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The Boys season 3
Season of television series From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The third 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 Amazon Studios in association with Sony Pictures Television, Point Grey Pictures, Original Film, Kripke Enterprises, Kickstart Entertainment and KFL Nightsky Productions.
The show's third season stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, and Claudia Doumit returning from prior seasons, with Jensen Ackles joining the cast. Taking place a year after the events of the previous season, the season follows the titular Boys now working for Victoria Neuman (Doumit)'s Bureau of Superhero Affairs to apprehend problematic Supes, having been at peace with the Seven. However, the conflict is resurrected once Butcher (Urban), Hughie (Quaid) & the rest of the Boys reunite to investigate the truth about the apparent death of Soldier Boy (Ackles), one of Vought's first American superheroes, with the hopes of killing Homelander (Starr) for good. Concurrently, Homelander's mental stability begins to deteriorate as Vought attempts to restrict his power while other Seven members, such as Annie January / Starlight (Moriarty) and Queen Maeve (McElligott), assist the Boys in their plots against him.
The season premiered on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video on June 3, 2022, with its first three episodes. The remaining five episodes were released weekly until July 8, 2022. The season received positive reviews with praise towards its action sequences, social commentary, visual effects, character development, story, and performances (particularly Urban, Quaid, Starr, McElligott, Alonso, and Ackles).[1][2][3] It received multiple nominations including two Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, earning one for stunt coordination. On June 10, 2022, the series was renewed for a fourth season.[4]
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Episodes
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Cast and characters
Main
- Karl Urban as William "Billy" Butcher
- Jack Quaid as Hugh "Hughie" Campbell Jr.
- Antony Starr as John Gillman / Homelander
- Erin Moriarty as Annie January / Starlight
- Maya Misaljevic as young Annie[7]
- Dominique McElligott as Maggie Shaw / Queen Maeve
- Jessie T. Usher as Reggie Franklin / A-Train
- Laz Alonso as Marvin T. "Mother's" Milk / M.M.
- Elias Leon Leacock as young M.M.
- Chace Crawford as Kevin Moskowitz / The Deep
- Tomer Capone as Serge / Frenchie
- Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro / The Female
- Nathan Mitchell as Earving / Black Noir[8]
- Fritzy-Klevans Destine as young Earving / Black Noir;[9] voice of Black Sheep Black Noir
- Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett[10]
- Claudia Doumit as Nadia Khayat / Victoria Neuman[10][11][12]
- Elisa Paszt as young Nadia
- Jensen Ackles as Ben / Soldier Boy;[13][14] voice of Eagle Soldier Boy
Recurring
- Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar; voice of Meerkat Stan Edgar
- Justiin Davis as young Stan Edgar[15]
- Laila Robins as Grace Mallory
- Sarah Swire as young Grace Mallory
- Jordana Lajoie as Cherie
- Cameron Crovetti as Ryan
- Katy Breier as Cassandra Schwartz
- Miles Gaston Villanueva as Alex / Supersonic[16]
- Luca Oriel as young Alex / Drummer Boy
- Matthew Edison as Cameron Coleman[17][18]
- Matthew Gorman as Todd
- Liyou Abere as Janine
- Laurie Holden as Crimson Countess;[19][20] voice of Fox Crimson Countess
- Sabrina Saudin as Also Ashley
- Katia Winter as Nina "Little Nina" Namenko
- Nick Wechsler as Blue Hawk[21]
- Tyler Williams as Yevgenny
- Frances Turner as Monique
- Jack Doolan as Tommy TNT; voice of Horse Tommy TNT
- Kristin Booth as Tessa TNT; voice of Horse Tessa TNT
- Jack Fulton as Lenny Butcher
- Christian Keyes as Nathan Franklin
- Sean Patrick Flanery as Gunpowder[22]
- Gattlin Griffith as young Gunpowder; voice of Pig Gunpowder
- Jim Beaver as Robert "Dakota Bob" Singer
- Ryan Blakely as Mindstorm; voice of Sheep Mindstorm
- Aya Cash as Klara Risinger / Liberty / Stormfront[23][24]
Guest
- Simon Pegg as Hugh Campbell Sr.
