Seth Rogen and Amazon reveal new original superhero series The Boys

Based on the comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the story revolves around powerful heroes abusing their position

Published: Thursday, 9 November 2017 at 11:37 am

The likes of Daredevil, The Punisher and The Tick aren’t the only Video-On-Demand heroes anymore, with Amazon Prime teaming up with Preacher directors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen (Superbad, This is The End, The Interview) to bring cult comic The Boys to screens.

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Set in a world where corrupt superheroes are obsessed with the sex and privilege their powers can give them (with several characters based loosely on the likes of the Avengers and the Justice League), The Boys revolves around a scrappy group of CIA operatives aiming to monitor and take them down if necessary, often using little more than ill-gained super-strength and their wits.

The original comic was created by Garth Ennis (who also created the Preacher comic Amazon, Rogen and Goldberg previously adapted) and Darick Robertson, with Eric Kripke (Supernatural, Timeless) serving as showrunner for the eight-episode run. The original comic ran from 2007 to 2012, and has been in various stages of development for some time.

“In a landscape saturated with superhero shows, The Boys is the next evolution in this popular genre,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, head of Scripted Series for Amazon Studios (via The Hollywood Reporter)

“With Eric, Evan, Seth and Original Film all behind this series, we are excited to adapt this popular comic, from the visionary minds of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, for television.”

It remains to be seen how exactly The Boys’ stories will be adapted – the first series of Preacher diverged pretty heavily from the comics, and it’s hard to see how Amazon could get away with parodying Captain America, Superman et al quite as directly as the graphic novel did – but if you’re a fan of superhero stories, it’s definitely another big-hitter to watch the skies for.

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The Boys will film in 2018 for a 2019 release

Authors

Radio Times commissioning editor Huw Fullerton. He sits in front of a shelving unit, looking at the camera and smiling. He wears glasses and has a moustache

Huw FullertonCommissioning editor

Huw Fullerton is a commissioning editor for Radio Times magazine handling comedy, entertainment and specialist drama. In a previous regeneration, he covered all things sci-fi and fantasy for RadioTimes.com.

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