Gen V

Gen V is an American superhero television series, developed by Craig Rosenberg, Evan Goldberg, and Eric Kripke, serving as a spin-off of The Boys by Kripke, and based on The Boys comic book story arc "We Gotta Go Now" by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The series serves as the third entry in The Boys franchise.

The series, set concurrently with the fourth season of The Boys, premiered on Amazon Prime Video on September 29, 2023. In October 2023, less than a month after its premiere, the series was renewed for a second season.

Premise
Young adult superheroes, or "supes", are tested in battle royal challenges at the Godolkin University School of Crimefighting founded by Thomas Godolkin run by Vought International.

Cast

Main
 Jaz Sinclair as Marie Moreau, a hemokinetic (able to psychically manipulate blood) Supe with a tragic past.
 Jaeda LeBlanc portrays a young Marie.
 Chance Perdomo as Andre Anderson, a popular student and Luke's best friend with magnetic manipulation capabilities.
 Lizze Broadway as Emma Meyer / Little Cricket, a Supe with the ability to alter her size by "purging" or eating.
 Maddie Phillips as Cate Dunlap, a Supe with telepathic abilities, primarily in the form of tactile mind control, and Luke's longtime girlfriend.  
 Violet Marino portrays a young Cate.
 London Thor and Derek Luh as Jordan Li, a Supe gender-shifter. Thor portrays Jordan's feminine form who can fire energy blasts and Luh portrays Jordan's masculine form who has superhuman durability.
 Asa Germann as Samuel "Sam" Riordan, a young Supe with superhuman strength and durability.
 Cameron Nicoll portrays a young Sam.
 Shelley Conn as Indira Shetty (season 1), the dean of Godolkin University and former behavioral therapist who does not have superpowers and had lost her husband and daughter in the plane crash that Homelander caused.

Recurring
 Patrick Schwarzenegger as Luke Riordan / Golden Boy, Sam's older brother and a popular student with pyrokinesis and superhuman strength.
 Maia Jae Bastidas as Justine Garcia, a Supe influencer with enhanced durability and a healing factor attending the Crimson Countess School of Performing Arts
 Daniel Beirne as Social Media Jeff, the social media manager for Godolkin University.
 Sean Patrick Thomas as Polarity, Andre's dad and a famous superhero with magnetic manipulation who is a trustee at Godolkin University.
 Alexander Calvert as Rufus, a psychic student at Godolkin University who possesses telepathy, astral projection, and clairvoyance.
 Marco Pigossi as Dr. Edison Cardosa, the lead scientist of "The Woods" and developer of the "supe virus".

Guest
 Ty Barnett as Malcolm Moreau, Marie's deceased father
 Miata Ada Lebile as Jackie Moreau, Marie's deceased mother
 Robert Bazzocchi as Liam, a classmate of Emma's
 Alex Castillo as Vanessa
 Clancy Brown as Richard "Rich Brink" Brinkerhoff, a renowned professor at Godolkin University and Chairman of the Lamplighter School of Crimefighting.
 Warren Scherer as The Incredible Steve, a student with a healing factor sufficient to reattach lost body parts.
 Jessica Clement as Harper, a rat-tailed student at Godolkin University.
 Siddharth Sharma as Tyler Oppenheimer, a student with intangibility.
 P.J. Byrne as Adam Bourke
 Jackie Tohn as Courtenay Fortney
 Matthew Edison as Cameron Coleman
 Laura Kai Chen as Kayla Li, Jordan's mother.
 Peter Kim as Paul Li, Jordan's father who disapproves of their gender-shifting ability.
 Derek Wilson as Robert Vernon / Tek-Knight, a former supe turned true-crime TV host who uses his show to cover up scandals for Vought.
 Jason Ritter as himself via Sam's hallucinations of an episode of the educational TV series Avenue V.
 Andy Walken as Dusty, a Supe resembling a teenager whose body ages slowly.
 Laila Robins as Grace Mallory

Special guests
 Elisabeth Shue as Madelyn Stillwell
 Jessie T. Usher as Reggie Franklin / A-Train
 Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
 Chace Crawford as Kevin Moskowitz / The Deep
 Jensen Ackles as "Soldier Boyfriend", Cate's childhood imaginary friend who is based on the films of Soldier Boy
 Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman

Episodes

Production

Development
On September 20, 2020, a spin-off of The Boys was announced, with Craig Rosenberg writing and executive producing the series with Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Michaela Starr, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Sarah Carbiener, Erica Rosbe, Aisha Porter-Christie, Judalina Neira, and Zak Schwartz. On September 27, 2021, Amazon gave the order for the series, and Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters were set as showrunners and executive producers of the series. On October 2, 2020, Kripke stated the Hunger Games-inspired series would focus on the G-Men team mentioned in the first season of The Boys, originally created as a parody of Marvel Comics' X-Men for the fourth volume of Ennis' and Robertson's comic book series: "We Gotta Go Now", from which the series is "loosely inspired".

On January 5, 2023, it was announced that a writing room for a potential second season would soon come together, to be led by Michele Fazekas, who also has become sole showrunner since Tara Butters has taken a break from work. On October 19, 2023, Amazon Prime Video renewed the series for a second season.

Casting
On March 11, 2021, Lizze Broadway and Jaz Sinclair were cast in the series. On March 19, Shane Paul McGhie, Aimee Carrero, and Maddie Phillips were cast in the series. On April 15, 2021, Reina Hardesty was cast in the series. On March 10, 2022, Carrero and McGhie exited the series. A few days later, Chance Perdomo joined the main cast in a recasting, replacing McGhie. On April 25, 2022, Hardesty left the series. On May 9, 2022, London Thor was cast to replace Hardesty. Derek Luh, Asa Germann, and Shelley Conn also joined the cast as series regulars. Two days later, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sean Patrick Thomas, and Marco Pigossi were cast in recurring capacities. In November 2022, Clancy Brown joined the cast as Richard "Rich Brink" Brinkerhoff. In December 2022, Jessie T. Usher, Colby Minifie, and P. J. Byrne were confirmed to be reprising their roles from The Boys, in guest appearances, as Reggie Franklin / A-Train, Ashley Barrett, and Adam Bourke, respectively, while in September 2023, Derek Wilson was confirmed to have been cast as Robert Vernon / Tek Knight.

Filming
Filming began at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus in May 2022 and the Claireville Conservation Area, Brampton in July, intended for an October wrap, under the working title of The Boys Presents: Varsity. Other filming locations include Sobeys Stadium, and the Stardust Drive-In Movie Theater. In July 2022, it was announced that the series would officially be titled Gen V. In September 2022, members of the cast announced on social media that production had wrapped.

Music
In October 2023, it was revealed that Matt Bowen and Christopher Lennertz had composed the score for the series.

Release
Gen V premiered on Amazon Prime Video on September 29, 2023.

Reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 97% approval rating with an average rating of 7.65/10, based on 101 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Just about as gruesomely subversive as its origin series, Gen V builds on The Boys in occasionally chaotic but overall inspired fashion." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 73 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Notes

References

External links
 

2020s American black comedy television series
2020s American college television series
2020s American comic science fiction television series
2020s American LGBT-related comedy television series
2020s American LGBT-related drama television series
2020s American superhero comedy television series
2023 American television series debuts
Amazon Prime Video original programming
American television spin-offs
The Boys (franchise)
Dynamite Entertainment adaptations
English-language television shows
Serial drama television series
Television series about teenagers
Television series by Amazon Studios
Television series by Sony Pictures Television
Television shows based on DC Comics
Television shows filmed in Toronto