- Malcolm Barrett as Seth Reed
- P. J. Byrne as Adam Bourke
- Shantel VanSanten as Becca Butcher (voice)
- Brett Geddes as Termite
- Kyle Mac as Tony
- Jasmin Husain as Silver Kincaid
- Abigail Whitney as Moonshadow
- Ann Cusack as Donna January
- Jordana Lajoie as Cherie Sinclair
- Joel Labelle as Swatto
- Jasmin Geljo as Oligarch
- Kumail Nanjiani as Vik
- Paul Reiser as The Legend[25][26]
- Graham Gauthier as Lamar Bishop
- Eric Bauza as Buster Beaver (voice)
- Grey DeLisle as Two Birds (voice)
- Nicola Correia-Damude as Elena
Cameos
- Charlize Theron made a cameo appearance as Stormfront in the fictional film within the series Dawn of the Seven in the episode "Payback".[27][28]
- Billy Zane portrayed Alastair Adana in another fictional film within the series Not Without My Dolphin.[29]
- Jaz Sinclair appeared ahead of starring in the spinoff series Gen V in a photograph as Marie Moreau for the episode "The Only Man in the Sky".[30]
- Seth Rogen portrayed himself as the SupePorn.com patron "SirCumsALot779" in the episode "The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies".[31]
- Uncredited Patton Oswalt, Josh Gad, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Elizabeth Banks, Kumail Nanjiani, Aisha Tyler, and Rose Byrne appeared as fictionalized versions of themselves parodying Gal Gadot's universally panned COVID-19 lockdown celebrity supergroup cover of "Imagine", in the order of their appearance respectively singing on YouTube for the opening scene of the episode "Herogasm".[32][33][34]
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Production
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Development
On July 23, 2020, the series was renewed for a third season at the aftershow hosted by Aisha Tyler for the 2020 San Diego Comic-Con@Home, less than two months before the second-season premiere.[35][36] Showrunner Eric Kripke revealed that he was already working with the scripts for the season in October, hoping to have them finished and start production in early 2021 as long as the condition of the COVID-19 pandemic improved.[37][38][39] Due to the restrictions of live-action productions during the pandemic, Kripke and the producers have the idea of keeping the fans of the series engaged while they waited for the release of the third season, leading to the anthology animated spin-off miniseries The Boys Presents: Diabolical.[40][41] In January 2022, it was confirmed that the season would be getting eight episodes and that would be also following the same weekly release similarly to the previous season, with three episodes released on the premiere date and the rest being released on a weekly basis.[42]
Writing
During an interview at the Deadline Hollywood, Kripke teased that the season would be exploring Vought's past to explore the myths surrounding the company and the United States in general, as the comics also explored flashbacks focused during World War II and the Vietnam War and wanted to explore over how the superhero phenomenon did not only altered the present but also parts from the past as well, while also exploring over how the politics can turn neighbors against each other and what actually means to be in America. He revealed that this was one of the reasons of introducing Soldier Boy in the season, since the history of Vought and the US was explored through the character given that he was the first superhero ever and has been around since the Second World War.[43][44]
Kripke revealed that the toxic masculinity would be the real-life issue of the season and would also show how it would be affecting the main characters after many of them are pushed to the limit.[45] He detailed over how the toxic masculinity was an ongoing issue that as by today continues affecting the lives of a lot of men, with many of them being targeted for not being considered ‘manly’ enough and over how this becomes very destructive to the society and organizations. This was the main reason of Soldier Boy being introduced as he represents the embodiment of the toxic masculinity which is an issue that the world still faces thanks to the older generations.[46] Actor Jensen Ackles explained that the character is someone who seeks power with by following a "macho illusion" that actually doesn't exist and over how in the States that myth ended up growing through generations that affected men that could not live it up to it.[47] The season also details drug addiction as another real-life issue, with Kripke coming up with the idea of another version of Compound-V with temporary effects named V24, for which two of the main characters being Billy Butcher and Hughie Campbell become addicted. However, he explained that the idea was to not only to address drug addiction but also toxic masculinity as both characters also start sensing a sense of invincibility that comes with taking it, stating, "And two, we could tell a story about drug addiction, except they're literally getting addicted to toxic masculinity. It could come at great cost, and you could watch a degeneration of the characters".[48][49]
