Seeing that no other franchise could even come close to the success that the MCU was able to amass in such a short time, it was hard to conceive the fact that a small-screen superhero series like The Boys would be able to compete. But three seasons and two spin-offs later, it’s well on its way to giving the cinematic juggernaut a run for its money.
And with its latest spin-off series Gen V achieving tremendous response from both new fans and old, the franchise is just starting to reveal its true potential. All this is thanks to showrunner Eric Kripke’s insight and talent of story writing that has made it possible. But who we should really be thanking is Jensen Ackles and his show Supernatural, where the writer realized that continuing a story is something that he should give more thought to.
The Boys Showrunner Reveals How Supernatural Gave Him The Confidence To Create Gen V
It’s not often that a project from the superhero genre of entertainment creates the same amount of hype and success the MCU does, but Prime Video’s The Boys was the breakthrough that anyone expected in the least. Thus, the success has enabled and incentivized the creators of the show to keep going with more from that universe.
But if it hadn’t been for showrunner Eric Kripke‘s experience on his past TV series titled Supernatural, then we might not have gotten to witness Gen V.
You may also like: “As a father of 3…and a self-respecting human being, I can’t do this”: One ‘Soul-Destroying’ The Boys Scene Was Too Much For Jensen Ackles, Refused To Film It
In a recent interview with Inverse, the writer talked about his contributions to the show, where he also worked with Jensen Ackles in the past. He said that initially, the idea was that Supernatural would be a successful, yet short TV series that would not be more than five seasons long, at least, that was the idea.
But contrary to that claim, the show went on for a whopping 15 seasons from 2005 to 2020. Thus, it made Kripke realize that putting a stop to a franchise’s continuity is useless. He said:
“I have since realized that literally no one in history is worse at predicting the amount of seasons of a show, like literally, I have learned my lesson and I’ve stopped predicting how many seasons these shows go. You will find out in hindsight,”
Thus, due to his more ambitious outlook on his projects now, the creation of a successful spin-off could become possible.
You may also like: Eric Kripke Confirms The Boys Won’t End With Season 4, Will Soldier On for Multiple More Seasons: “There will be more!”
Why Is The Boys So Successful?
One of the main reasons why this show is gaining a lot of traction from the audience relates to its departure from the regular depiction of superheroes in popular culture. While most superhero shows try to keep everything mild and moral, The Boys takes the familiar genres into unfamiliar waters.
Instead of creating selfless superheroes with almost no flaw in their character, a being that has transcended the errors of humanity, the show brings the dark and gritty reality of the world in its supes. Rather than being the paragons of good, the heroes themselves have flaws that make them the bane of the world. This narrative was never seen before, which became the reason for the series’ success.
You may also like: Jack Quaid’s The Boys Season 4 Wrap Pic Confirms Finale Episode Will Be an Absolute Bloodbath: “This one’s our best yet”
Gen V, streaming on Prime Video.
