50 Facts From The Hit Amazon Prime Show The Boys
There is no doubt that superhero movies and shows have taken over the world. However, no one could have imagined that The Boys would take over the genre like it has. The Boys has made a big splash in the mundane superhero genre in a way that no one, except Amazon, believed it could. Superheroes are supposed to be characters we can look up to, but The Boys has gone away from that narrative and instead explored a much darker view of having beings with super powers here on Earth. It is an incredible show that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but it isn't for the faint of heart. If you are a fan of the show, check out these 50 facts from the hit Amazon Prime show.
The nut allergies
You probably didn’t know that the character of Black Noir was allergic to nuts in The Boys. This was revealed in the show’s second season; in the seventh episode of the season, Queen Maeve tossed an almond joy down the character’s throat and it appeared to hurt him severely and might have killed him but he survived and returned for the third season.
It turns out that Nathan Mitchell, who plays the character, shares the character’s nut allergy in real-life, and can’t quite stand nuts either. The scary part is that had he not told the producers prior to the scene, he would have had a real allergic reaction, while everyone would have thought he was acting.
There were protests during the show’s production
It was always evident that The Boys would stir up some controversy even while it was still being filmed. The producers, however, didn’t expect the amount of trouble and carnage that the show stirred up, especially since the crowd didn't even give the show a chance.
A number of Toronto residents weren’t thrilled with the events being depicted so when a particularly troubling sequence at the Mel Lastman Square was being shot for the show’s second season, a sizable crowd of locals turned up to protest the disturbing contents of the scene. It didn’t help that a disturbing attack had actually happened at the filming site in 2008.
The character that used to be male
The cast of The Boys was tweaked up a bit for the second season, so Aya Cash came in to play the role of Stormfront, a suave character with a hidden agenda. Stormfront was actually a male character at first, with the gender swap being one of the many changes that were made to the character’s personality for the TV adaptation.
The chemistry of the characters was altered with the decision to make Stormfront a female; it also helped squash at least one rivalry. One big change that the gender change lead to, was that Stormfront and Homelander ended up being lovers in the show as opposed to rivals.
The troublesome suit
Starlight’s suit jumps at you while seeing The Boys but how much work really went into the suit? The suit actually gave the actress that played the role some trouble; it was a skin-tight suit so it was always going to bother her, not to mention how revealing it can be from some angles.
The suit was difficult to get in and out of, the physical discomfort of it affected her much more than the moral discomfort of it. While filming in the Starlight suit, the actress would have difficulty going to the bathroom. She stated that she never got used to wearing the suit.
The show had to be toned down
Although the comic spawned The Boys show, the original comic was way too violent for TV so the producers of the show had to tone down its content for the TV adaptation. The series is still quite gory and violent but all of that is nothing compared to the comic’s contents.
The original content of the comic wouldn’t have worked so a lot of modifications and changes had to be made to make it suitable for TV. A lot of the show’s characters were actually more sadistic in the comic as a result. This may be unbelievable to viewers since the show is like no other we've seen in the past, but believe us when we say that if you want the full experience you must read the comics.
Presidential fan
You wouldn’t be wrong to say that The Boys had Presidential approval because former US President Barack Obama is a huge fan. Obama who has been a fan of TV shows for a while explained how he was drawn to shows like The Boys and Watchmen.
He explained that this was because they bend genre norms in a bid to make certain pronouncements, you can say he did the same during some of his campaigns. Obama was drawn to the way superhero attributes were modified to address social issues such as capitalism, race, and power.
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg as executive producers
Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen are childhood friends and executive producers on The Boys. The friends co-wrote movies like Pineapple Express, Superbad, The Interview, and This is the End; they also worked on the TV adaptation of the Preacher comic together.
They aren’t known to be exceptional writers, and their writing even trends along the lines of bad in some cases but they helped contribute to The Boys behind the scenes, and Rogen made two cameo appearances in the show as well. You can see how The Boys would lean towards the kind of humor that Seth and Evan have.
A new superhero group
A new superhero group that includes Soldier Boy was unveiled in the third season of The Boys. Soldier Boy is played by Jensen Ackles and is a superhero character who has been around since the World War II era and was a member of the Payback superhero group.