For the television adaptation of Soldier Boy, Kripke did not adapt the comic counterpart of the character that it is depicted as a coward who has sex with Homelander to try to earn a place in the Seven, but instead the version introduced in the "Barbary Coast" arc of the comics that fought in World War II.[50][51] Actors John Wayne and Steve McQueen also served as inspiration for the adaptation of Soldier Boy, since both actors were very popular for various decades during the Hollywood's Golden Age and were better known for their masculine and tough characterization in most of their films, which led them to be recognized as American icons.[52][53][54] Kripke explained that Soldier Boy was Vought's version of Wayne since he worked for them for several decades and is someone who comes from a different era, but still has the ego and ambition for which he described him as the "Homelander before Homelander."[55][56] Many of the changes were applied to Homelander a threat just as he is finally starting to take control of Vought, but Kripke wanted to ensure that it was someone that the character has never faced before with someone that has the same strength as him and could actually fight him, for which he considered Soldier Boy to be the best match.[57][58][59][60]
Besides of introducing Soldier Boy, the season also introduces the superhero team Payback for which the character was leader. Unlike in the comics where the team served as a rival of the Seven, Payback has been already disbanded for the time where the series take place and it used to be the world's premiere team of supes before the Seven was formed, for which it was described as "the Seven before the Seven."[61][62] Kripke explained that the changes were mostly done to get a deeper exploration at Vought's history by also exproing the past of each member of the teams, so the writers are allowed to shed the light on the show's present.[63][64]
The season also includes a storyline focused mostly on Kimiko Miyashiro. As the season progresses, Kimiko goes through an emotional arc for which she starts learning to express herself after having most of her life doing what other people wanted, as the character starts to reflect over her own actions and lamenting that her childhood was stolen, while also starting to sing in her own mind which reflects "symbolizes her growing voice, both literally and metaphorically." Kripke named the storyline as his favorite one, since considered that it was important for the Kimiko to start developing her own agency to show that the character actually has a perspective and a point of view even if she doesn't has a voice, while also keeping very important for the audience to understand the character even if she can't speak for which he considered to be "just truly an astounding thing to watch."[65][66] Storylines of the other members of the Boys is also detailed, with Mother's Milk personal vendetta against Soldier Boy being explored for the latter killing the former's family with Laz Alonso's actor admitting that he "would love to be able to somehow tell this story of abuse and brutality in the Black community through his character,"[67] while Frenchie's storyline detailing some of his backstory and relationship with Kimiko is also detailed.[68][69]
Casting

In August 2020, it was announced that Jensen Ackles would be joining the show as Soldier Boy, promising that "the character would bring so much humor, pathos, and danger to the role."[13][70] Laura Jean Shannon designed the suit for the character using military green and referring to him as "the original bad-ass". She eventually explained how the suit fits his character: "Our goal was to highlight a bygone era of overt masculinity and grit. With that pedigree we dove headfirst into baking in an all-American quality grounded in a military soldier's practicality with a heavy dose of old school cowboy swagger. We knew that the actor had to have Steve McQueen looks and chops with a John Wayne attitude — luckily Jensen Ackles embodies all of that."[71][72][73]
In October 2020, it was announced that Claudia Doumit and Colby Minifie would reprise their roles as Victoria Newman and Ashley Barrett respectively, with both being promoted to series regulars.[10] In March 2021, it was announced that Katia Winter was cast as the Russian mob boss Little Nina.[74] That June, Miles Gaston Villanueva, Sean Patrick Flannery, Nick Wechsler and Laurie Holden were cast as Supersonic, Gunpowder, Blue Hawk, and Crimson Countess respectively.[19][75] In October 5, Jack Doolan, Kristin Booth, and Frances Turner joined the series with Booth and Dooland appearing as the TNT Twins with the former being Tessa TNT and the latter being Tommy TNT, while Turner replaces Alvina August as MM's ex-wife Monique.[76]
Though the character originally was not meant to return in the season,[77][78] Aya Cash reprised her role as Stormfront with a guest appearance in the first two episodes of the season. Kripke admitted that he took the decision to bring the character back even with a small role and that even Cash was unaware of her return for the season. Antony Starr admitted that he enjoyed working with Cash once again: "We've become really tight friends after doing season 2 together. To have her back, even just for a couple of days, was just great. She's sorely missed, but she will be forever remembered in season 3, jacking off Homelander."[23] Charlize Theron made a surprise cameo appearance as Stormfront in the season's premiere for the trailer of the in-universe fictional film Dawn of the Seven, in the same vein as her appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Clea.[79][80] Paul Reiser also makes an appearance in the series as The Legend, a spoof of legendary screenwriter and producer Robert Evans whereas his comics counterpart was based on Stan Lee.[25][26][81] Kumail Nanjiani reprised his role as Vik from The Boys Presents: Diabolical in "Herogasm".[82]
