What you need to know about The Boys season 4

With more swears and bodily fluids than even the most X-rated series, The Boys is like giving the Marvel Cinematic Universe a shot of adrenaline and sticking it in an adult book store — and fans can’t get enough.

If you wanted a souped-up superhero smorgasbord, there’s no denying Eric Kripke delivered just that with season 3 of Prime Video’s The Boys.

Based on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic series of the same name, there’s still plenty of source material for the show’s creators to punch their way through.

With news that the streaming giant has picked up The Boys for a fifth and final season, here’s everything you need to know about who’ll be squeezing back into their spandex for season four.

When is The Boys season 4 being released?

The first three episodes of The Boys season 4 are available now on Prime Video. New installments with drop weekly until an epic mid-season finale arrives on Thursday, 18 July.

Is The Boys season 4 worth watching?

Homelander and Billy Butcher edge ever closer to their ‘scorched Earth’ ultimatum in a new season of The Boys — but what can we expect from the return of one of telly’s most shocking shows?

According to those who have seen it, The Boys season 4 offers more of what it does best, with Yahoo Entertainment’s review confirming that “the shock value still hasn’t let up.”

The Evening Standard’s review highlights how the show “goes heavy on the political storyline and Trump comparisons,” many of which they say are “on point.”

However, write-ups from Variety and The Telegraph suggest the super-suits are starting to show signs of strain, with the latter saying its “multitude of storylines fail to cohere in a satisfying way” and the former adding that some plot elements “make the season feel less focused than its immediate predecessor.”

Read full reviews below:

Yahoo Entertainment: Brutal, obscene and just as diabolical as ever (5-min read)

Evening Standard: Superhero satire is as gory, gross and hilarious as ever (3-min read)

The Telegraph: Outrageous superhero satire shows signs of outgrowing its Spandex (3-min read)

Variety: ‘The Boys’ Suffers Growing Pains in Its Darkest Season Yet: TV Review (6-min read)

Is there a trailer for The Boys season 4?

Audiences were finally welcomed back into the world of The Boys in May when the first official trailer for Prime Video’s bloody superhero series finally made its way online.

In it, we see Homelander continue to realise that he can pretty much do whatever he wants in the wake of season three’s tense finale. If only there were a group of anti-heroes brave enough to try and stop him...

The first teaser trailer for The Boys season 4 was released in December 2023. Watch it below.

Who stars in The Boys season 4?

Although the writing was on the wall for Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Starlight (Erin Moriarty), the star-crossed lovers scraped it through the finale alive. The show’s very own Ross and Rachel are sure to have more trouble in paradise in season 4.

The fact that all of The Boys survived Soldier Boy’s assault on Vought Tower means Laz Alonso’s Mother’s Milk, Tomer Capone’s Frenchie and Karen Fukuhara’s Kimiko will all return for more action. Front and centre, we’ve got Karl Urban, destined to lead the pack as the unhinged Billy Butcher. Given Butcher’s grim diagnosis due to the effects of V24, season 4 could be his last — but something tells us this won’t be the case.

Even though the ranks of The Seven might be scattered, Jessie T. Usher and Chace Crawford will reprise their roles as A-Train and the Deep — under the tyrannical lead of Antony Starr’s Homelander. Colby Minifie’s Ashley still has a shaky hold as Vought CEO, but with questions about what puppet master Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) has been up to, don’t count the Breaking Bad legend out just yet — despite not being officially confirmed to return.

In terms of villains, there’s a double threat of Claudia Doumit’s Victoria Neuman setting her sights on the White House, and Cameron Crovetti’s snivelling Ryan realising his potential as the son of the psychotic Homelander.

Finally, there are question marks over Dominique McElligott’s Queen Maeve, Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy and Nathan Mitchell’s Black Noir for very different reasons. Maeve, got her seemingly happy ending with her ex, but with Ashley hiding this secret from Homelander, the vengeful Supe could seek her out.

Despite his best efforts, Soldier Boy was put back on ice, where a mournful Grace Mallory (Laila Robins) watches over him. Homelander has some serious daddy issues and might try to break papa out of his incarceration. While not expected to appear in the show's fourth outing, Ackles has teased a cameo appearance in The Boys spin-off series Gen V.

Even though Noir was seemingly killed by Homelander, those up on the comics will know there’s a twist the show seems to have completely ignored. While it might not be our Noir that returns, there’s still room for a Black Noir on The Seven.

Elsewhere, Simon Pegg is back as Hughie’s dad Hugh Campbell Sr, while Blair Witch star Valorie Curry and Orange is the New Black’s Susan Heyward both join season four as new supes Firecracker and Sister Sage respectively.

Other new cast members include The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan, American Gothic star Elliot Knight, Supernatural’s Rob Benedict and Black Mirror actor Rosemarie DeWitt.

What will happen in The Boys season 4?

The Boys season 4 will take place mere days after the climactic ending of spin-off series Gen V. It will also see Homelander go on trial following the murder of a protestor at the end of season three and the end of the season will lead directly into the start of Gen V’s second outing.

The official synopsis is fairly light on detail: “In Season Four, 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 as well as 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.”

Going from promising Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez homage to full-blown Trump, Victoria Neuman is on track to be the most powerful Supe on the planet.

Read more: Why The Boys became a culture war flashpoint

If the ability to pop heads wasn’t enough, she secured her position as Vice President when the Deep drowned her opposition in the finale. In the comics, Victoria is the male Vic the Veep, who eventually makes it into the White House when Dakota Bob is killed by a wolverine. Neuman has already shown herself to be a master manipulator, so we guess Stan Edgar trained his adoptive daughter well.

Starlight has officially joined The Boys full-time, and with her new ability of flight, it’s a major win against Homelander. Then again, the star-spangled psychopath has his own little protege to mould in the form of Ryan. Teasing Ryan’s expanded role, Kripke told Variety that there’s still hope Butcher can win Ryan back, knowing that he’s half Homelander’s and half Becca’s.

There could be a suitably dark twist on the horizon, as the showrunner explained: “If Homelander wins the kid over, that’s apocalyptic because then there’s two Homelanders. It’s like a child drama with apocalyptic stakes.”

Speaking of Butcher, his diagnosis that he only has about a year to live gives Kripke the perfect chance to lean into the Butcher we see in the comics. With Ryan now Team Homelander and the ranks of The Boys bigger than ever, expect Butcher to have the leader of The Seven firmly in his sights. Whether it’s taking a full dose of Compound V to make him a permanent Supe, or finding someone with the powers to cure him, we don’t see Butcher leaving in a box yet. In the meantime, he’s sure to be his usual ‘no f***s given’ self.

Much like Ackles and the Payback joined the fight in season 3, we expect some new characters to step up to the plate. There are four gaps on The Seven, and let’s be honest, The Three doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

Namely, fans are asking for the character known as Tek Knight, who is effectively The Boys’ very own Batman. Fans previously counted Tek Knight out because he’s too NSFW but after Herogasm, all bets are off.

Speaking of Herogasm, while that super-sex-party episode certainly raised the bar on The Boys’ dedication to shock tactics, according to scene producer Stephan Fleet, the worst is yet to come. The same comments were echoed by returning star Pegg, who told Collider that the show somehow “gets crazier” — which is saying a lot.

Those worried about having to do some additional homework before watching season 4 can rest easy, as no previous knowledge of Gev V’s storyline is needed to enjoy new episodes of The Boys.

The Boys season 4 is airing now on Prime Video, with seasons 1-3 also available to stream.