We don't know too much about how the character will be portrayed in the show just yet, but in the comics, he is a goofy superhero whose mistakes cost his team a lot. As opposed to the character of Captain America, who he is meant to be a parody of, he makes poor decisions in the heat of battle and is only concerned with making himself look good.
The show was shot in Toronto
The Boys was set in New York City and you’d naturally assume that it was filmed there but this wasn’t the case. Most of the scenes in the show were shot in Toronto, especially the ones where they are outside, though they used great exterior shots to try to replicate New York's skyline and streets.
One good example is the computer hardware store that Hughie works at that is made to look like it is in Brooklyn, though it is really located at 871 O'Connor Dr in East York in Toronto. Wonder how the New York City crowd would have reacted to the filming of the show since New York City is used to having all kinds of shows filmed there.
Only five months of filming
Considering how the comic and the TV show differ in terms of approach, you’d think the show’s filming would have taken some time but it didn’t. The first season of the show had eight episodes, with each being about 60 minutes long.
There was a lot of content to be filmed but all of that only took five months of filming, which isn’t a lot of time in the world of film. So many movies that don’t run as long require more filming hours to complete, for example, Avengers: Infinity War took 9 months to film and only has a run time of two and a half hours.
Created for TV
You probably didn’t know that there was one character on the show that wasn’t a part of the original comic. Translucent, the invisible man of The Seven, is one of the characters that were created specifically for the show that weren’t featured in the original comic.
The character was played by Alex Hassell, and he wasn’t exactly the most pleasing superhero character; for most of the show, he was closer to awful and didn’t exactly come close to being described as a nice guy. The producers of the show didn't know how the show would be received, so instead of killing off a main character from the comics they instead decided to keep it light and kill off a main character from the show so that the actual characters from the comic would remain intact for later use.
The show had a thing for milk
The one thing you probably missed while watching The Boys is the show’s obsession with milk. Breast milk was specifically the milk that was mentioned on multiple occasions; the character of Homelander was particularly intrigued by breast milk.
He got his powers from drinking his mother’s milk which contained Compound V, the compound used to make people superheroes. Breast milk became known as Mother’s Milk or MM. The MM character was even named after it, causing the name to represent something purer.
Hidden details to be explored
The Boys is one of those shows that contain hidden details and references that forbear events before they happen, and therefore reward eagle-eyed viewers that spot them. In nearly every outdoor scene in the show, there is a poster of one of The Seven, but not many viewers pay attention to them since in their world The Seven are like celebrities.
These posters can be deceiving because they can be about anything, like a poster of a product they’ve endorsed or their latest movie. However, if you look closely some of those posters bore subtle meanings like when a poster of A-train was shown on a taxi before his girlfriend had a fatal run-in with him.
Karen’s sign language
The character of Kimiko acted like a deaf person that could only communicate with others with the aid of sign language. For this reason, the actress that played the character, Karen, had to create her take on sign language, some of which was real and some that was made up.
The character was developed in the second season when Karen had to work hard to learn sign language well enough to play it on the screen genuinely. She also had to use signs and hand gestures at times to create new gestures. However, even viewers of the show that know sign language don't mind, seeing how the character of Kimiko seems like the kind who would have made up her own form of communication.
Global fanbase and actors
You’d be mistaken to assume The Boys is an All-American heroes show because while the show is set in the US, both its fanbase and cast are global. The show features Antony Starr as Homelander, and Karl Urban as cockney Billy Butcher; both of these actors are native New Zealanders in real life.
Likewise, Dominique McElligott, who plays Queen Maeve, is Irish while Claudia Doumit is Australian. Although the show isn’t very popular in Toronto where it was filmed, it is quite popular in other cities across the world, though there have been edits made to the original content so it can be displayed in other countries.
Cinemax turned it down
The Boys is heavily linked to Amazon Prime because it can be seen on the platform and is actively promoted there but it could have been linked to another powerhouse instead. About three years before Amazon Prime became home to the show, it was pitched to Cinemax and could have become a cable show, but then Cinemax turned it down, paving the way for Amazon Prime.