Voice actor Eric Bauza voiced Buster Beaver, the mascot of Buster Beaver Pizza and a parody of Chuck E. Cheese, while the animation was provided by 6 Point Harness, Bauza's former animation workplace.[83]
Filming
The filming for the third season officially began on February 23, 2021, at the city of Toronto, Canada.[84][85] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the delay and cancellation of multiple television series, Kripke was worried that the COVID-19 could endanger the filming for the season causing conflicts with filming schedules, guest stars, and how can it work with the story, since he did was determined to keep the same quality levels found in the previous seasons as safety protocols for the pandemic were applied, for which he considered to be the toughest and most complicated production he has faced.[86][87] However the crew worked hard and managed to use several safety precautions to ensure the safety of every worker, something that Karl Urban acknowledged though the season was originally slated to start production in late January.[88][89]
Like the previous seasons, several scenes were filmed at touristic locations across the city of Toronto for which included the Roy Thomson Hall,[90] the Metro Toronto Convention Centre,[91] the Medieval Faire at Canada's Wonderland,[92] the Brandford City Hall, and the Yonge Street at Downtown Toronto. Additional filming also took place at the neighborhood of Little Italy for a few scenes.[93][94][95] The crew also captured shots of the exterior of the Flatiron Building, which would be serving as the Boys new headquarters, while the interior was filmed on a set at the studios. Filming also took place at the exterior of the Saint George Manor for the in-universe fictional reality show named "American Hero". Filming for the third season wrapped on September 10, 2021.[96][97]
Visual effects
The companies that were in charge of creating the visual effects for the season were Pixomondo, Rocket Science VFX, MPC Episodic, Soho VFX, Ingenuity Studios, Rising Sun Pictures, Studio 8, and Outpost VFX. Stephan Fleet was in charge of being the VFX supervisor once again after working for the previous seasons.[98] Fleet revealed that the season would have bigger visual effects than the previous seasons but will keep the characters and story that was created by the creators of the series.[99] Laz Alonso revealed that the season used over three times the amount of blood more than the previous season: "I'll put it to you this way. I was talking to the head makeup artist and she's in charge of ordering the blood — that's one of her many jobs. She told me that all of Season 2 ... When you talk about bulk, I don't think they used over a gallon of blood in Season 2, believe it or not. Season 3, we're already at three and a half gallons of blood. So that should give you a little indication of where it's going."[100][101]
Rocket Science VFX was in charge of the creation of series fire explosions, Soldier Boy's powers, and the body and head explosions, by taking a 3D environment work since the creation of the effects would be heavier. To achieve Soldier Boy's powers, the crew looked for real radioactive blast to have them combined with FX fire and make blast simulations.[102] Rising Sun Pictures worked to get the effects of the destruction provoqued[clarification needed] through the series and captured over 100 shots during the season. One of their most challenging scenes made, was the opening scene of the first episode for which they depicted the nearly total destruction of New York City. For the creation of the effects, every department had to contribute to produce high-quality hyper-real 2D and 3D elements and detailed set extensions combined with matte paintings. Also, several shots involving dozens of high-resolution render layers, though it posed data management challenge.[103]
Music
The third season includes several original songs, written by the series composer Christopher Lennertz, with two of them being "Rock My Kiss" and "You've Got a License to Drive (Me Crazy)". Both songs are featured respectively in the first ("Payback") and second episodes ("The Only Man in the Sky"), which were performed by Miles Gaston Villanueva.[104] The music video for the latter was released on September 10, 2022.[105][106] Lennertz delved further for the creation of these new songs by request of Kripke, creating a fictional in-universe musical boyband named Super-Sweet for which Villanueva's character Supersonic is the leader. Wanting to capture the essence of an authentic boyband during the decades of 1990s and 2000s, musical bands like NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block and Boyz II Men were researched by Lennertz, intending to understand the vibes that he needed for his tunes and develop a story for the group in the series in order to achieve and develop the fictional band's sound. Given all the profanity the series had, Lennertz needed to ensure that none of the songs had any swearing since "no boyband would ever do that", while also intending to trick the people to make them believe that they already heard and knew about those songs.[107]
