTV" (Tweet). Retrieved June 18, 2024 – via Twitter.
  28. ^ a b Patterson, Demetrius (June 13, 2024). "Every Season 4 Episode of 'The Boys' Has 'At Least One Totally F***ing Bananas Moment'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  29. ^ Cordero, Rosy (December 1, 2022). "'The Boys': Rosemarie DeWitt, Rob Benedict & Elliot Knight Board Season 4; Simon Pegg Sets Return". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 1, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
  30. ^ Romano, Nick (August 3, 2022). "Everything We Know So Far About 'The Boys' Season 4". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  31. ^ Perry, Spencer (January 18, 2023). "'The Boys' Star Wraps Filming on Season 4". ComicBook. Archived from the original on April 12, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  32. ^ Flook, Ray (February 12, 2023). "'The Boys': Eric Kripke Confirms Season 4 Finale Filming Underway". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  33. ^ DeVore, Britta (April 6, 2023). "Antony Starr Wraps Filming on 'The Boys' Season 4". Collider. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  34. ^ DeVore, Britta (April 12, 2023). "'The Boys' Season 4 Wraps with Gory Behind-the-Scenes Images". Collider. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 15, 2023.
  35. ^ Kripke, Eric [@therealKripke] (June 28, 2023). "#TheBoys update! 1) When #Season4 drops depends on how long the #WGA Strike goes. No answer yet. Tell the studios to make a fair deal! 2) To take that sting off, here's fun art from S4. We spend hours making ourselves laugh with this stuff & its never even on screen. #TheBoysTV" (Tweet). Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved July 26, 2023 – via Twitter.
  36. ^ "The Boys: Season 4". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  37. ^ "The Boys: Season 4". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
  38. ^ Onion, Rebecca (June 21, 2024). "'The Boys' Feels Different in 2024. Is the Problem the Show—or Us?". Slate. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  39. ^ Shayo, Lukas (June 16, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4 Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Becomes Series First to Claim Unfortunate Title". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  40. ^ Flook, Ryan (June 17, 2024). "'The Boys': Homelander Fans Finally Get The Point & They're Not Happy". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  41. ^ Seibold, Witney (June 18, 2024). "'The Boys' Hits an All-Time Low on Rotten Tomatoes – But There's More to This Story Than Meets The Eye". /Film. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  42. ^ Brown, Jodee (June 18, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4 Seemingly Gets Review Bombed Amid Record-Low Rotten Tomatoes Score". CBR. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  43. ^ Tassi, Paul (June 18, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4 Opens Up 46% Split Between Critic and Audience Scores". Forbes. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  44. ^ Berry, Alex (June 18, 2024). "'The Boys' Season Four is Being Review-Bombed". NME. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  45. ^ Di Placido, Dani (November 22, 2020). "'The Boys' Antony Starr Mocks Trump Fans Cosplaying as Homelander". Forbes. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  46. ^ Stinson, Katherine (July 8, 2022). "Has Homelander Turned into 'The Boys' Donald Trump? There Are Some Obvious Parallels". Distractify. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  47. ^ Dick, Jeremy (March 5, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4 Poster Reveals Homelander's Trump-Like Slogan". CBR. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  48. ^ Meenan, Devin (June 13, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4 Has Completed Homelander's Transformation into Donald Trump". /Film. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  49. ^ Angeles, Christian (June 13, 2024). "TV Review: 'The Boys' Season 4 is a Pizzagate parody of Donald Trump's Alt-Right". Comics Beat. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  50. ^ Lindbergh, Ben (June 13, 2024). "'The Boys' is Better at Satirizing Superheroes Than it is at Satirizing Trump". The Ringer. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  51. ^ O'Connell, Mikey (June 8, 2024). "For Eric Kripke, 'The Boys' Was Always About Trumpism". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  52. ^ Murray, Conor (June 18, 2020). "Anti-'Woke' Critics of 'The Boys' Mocked on Social Media as Creators Say the Series Was Always a Satirical Right-Wing Critique". Forbes. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  53. ^ Gearan, Hannah (June 20, 2024). "Antony Starr's Homelander Performance in 'The Boys' Season 4, Episode 4 Has Fans Losing Their Minds". Screen Rant. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  54. ^ Gelman, Vlada (June 20, 2021). "Anatomy of an Emmy-Worthy Scene: 'The Boys' Antony Starr and Writer Rebecca Sonnenshine Break Down Homelander's Emotional Confrontation". TVLine. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  55. ^ Tassi, Paul (June 18, 2022). "Antony Starr's Homelander Needs an Emmy for 'The Boys'". Forbes. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  56. ^ Sarkisian, Jacob (April 25, 2023). "Emmy Spotlight: Antony Starr ('The Boys') Hits a Home Run as Homelander". Gold Derby. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  57. ^ Caporusso, Adriano (June 22, 2023). "It's Time for the Emmys to Recognize Antony Starr in 'The Boys'". Next Best Picture. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  58. ^ Domingues, Camila (June 20, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4 Episode 4 Recap and Review: Antony Starr deserves an Emmy". Bam! Smack! Pow!. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  59. ^ Silva, Gabriela (June 20, 2024). "Homelander's 'unhinged' moment in 'The Boys' Season 4 deserves an Emmy". Dexerto. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  60. ^ Dick, Jeremy (June 18, 2024). "'Give That Guy an Emmy Already': 'The Boys' Creator Praises Homelander Actor". CBR. Retrieved June 20, 2024. Give that guy an Emmy already. I don't understand why it hasn't happened yet.
  61. ^ Campion, Katie (June 20, 2024). "'The Boys' Season 4 Premiere Viewership Scores 21% Boost vs. Season 3". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 20, 2024.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Boys_season_4&oldid=1230435943#Episodes"