Such a shame that it was turned down because Cinemax is known to have edgier content so the show may not have had to be toned down as much. However, as is the case with many shows that explode in popularity once picked up, we are sure Cinemax is highly regretting their decision right about now.
Homage to The Incredibles
If you are a fan of the show then you know that Starlight officially became a member of The Seven in the first season of The Boys. Soon after she joined, she was slated for a full makeover from Vought, part of which was her getting a new costume.
However, the person that was supposed to design her new costume had an uncanny resemblance to Edna Mode, a character from The Incredibles as they both wear thick dark glasses and have memorable voices as well. So, this is why most people think that the designer character might have been a homage to Edna Mode. This shows that The Boys is starting to take aim at all kinds of superhero content, not just Marvel and DC.
There was a lot of blood
Ultra violence is a recurring theme in the TV adaptation of The Boys, and even though the show has been toned down for TV, it is still a gory and bloody affair. For most shows, blood is normally shown during fight scenes, but The Boys has taken this to a new level, not only showing blood but body parts as well after a human or superhero is ripped apart.
A lot of fake blood has been used on the show; getting the blood on the bodies of actors took about two hours, and once there, the blood would remain for a while because getting it out was even harder. And if you think season one was gory, you probably didn’t notice that a lot more blood was used in the second season, and we are betting this trend will continue.
The spinoff
The Boys series was continued by Dynamite Entertainment with Herogasm, a six-issue spinoff of the show. Herogasm was written by Garth Ennis, with illustrations from artist John McCrea. The spinoff is a raunchy comic that explored the sexual adventures of The Seven while they weren’t actively doing their daily superhero stuff.
In the spinoff, The Seven were at one point vacationing on a resort island while people thought they were trying to save the world. The spinoff hasn’t yet been adapted for TV, though we have been assured that it will make its debut in season three, and we are sure it will be toned down drastically.
It was first published by Wildstorm
In the beginning, the first couple of issues of The Boys was published by Wildstorm, a DC Comics imprint. Unfortunately, the mature content of the comics such as drugs, homophobia, and rape was a bit too much for Wildstorm who felt it depicted their brand in the wrong way, so they quit publishing it.
The rights to the comic were therefore given back to Robertson and Ennis, and although Wildstorm felt the comic should be canceled, it found a new home in Dynamite Entertainment. The good news is that Dynamite Entertainment also holds the rights to Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Zorro, Red Sonja, and Alice in Wonderland, so since this show is doing so great, don't be surprised if Amazon gives Dynamite Entertainment a green light for some of their other content.
The Deep can fly in the comics
Do you know how TV adaptations always change some elements of comics/books? Well, in this case, the character The Deep is more powerful in the comic than in the TV adaptation because he could fly in the comic version but can’t on the show.
He also has superhuman durability and strength in the comics but somehow doesn’t in the show. At the end of the day, his persuasion powers might be what sets him apart even though he isn't the group’s smartest member either.
Seth Rogen nearly directed the show
Amazon Prime’s The Boys was directed by Dan Tractenberg but another popular person could have directed the show altogether. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are both executive producers on the show but Rogen, in particular, could have played an even bigger role in its production.
Seth Rogen would have been the director if things had worked out as planned; he and Goldberg were the first choice but they couldn’t make it work because of their tight schedules, paving the way for Tractenberg to direct the show.
The cast were complete strangers before the show
An incredible thing about The Boys is the fact that the show’s cast had never met before filming commenced. While it is true that actors are some of the most sociable people in the world, this wasn’t the case with the cast of The Boys as most of the stars had never met each other before.
Despite not knowing each other before, the stars were quite the professionals so they quickly developed amazing chemistry with each other and got along just fine at the end of the day. It also doesn't help that they are from all over the world as mentioned earlier, and also, a lot of them are just now getting their big breaks on The Boys.
Hughie was inspired by Simon Pegg
One of the lead characters of The Boys is Hughie, but did you know that he was inspired by the British actor Simon Pegg? The character was created to look like Pegg, and the producers wanted Pegg to play the role but at that point in his career, he was already too old for it.
Pegg was, however, brought on the show as the character’s father, and because he is a big fan of the comics, he was thrilled to play the role. He isn't seen very often in the show, but with the small glimpses we get, we could tell that if he was younger, he would have made a great Hughie.