Lennertz also wrote other two songs being "America's Son" and "Chimps Don't Cry". Both songs are featured in the second episode ("The Only Man in the Sky"), which were performed by Laurie Holden.[104][108] The latter song got a music video for which it was released on June 17, 2022.[109][110] During an interview with the TV Insider, Holden took by surprise the news of having to sing two musical numbers after she got the role as she has never sung professionally before. To prepare herself for the musical numbers, Holden looked for a vocal coach to see if she could even sing and started to practice over three times a week to loosen her voice, in order to capture her character's Crimson Countess passion towards the chimpanzees as one of her songs would be a protest song seeking to gain awareness towards those animals.[111]
The season also includes covers of already existing songs, with two of them being Blondie's "Rapture" and Robert Mitchum's "From a Logical Point of View". Both cover songs are respectively featured in the fourth ("Glorious Five-Year Plan") and seventh episodes ("Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed"), and also the two are performed by Jensen Ackles. The cover for Blondie's song got a music video which depicts Ackles' character Soldier Boy making an appearance in Solid Gold, which was released on June 10, 2022,[112] though unlike Mitchum's cover song it was not included in the season's soundtrack.[113][114][115]
Karen Fukuhara who interprets Kimiko in the series, also performs two covers of existing songs from the 1930s: "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and "I Got Rhythm". Each song was featured respectively in the first ("Payback") and fifth episodes ("The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies"). The cover for the latter song included a musical sequence in the episode where it was featured, depicting Kimiko and Frenchie dancing and singing together across hospital, though it was not featured in the soundtrack in contrast to the former song which was briefly depicted in the premiere episode where Kimiko starts to sing after seeing a woman play the piano.[116][117][118] A soundtrack album for the season was released digitally by Madison Gate Records on July 8, 2022.[119]
All music is composed by Christopher Lennertz, except where noted.[119]
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Marketing
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On June 7, 2021, the first-look images for the character of Soldier Boy were revealed through Twitter,[120][121][122] which were followed by the first look images of the character of Crimson Countess released on November 5, 2021.[123][124] The first footage of the season was unveiled on January 7, 2022, shortly after the release of Seven on 7's last episode which was released the same day.[125][126] It was followed by the release of the season first poster which was released on March 10, consisting of Butcher's eyes glowing red.[127][128][129] It was followed by the release of a red band teaser trailer just two days later.[130][131] Alexandra Del Rosario from Deadline said that the trailer brought suspense by teasing what is coming to the season while also offering "plenty of gore in store for The Boys fans".[132] Vlada Gelman writing for TVLine considered the trailer to be "jam-packed".[133] Indie Wire's Samantha Bergerson deemed that the teaser offers a "bevy of blood, guts, and tears as humans and supes alike battle it out", even if it doesn't include any dialogue.[134] During the course of a week, it was confirmed that the trailer was flagged more than 20 million times due to its graphic content.[135][136]
The official trailer was officially released on May 16.[137] Pete Volk of the Polygon considered that the trailer offer glimpses of "Homelander's press tour after the events of season", as well as more details regarding Soldier Boy and the expected amount of blood for the season.[138] James Hibberd who commented for The Hollywood Reporter said that the trailer showed Homelander becoming more unstable after an apparent breakdown and also commenting over how the trailer also introduced a new formula that can turn anybody into a superhero for 24 hours, for which he complemented that Butcher might finally get the opportunity to be on the level of his nemesis and face him.[139] Digital Spy's Shaun Wren deemed the trailer to be "packed with new heroes, gruesome scenes and a proper introduction to Jensen Ackles' original superhero Soldier Boy", and was excited to see the new developments that have taken during the time jump from the second to third season.[140]
In-universe marketing
