Amazon's superhero show The Boys: Cast, plot, release date – CNET
The Boys shows what happens when superheroes sell out.
Amazon Prime VideoWhen superheroes become as influential as politicians and powerful as gods, whose to stop them abusing their superpowers? The Boys, that's who.
The Boys is a new show coming to Amazon Prime Video that focuses on a team of vigilantes taking self-serving superheroes down a peg or two. Star Trek and Dredd star Karl Urban heads the cast. It might be based on a comic, but this filthy, funny, gory series is a long way from Marvel and DC.
Who made it?
The Boys TV series is created by Supernatural and Timeless creator Eric Kripke, and is directed by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. It's based on the extremely dark comic by Garth Ennis (Preacher) and Darick Robertson, which ran for 72 issues from 2008-2012.
The plot
When corrupt superheroes known as The Seven cause his girlfriend's death, a young man named Hughie (Jack Quaid) hooks up with anti-cape vigilantes The Boys. The team consists of charismatic leader Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) with Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso), Female (Karen Fukuhara), and Frenchie (Tomer Capon).
What critics are saying
The Boys is a "flashy, smartly meta, often funny and very solidly cast," but "leaves a bit of a bad taste," according to a review from The Hollywood Reporter on April 29.
When's the release date?
The eight-episode series premieres on July 26 on Amazon Prime Video.
Meet the cast
Karl Urban as Billy Butcher
Elisabeth Shue as Madelyn Stillwell
Erin Moriarty as Annie January / Starlight
Antony Starr as The Homelander
Dominique McElligott as Queen Maeve
Jessie Usher as A-Train
Chace Crawford as The Deep
Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir
Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk
Jack Quaid as "Wee" Hughie Campbell
Simon Pegg as Hughie's father
Karen Fukuhara as Female
Tomer Kapon as Frenchie
Jennifer Esposito as CIA Agent Susan Raynor
This piece was originally published on May 29, 2019, and is updated as news rolls in.