The Billy Madison connection
A lot of people failed to observe the connection between the Adam Sandler movie, Billy Madison, and The Boys. In The Boys, one of the biggest benefactors of Vought International, Jonah Vogelbaum, was portrayed as the owner of a sprawling and striking estate.
That estate is the link to Adam Sandler’s movie because it is the same estate that was used in Billy Madison. The estate is known as Parkwood Estate, and is located in Oshawa, Canada; it is quite popular with movie studios because of its pristine condition.
More female power for the show
In the TV adaptation of The Boys comic books, the female characters are portrayed quite differently; you could say there was a bigger emphasis on female power in the show than in the comics, something that in today's society is seen as really important.
One of the most powerful female characters in the show is Madelyn Stillwell, who is a top-ranking executive for Vought International that is unafraid to get what she needs. The character is played by Elisabeth Shue, and she is arguably the most empowering female character on the show.
Cooling system for Homelander’s suit
Creating a superhero show can be challenging behind the scenes because of all the movements and stunts that have to be done while wearing the suits. Antony Starr’s Homelander character took some work behind the scenes because Homelander’s skin-tight suit would often get hot after extended filming sessions.
As a result, his suit would be attached to a cooling system when it wasn’t being used; this allowed the suit to function effectively with the only problem being the noisy motor of the battery pack. Using cooling systems for costumes isn’t something new, and has been the practice for a while.
The fake whale
Animal rights activists wouldn’t have been thrilled after seeing the scene in which Billy rammed a speedboat into Lucy the Whale because it appeared a whale was hurt in that scene, but in reality, no animal was harmed to produce that scene.
A fake whale made with Styrofoam and silicone was used for that scene, along with VFX, CHI, and practical effects. They created the whale in five months with a hidden backdoor to provide access for the camera crew. Not sure why anyone would have thought that was a real whale and gotten upset.
Colby Minifie’s line
The role of Ashely Barrett is played by Colby Minifie on The Boys; she managed to deliver one of the best lines in the show’s second season. The line came in a pep talk she delivered to A-Train, who at the time was struggling to keep up his image as the fastest runner on Earth.
She said she knew losing a job was tough because she’d also gotten fired once, and she tindered her way through Barcelona afterward and everyone ate her "Paella." The line came as a result of a brainstorming session between Minifie and P.J. Bryne in between filming.
The clones
In the original comic that inspired the show, Stormfront was one of the first people to be injected with Compound V; he was moved to America quietly after the war ended. His DNA was experimented with once there, allowing Vought to modify him into the most powerful soldier in the world.
Black Noir and Homelander were then created from Stormfront’s DNA samples, so they’re essentially his clones. Vought’s mission to become a corporate giant was made possible by Vought's cloning technology, as they were able to create The Seven. Though, in the TV show, it looks like they are headed in another direction since Black Noir doesn't seem to be a clone.
The speedster with the soul of a mortal
Reggie Franklin, also known as A-Train, is the fastest of The Seven; he also happens to be the main antagonist in The Boys season one. The speedster character was a part of the Teenage Kix team at first; he was released from The Seven group but because he was the fastest man in the world, he was asked back.
A-Train is quite the complex character himself because he is insecure at heart even though he has a mortal athlete’s soul. In a bid to remain the quickest on the planet, he also abused Compound V serially. In season three we see him struggle more with trying to balance having a moral soul and being a part of The Seven.
Level-headed puppet master
The character of Stan Edgar is a quietly remarkable one on the show; he is Madelyn Stillwell’s superior on the show and the CEO of Vought International. Edgar is the man that oversaw the transformation of people into superhuman creatures with the aid of Compound V.
He is also the only one that could look Homelander in the eye without fretting. The character’s past is unknown on the show but he is portrayed as level-headed throughout; Giancarlo Esposito does a great job portraying this character.
The stomping death
In the finale of the show’s second season, the character of Stormfront had a disturbing sequence that ended with her getting stomped multiple times in quick succession until she’d lost an eye, some limbs, and all her hair, while also suffering some burns.