By mid-2021, Amazon created Vought International account across social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok as part of their strategy for an innovative viral marketing campaign of The Boys. Most of the published posts are faux news, music videos, announcements, commercials, and propaganda regarding Vought and the Seven with many of the commentaries being written like if it were from the people that actually lived in the fictional world.[141] Due to the satirical nature of the series, the marketing campaign approach is intended to touch into the "corporate greed and corruption and how celebrity is weaponized to mask accountability", while some of the posts also portray the in-universe consequences of the events occurred through the series, intending to make critique towards capitalism as well as the social and political issues surrounding America in modern times, while also making parodies of not only the superhero industry but also the studios behind it such as Disney.[142][143] Wanting to satirize the pop culture and make a reflection over the real-world issues, Amazon opted to get a meta-approach and character-driven marketing campaign for the series to make the audience question over what is real or not and ensure the fans become immersed on the series themes and conflicts with the characters, leading to weekly discussions between them during the third season's run and attract global attention all around the globe.[144][145]
As part of the in-universe viral marketing campaign, a series of video segments for the series started to be released in the form of in-universe news reports from Vought News Network—a parody of the Cable News Network (CNN) as well as Fox News—called Vought News Network: Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman through the Vought International YouTube channel. The video segments were released on the seventh day of each month over a period of seven months starting on July 7, 2021, and concluding on January 7, 2022.[146] The video segments served as a bridge between seasons two and three, with each segment containing different stories that tease a series of events expected to happen on upcoming episodes and introducing new characters. Matthew Edison joined the series as Vought News Network anchor Cameron Coleman, a role that he would reprise in the series' third and fourth seasons.[18][147] The character has also been reported to be a parody of Tucker Carlson.[18][148][149]
On May 13, 2022, it was released a faux poster for the in-universe fictional film Payback with every member of the superhero group in it with Soldier Boy at the front and center of the poster and the other members surrounding him from behind, serving as a parody and reference of The Avengers film series.[150][151][152] As part of their viral marketing campaign, Amazon also started to promote the faux in-universe fictional film Dawn of the Seven which led to the release of a faux trailer in the Vought International YouTube channel named the Bourke Cut that makes reference to Zack Snyder's Justice League,[153] a viral marketing website dawnoftheseven.com which gives users the details for the fictional film such as faux interviews,[154] and a series of faux posters which included a promotional one and individuals for each member of the Seven designed by Kyle Lambert who also worked for the posters of Stranger Things.[155][156]
On May 30, 2022, on YouTube it was posted a 1980s themed anti-drug campaign short video with Ackles portraying Soldier Boy making reference at the Just Say No campaign.[157][158] The following day, the in-universe outtakes of Soldier Boy were published revealing the true colors of the character as a hypocritical short-tempered, foul-mouthed, alcoholic, and drug-addicted superhero.[159][160]
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Release
The third season of The Boys premiered its first three episodes on June 3, 2022, while the rest of the episodes were released on a weekly basis up until the season finale on July 8.[161][162][163] Due to the graphic imagery of an orgy that was expected for the episode, the season's sixth episode "Herogasm" includes a warning sign on a trailer that was released on Twitter that reads: "This episode depicts a massive supe orgy, airborne penetration, dildo-based maiming, extra strength lube, icicle phalluses and cursing. It's not suitable for any audience."[164]
Home media
The third season of The Boys was released on Blu-ray and DVD as a two-disc set by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on October 24, 2023. Special features include deleted / extended scenes and gag reels, as well as "The Making of Featurette".[165][166][167]
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Reception
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Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the third season holds an approval rating of 98% based on 155 reviews, with an average rating of 8.05/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Managing to up the ante on what was already one of television's most audacious satires, The Boys' third season is both bracingly visceral and wickedly smart."[168] On Metacritic, the season has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[169]
Alison Foreman of The A.V. Club graded the season an "A−" and wrote: "Packed with fun-as-ever action, surprise cameos, and searingly salient commentary, The Boys season three ticks nearly all the boxes for those seeking on-screen catharsis amid real-world frustration, impatience, and grief."[170] The Guardian's Lucy Mangan rated the season with a 4 out of 5 stars and wrote: "[The Boys] goes from strength to strength. Between the actors, the writers or the viewers, it's hard to say who's having the most fun."[171] Jennifer Bisset from CNET praised the show for its meta humor and character development and commented: "Every episode guarantees early Game of Thrones level fornication and bloodshed – albeit the gory bits have a cartoonish CGI sheen. Even the Soldier Boy coverup storyline echoes the season 2 Stormfront mystery. Thankfully, as always, The Boys finds its sweet spot. It does so via characters more identifiable and conflicted than even the most ground-level Disney Plus heroes."[172] Sam Stone from CBR was positive towards the series and wrote: "Three seasons in, and The Boys has more than earned its place as one of the best superhero television series of all time and as one of the finest original shows running on Prime Video. Obviously still not for the faint of heart, the superhero satire returns for its third season angrier and more direct than ever, with blood and gore running wholesale as its brutal characters continue to run amuck."[173]
