The Boys: How to watch the Amazon Prime adults-only superhero show (including Gen V, Diabolical and more!)
As the Boys grows from a comic to a show to a franchise, here's how to watch the hit series (including its spinoffs)
Superhero stories, as the common wisdom goes, are like modern myths, which would make the superheroes themselves contemporary gods. So… what happens when they start acting like it? That’s when trouble starts — and when Prime Video’s adults-only satirical take on the superhero genre The Boys comes into its own. As new spin-off series Gen V gets started, you might want to catch up with what you’ve missed. That’s where we come in.
Based loosely on the comic book The Boys by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, Amazon Prime Video's The Boys is a distinctly more gritty take on the superhero genre. Most heroes in this world have either been corrupted by their power or are simply sociopaths waiting for a chance to let their worst side out to the world. Following the success of the Amazon TV show, multiple spin-offs have been announced, including Gen V, the new series currently streaming on Prime Video. If you’re not sure how best to watch every show in The Boys franchise in either chronological or release order, here is exactly what you need to know.
How to watch The Boys in chronological order
Most episodes of The Boys take place in the order they are released, though there are some flashbacks used to flesh out certain characters’ backstories and motivations. The biggest wrinkle in the show’s watch order is the animated series Diabolical. Some of these shorts take place in the main show’s timeline, while most take place in an entirely different universe. According to showrunner Eric Kripke, only three episodes of Diabolical are considered canon to the main show. Every other episode is included on this list but noted as non-canon to avoid confusion.
If you want to watch The Boys in chronological order, here is what we suggest.
- Diabolical – Episode 1: Laser Baby’s Day Out – Note that this episode is considered non-canon to the main show’s timeline.
- Diabolical – Episode 8: One Plus One Equals Two
- Diabolical – Episode 3: I’m Your Pusher – Note that this episode is considered non-canon to the main show’s timeline. It incorporates many elements from the original comics and was written by Garth Ennis, so it is most likely part of the comic universe but this has not been confirmed
- The Boys – Season 1: Episodes 1-8
- Butcher: A Short Film – Note that this was a 5-minute film released via The Boys Twitter account
- The Boys – Season 2: Episodes 1-3
- Diabolical – Episode 2: An Animated Short Where Pissed-Off Supes Kill Their Parents – Note that this episode is considered non-canon to the main show’s timeline.
- The Boys – Season 2: Episodes 4-8
- Diabolical – Episode 4: Boyd in 3D – Note that this episode is considered non-canon to the main show’s timeline.
- Diabolical – Episode 5: BFFs – Note that this episode is considered non-canon to the main show’s timeline.
- Diabolical – Episode 6: Nubian vs Nubian
- Diabolical – Episode 7: John and Sun-Hee
- Seven on 7 – Episodes 1-7
- The Boys – Season 3: Episodes 1-3
- Deeper and Deeper – Note that this is a podcast hosted on Audible featuring The Deep and his wife Cassandra discussing their relationship up to this point in the show.
- Seven on 7 – Episode 8
- The Boys – Season 3: Episodes 4-8
- Mr. Butcher: A Proper Education – Note that this was a 1-minute short released via The Boys Twitter account
- Seven on 7 – Episode 9
- Gen V - Season 1
How to watch The Boys in release order
If you’re not worried about keeping the timeline straight, it is much easier to watch The Boys in release order. Other than the occasional short that is released between episodes, most of the content in The Boys is released in easy-to-follow seasons. Here is how to watch everything that has been released for Amazon’s The Boys series in release order.
- The Boys – Season 1
- The Boys – Season 2: Episodes 1-3
- Butcher: A Short Film – Note that this was a 5-minute film released via The Boys Twitter account
- The Boys – Season 2: Episodes 4-8
- Seven on 7 – Episodes 1-7
- Diabolical – Episodes 1-8
- The Boys – Season 3: Episodes 1-3
- Deeper and Deeper – Note that this is a podcast hosted on Audible featuring The Deep and his wife Cassandra discussing their relationship up to this point in the show.
- The Boys – Season 3: Episode 4
- Seven on 7 – Episode 8
- The Boys – Season 3: Episodes 4-8
- Mr. Butcher: A Proper Education – Note that this was a 1-minute short released via The Boys Twitter account
- Seven on 7 – Episode 9
- Gen V - Season 1
Where can you watch The Boys
The Boys is one of the most popular shows on Amazon Prime Video and they have the exclusive rights to stream it worldwide. Even the Deeper and Deeper podcast is hosted on the Amazon-owned Audible service. The only exceptions are the Seven on 7 episodes, which are hosted on YouTube, and the two short films, which were posted by The Boys’ Twitter account.
What’s next for The Boys?
Gen V is the latest spin-off from The Boys, following a group of young Supes who have enrolled at a college for young adult superheroes and has been described as a college show crossed with Hunger Games competitions between students. Officially set between seasons 3 and 4 of the main show, it features multiple cast members of The Boys and reportedly sets up storylines for the fourth season of the main series.
When that fourth season will arrive, however, remains a mystery for now. The season stopped shooting earlier this year, but showrunner Eric Kripke has purposefully left any release dates out of the public forum for now. Here's everything we know about it so far, anyway.
Does The Boys tv show follow the comics’ storyline?
When you’re adapting a property from comic books to TV screens, you have to expect some changes. The Boys gives some characters a new look, such as giving Billy Butcher a rugged beard, when it translated them to screen. Several characters got their backstories updated for the modern era and others, like Soldier Boy, got a complete personality overhaul to help them fit into the TV show.
The broad premise of The Boys TV show remains similar to the original comic. It follows a group of vigilantes who are tasked with holding superheroes accountable for their actions, but most of the details are very different. Considering the explosion in superhero films since The Boys comic book debuted in 2006, there are more nods to properties like the MCU mixed into the TV show, for example. Homelander is far more controlled and intelligent in the TV show, making him a more menacing, unpredictable villain.
The result is that The Boys TV show will feel familiar to fans of the comics while still offering plenty of surprises. Major story beats are presented in vastly different ways, so don’t worry if you’ve never picked up a single issue of The Boys. There is no required reading to enjoy the show.
Get to meet the new class of Gen V.