At the end of the disturbing climactic sequence, her body was depicted; the entire sequence was a part of the comics too, and the stomping that Stormfront suffered was a lot more vicious in there as well. Though, as we mentioned, Stormfront's gender was changed in the show, so it was a bit more brutal to see that happen to a female character.
The one that never made the cut
The Boys comic books feature lots of raunchy and disturbing content that push the limits of safe content to consume. Despite the best efforts of the show producers to tone all of that down somewhat, indecent content can still be found in the show as well.
They even had a scene filmed and ended up cutting it from the show altogether because it featured public indecency. In the scene, one of the characters stood exposed in the city while screaming; the scene didn’t add much value and wasn’t very decent, so it was scrapped.
Nearly halted by the weather
As we mentioned earlier, The Boys was filmed in Canada even though its events are set in New York, which can lead to some complications that the showrunners didn't quite think through. The show was filmed between May to mid-October in Canada when the weather is a lot nicer than it is during the winter months.
Because of the possibility of encountering harsh weather in the filming location, there was a rush to get the show produced on time before the snow got bad; they ended up making it without any weather-related delays as the show's release date would have been pushed back otherwise.
The show addresses societal issues
Back when The Boys first aired, the show’s content didn’t appear to be ground-breaking or exceptional in any way but over the years, the content of the show has become more and more relevant. Societal issues such as the abuse of power and authority, the ills of sexual harassment, and sex in the workplace, are all addressed on the show.
There wasn’t a lot of attention on these issues at first, but in time, increased media attention has made us all realize how relevant those issues are. The interesting thing is that the showrunners seem to be doing this on purpose, as they will take the contents of the comics and shift them to depict what is happening in the real world today.
Jack Quaid’s special playlist
American actor Jack Quaid is known for creating a special playlist for every character he plays, and his role in The Boys was no different. Quaid created a special one for the character Hughie he played on the show, the playlist reportedly features songs from the likes of James Taylor and Billy Joel.
His character, Hughie, is one of the show’s main protagonists despite being mild-mannered and living a boring life. The character has a girlfriend named Robin but doesn’t have much to be thrilled about besides her so his world is turned upside down when she is killed by a member of The Seven. Also, if you pay close attention to Hughie's clothing, he is always wearing a music-related T-shirt.
The abandoned hospital near Toronto
A lot of the action that happened in the sixth episode of The Boys happened in the St.Thomas Psychiatric Hospital. The St.Thomas Psychiatric Hospital is an eerie abandoned hospital located close to Toronto that was built in 1937 on the land of six area farm families.
The abandoned hospital was used to portray Sage Grove Center, which is described as a psychiatric hospital that appeared to provide wellness services but was just a part of Vought International, which used it to hold patients and prisoners. The show’s cast and crew had to stay in a local hotel while filming in the hospital.
Stormfront’s phobia
Stormfront might be the most powerful of the superheroes in The Boys but that doesn’t make her immune to fear like the rest of us. She, in fact, has quite the unusual phobia; she isn’t scared of heights or water or bacteria, but she has ommetaphobia, which is a fear of losing one’s eyesight.
The character’s ommetaphobia gets so intense sometimes that she would literally scream out at points, and even flew out of the sky during a fight when she felt her vision was impaired. Safe to say many of us have this fear, but it's not something we think about on a day-to-day basis.
Nazism from World War II
More on the hidden details and subtle references on The Boys; beyond her ommetaphobia and gender switch, the character Stormfront actually represented a lot more than she appeared to on the surface; the character actually represents the Nazism and fascism of the Second World War.
Even her death meant something as it was a representation of the end of Nazism as the Allied Powers drove the last Nazis out. The characters also subtly represented different countries; France was represented by Frenchie, and Vas fought for the Russians.
The Justice League connection
The Seven is the group of superheroes in The Boys; it takes watching the show closely to observe the similarities between members of The Seven and DC’s Justice League superheroes. A lot of the heroes in The Seven share similar powers with the DC superheroes, and some even look similar.
Queen Maeve looks a lot like Wonder Woman, The Deep looks like Aquaman, and Homelander is not unlike Superman. Likewise, the graphic comics that inspired the show feature parodies of famous superheroes, a cool take on what superheroes may actually do should they come to exist one day.
