The Boys returns to Prime Video next week with a big election storyline—and the skewering of current events will be more present than ever in Eric Kripke’s hit superhero satire. As the series enters its fourth season, the showrunner says he’s totally fine with turning off certain viewers who aren’t on board with that.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter (in an interview explaining “The Boys Was Always About Trumpism”), Kripke said season four’s storyline about an imperiled presidential election dovetailing with America’s real-life anxiety about 2024 was something of a happy accident. “It’s odd to call it good luck, but sometimes we feel like we’re Satan’s writers room,” he said, noting that he first pitched The Boys alongside Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg back in 2016, when “Trump was the ‘He’s not really getting the nomination, is he?’ guy.” Then, when Trump was actually elected, “We had a metaphor that said more about the current world. Suddenly, we were telling a story about the intersection of celebrity and authoritarianism and how social media and entertainment are used to sell fascism. We’re right in the eye of the storm. And once we realized that, I just felt an obligation to run in that direction as far as we could.”
As THR points out, not everyone in the viewing public is onboard with that. “I clearly have a perspective, and I’m not shy about putting that perspective in the show,” Kripke explained. “Anyone who wants to call the show ‘woke’ or whatever, that’s OK. Go watch something else. But I’m certainly not going to pull any punches or apologize for what we’re doing. Some people who watch it think Homelander is the hero. What do you say to that? The show’s many things. Subtle isn’t one of them. So if that’s the message you’re getting from it, I just throw up my hands.”
Prime Video’s official description of season four is as follows: “The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son and his job as the Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.”
Back for more Boys mayhem are Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Cameron Crovetti. New faces in season four include Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
The Boys—which has already been renewed for a fifth season—drops the first three episodes of season four on June 13. Then, look for a weekly release of the remaining episodes, with the season finale arriving July 18.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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