For her review at /Film, Shania Russell lauded Jensen Ackles' performance as Soldier Boy, highlighting his characterization and his chemistry with Karl Urban and Jack Quaid, deeming that Ackles stole the show.[174] Mark Osborne from the ABC News, also highlighted Ackles performance for successfully capturing the embodiment of toxic masculinity in just one character.[175] Joshua Rivera from Polygon praised the show for portraying real life issues such as the Trump administration and wrote: "This bears out — it's jarring to see direct references to things Trump said or did when he's no longer president. Fortunately, The Boys feels like a work made by people who have plenty of ammunition for both sides of the aisle, as no ideology has a monopoly on craving power — or on worshiping those who amass it."[176] Maggie Lovitt from the website Collider rated the season with a "B+" and wrote: "The third season of The Boys is an insane, blood-soaked, and dick-filled journey into a twisted world where the superheroes are just as corrupt and monstrous as the government agencies that puppeteer them, and the world is ready and willing to buy into that madness and enable it". Antony Starr's portrayal as Homelander was also praised by Lovitt, considering that Starr continues to successfully deliver an unsettling performance by "descending fully into a madness that we haven't seen before", commenting that the third season takes the character to new a level.[177]
Angie Han from The Hollywood Reporter commented on her review: "The Boys being The Boys, all these relatively nuanced ideas still culminate in a single massive, bloody battle between Supes that's more an exaggeration than a refutation of the weightless CG violence served up by any Marvel third act. And yes, it's queasily ironic that this takedown of powerful institutions is coming to us from a series funded by one of the most powerful corporations at all. But asking them feels right in line with the series-long quest to interrogate the all-American project of unthinking hero worship. The series hasn't lost its bitterness or its bite, and the chilling final shots of the finale should wipe out any fears to that effect. But as season three reminds us, the punches hit harder when there's something worth fighting for."[178] Jake Kleinman was positive towards the season for his review at, Inverse though considered it unnecessary: "Maybe The Boys was built for Trump, and without his constant presence, it feels less necessary. Maybe Marvel is less untouchable than it was a few years ago, and The Boys no longer feels like a scrappy parody punching up but more like Amazon punching down."[179] Inkoo Kang from The Washington Post praised the show for its themes and performances and suggested: "It's a sturdily built season, but it might make you miss the show at its full strength."[180]
Audience viewership
On June 10, 2022, it was revealed that the first three episodes of the season increased the viewership of the series in a period of three days, experiencing a growth of 17% from the second season and 234% from the first season in comparison.[181][182] According to the Nielsen Media Research, for the week of May 30 to June 5, it was reported that the third season managed to claim the fifth place with over 949 million minutes of the first three episodes being watched.[183][184] The following week the show suffered a drop of 30 million viewing minutes managing to get 919 million, though it managed to be at the second place of the Nielsen ratings.[185][186] A month after the season finale was released, it was revealed that the series accumulated a total of 1.09 billion minutes watched placing it in fourth place of the Nielsen list, just behind The Umbrella Academy (1.28 billion), The Terminal List (1.56 billion) and Stranger Things (4.8 billion).[187] It was estimated by Nielsen that the series was the 11th-most watched of 2022 with 10.6 billion minutes viewed, leading it to become the first Prime Video series on the end-of-year list and beating The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (9.4 billion over its first season) which was also included in the list.[188][189] The series also became the most watched superhero show of the year beating the viewership of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series released that year, which failed to enter the end-of-year list.[190][191]
Awards and nominations
PETA awarded the episode "Barbary Coast" the "Tech, Not Terror" Award for using a CGI octopus.[192]
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Notes
- Introduced in The Boys Presents: Diabolical episode "An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents" (2022)
References
External links
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