Amazon Prime Video is set to expand the universe of their hit series, The Boys, with a spinoff show. Based on the comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Amazon has seen The Boys become a wildly popular series for its streaming service. The satirical take on superheroes pits Hughie Campbell, Billy Butcher, and The Boys against the world's biggest superhero team, The Seven. After the first season was one of Amazon's biggest original pieces of content, season 2 is currently unfolding.
The second season of The Boys has raised the stakes of the series once more. A new weekly episode release format has allowed conversations about the show to continue to grow, leading to increased interest in The Boys. Amazon is aware of the show's popularity, too, as it was already announced that season 3 is in the works. The company also gave The Boys its own after-show for season 2 hosted by Aisha Tyler. With interest in The Boys growing, Amazon is doubling-down on its superhero property.
Amazon is fast-tracking a spinoff series for The Boys. The series will be based on America's only college for superheroes run by Vought. The report describes the spinoff as an R-rated series exploring the lives of hormonal and competitive supes competing for contracts to be heroes in the best cities in the country, which will put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test. Craig Rosenberg is writing the pilot and will serve as showrunner and executive producer, while The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke will also produce.
News of The Boys' spinoff show comes on the heels of season 2, reportedly crushing the performance of the first season. Amazon says the season 2 premiere was the biggest launch ever for one of their original pieces of content. More specifically, season 2 has seen the audience nearly double the views that season 1 did. With that in mind, its no wonder that Amazon is interested in expanding the universe, especially with Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and more returning to produce.
As for the approach that The Boys spinoff is taking, the superhero college angle could be a great way to expand and introduce more characters from the comics. One aspect of the source material that The Boys hasn't explored yet is other super teams besides The Seven. However, the spinoff could provide the backstory or origins for younger groups like the Young Americans or Teenage Kix. The latter has already been set up through the main show, but the spinoff could focus on a new generation and introduce some crazier characters from the comics in the process.
One of the biggest questions that come from this news is what the crossover potential will look like. If the spinoff is being fast-tracked, then the first season of it and season 3 of The Boys could be in production simultaneously. Although they likely won't air on Amazon concurrently, this could allow members of The Seven to pop up in the spinoff briefly or some of the new heroes to appear in The Boys. Even though we don't know when the spinoff will be released, perhaps the remaining episodes of The Boys season 2 will provide some teases for what is ahead.
Source: Amazon Studios