Butcher’s dog
Butcher is another character whose story was modified a bit for the TV adaptation, and so certain details about him are different in the show. For one, he doesn’t have a dog with him at all times in the show even though he clearly has a canine companion in the comics.
In one scene, he was asked by Hughie if he had a dog because he had toy dogs; he responded no but he owns a pit bull named Terror in the graphic comics. Terror was only portrayed in a flashback Butcher had to when he was married.
The headquarters
The base of the place portrayed as the headquarters of The Seven in The Boys is really just the Roy Thompson concert hall located in downtown Toronto. The concert hall is no stranger to bright lights and cameras because it has been featured in lots of movies and TV shows.
The hall’s gigantic X symbol provides added convenience for filming superhero stuff; it was particularly useful for filming an early scene in the first X-Men movie in 2000. The place was also used for The Boys in part because some of the characters were inspired by X-Men characters.
The warrior Queen
The character of Queen Maeve was inspired by a real-life queen, Queen Maeve or Medb, who was a central figure in the Tain Bo Cuailnge. She was the warrior queen of Connacht in Ireland’s western province; Medb’s father was the King of Connacht before he became High King of Ireland.
She ruled Connacht for over six decades after her father, having five recognized husbands over the years. The men she married became kings, and the character was fittingly played by an Irish actress.
Greg Mallory became Grace Mallory
This is another instance in which the comic differed significantly from the show; the character of Grace Mallory was portrayed as a CIA operative on the show but the character was Greg Mallory in the comic book series, so the character was another case of gender switch.
Mallory was ex-CIA and the group’s leader at one point until the accidental death of her grandchildren caused her to retire from the agency. Mallory also served as Butcher’s mentor at the beginning of the show.
The Deep’s costume
In The Boys, the outfit rocked by the Deep is one you’d describe as being quite decent. Courtesy of the costume, he somehow pulls off looking like Aquaman without looking like a clown. The story is quite different in the original comics though as The Deep’s outfit is a lot more outlandish in the comics.
He rocks a cape in the comics, along with a distasteful pair of shorts, and an old-school type diving helmet. According to the costume designer of the show, who gladly chose not to remake the outfit from the comics, his outfit was a reference to the suits of female superheroes.
Erin Moriarty’s singing
In the scene where Starlight sang "Never Truly Vanish" at the funeral of Translucent, it wasn’t a voice-over or trick of any kind but it was Erin Moriarty actually singing the song. Moriarty was introduced to performing and singing at a young age, and she actually wanted to be a singer at first before she turned to acting.
So when she had the chance to do some singing along with her acting, she took it and did a remarkable job with both. The producers of the show even say she is a fan favorite, which is funny because, in the show itself, she is one of the highest-rated superheroes in terms of popularity, which is how Vought rates their supes.
The weakest member of The Seven
The primary things that set The Deep apart are his ability to communicate with sea animals, hold his breath underwater, and of course, he is a terrific swimmer. The gills that make him such a powerful swimmer also have their drawback though as they make him a lot more sensitive to damage.
At the end of the day, The Deep is the weakest member of the superhero group. He doesn’t even have all those aquatic powers from the original comics as he does in the TV adaptation; he is meant to represent the ongoing joke about DC's Aquaman being completely useless out of water.
Terror on the speedboat
The speedboat scene was an adrenaline-pumping scene that was lots of fun to see but it wasn’t very fun for Jack Quaid who was truly terrified while on the speedboat. Quaid got scared because the speedboat was going really fast, and they were literally jumping waves while filming that scene.
Even though there was a safe word, Karl, if he ever got too spooked, Urban couldn’t hear him because there was a helicopter filming them from up above. Quaid developed a real fear of boats courtesy of that scene.
The sexual harassment scene
The sexual harassment scene is one of the major reasons The Deep doesn’t have a lot of fans on the show and is seen as weak. But then, this scene never happened in the comics because The Deep never harassed Starlight in the comics like he did on the show.
In the contentious scene, Starlight confessed that she had a crush on The Deep, and he asked to be satisfied by her and proceeded to coerce her; in the comics, however, it was Homelander that harassed Starlight, not The Deep. Actor Chace Crawford has even said fans have gone as far as hating him in real life for that scene.