59 Fun Facts About Hard the Boys

Which director was attached to Columbia's planned film of The Boys in 2008?

Adam McKay was attached to direct when Columbia Pictures picked up the film rights in 2008; he later said the lukewarm reception of Watchmen helped kill the project.

Which network first announced a TV adaptation of The Boys in 2016, before Amazon took it over?

Amazon Studios acquired the rights on November 8, 2017, after Cinemax chose not to proceed.

Which actor played Translucent, the invisible member of the Seven, in season one?

Alex Hassell played Translucent, the invisible member of the Seven whom Hughie kills in the season-one episode 'Cherry'.

Who directed the first episode after Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg dropped out over scheduling?

Dan Trachtenberg, director of 10 Cloverfield Lane, directed the pilot 'The Name of the Game'; Rogen and Goldberg stayed on as executive producers.

Though set in New York, The Boys was filmed mainly in which city?

The Boys films mainly in Toronto, with additional shooting around the Golden Horseshoe in Mississauga and Hamilton.

The Sage Grove scenes in season two were shot at what kind of real facility?

A forensic mental health centre, the Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care in St. Thomas, Ontario, stood in for Vought's Sage Grove site.

Which composer, a Supernatural collaborator of Eric Kripke, scores The Boys?

Christopher Lennertz, who also scored Supernatural for Eric Kripke, composes The Boys; Matt Bowen later joined him as co-composer.

Which Emmy-nominated season-two song did Erin Moriarty sing?

'Never Truly Vanish', sung by Starlight at Translucent's funeral in the season-two premiere, was nominated for the 2021 Emmy for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.

Patton Oswalt's role in season two was eventually revealed to be what?

Patton Oswalt supplied the voice of the Deep's gills, which berate him during a psychedelic trip at the Church of the Collective in season two.

The pilot, 'The Name of the Game', had its world premiere at which film festival?

'The Name of the Game' premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 29, 2019, three months before the full season landed on Prime Video on July 26.

What companion release, set between seasons one and two, arrived in September 2020?

'Butcher: A Short Film', in which Karl Urban's Butcher lies low after the season-one finale, was released online in September 2020 between the two seasons.

The season-four finale was retitled 'Season Four Finale' from what original title?

The finale was written as 'Assassination Run'; after the July 13, 2024 attempt on Donald Trump, Amazon aired it five days later under the generic title 'Season Four Finale'.

Which actress plays Victoria Neuman, the head-popping congresswoman?

Claudia Doumit plays Victoria Neuman, the congresswoman who pops heads and is torn apart by Butcher in the season-four finale.

What Nielsen milestone did The Boys reach with its Top 10 Streaming Shows list?

Nielsen's weekly Top 10 streaming list had been all Netflix until September 2020, when season two of The Boys became the first non-Netflix show on it.

What milestone did The Boys achieve at the 73rd Primetime Emmys in 2021?

The Boys was the first comic-book TV adaptation nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, one of its five nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmys in 2021.

Which actress plays Grace Mallory, the former CIA officer who first assembled the Boys?

Laila Robins plays Grace Mallory, the CIA veteran who put the Boys together and whose grandchildren were killed by Lamplighter.

Who voices Ambrosius, the Deep's secret pet octopus, in season four?

Tilda Swinton voices Ambrosius, the octopus the Deep secretly keeps and romances in season four of The Boys.

What does Butcher eventually discover about Joe Kessler in season four?

He is a hallucination: the real Joe Kessler died in Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley years earlier, and the figure Butcher argues with is the voice of his Compound-V tumour.

In which decade is the prequel spin-off Vought Rising set?

Vought Rising is set in the 1950s, with Jensen Ackles's Soldier Boy and Aya Cash's Nazi Supe returning; Paul Grellong is showrunner.

Which two actors were announced in 2023 as producers of the spin-off The Boys: Mexico?

Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal were announced as executive producers of The Boys: Mexico in November 2023, with Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer creating the series.

Gen V is loosely based on which comic story arc?

'We Gotta Go Now' is the comic arc about the G-Men, a parody of the X-Men, that loosely inspired Gen V's school setting.

Which Gen V student can switch between a male and a female form?

Jordan Li can shift between a male form with blast power and a faster female form; London Thor and Derek Luh share the role.

Which actress plays Marie Moreau, the blood-controlling student at the centre of Gen V?

Jaz Sinclair plays Marie Moreau, the blood-bending Godolkin student who leads Gen V; Lizze Broadway plays her roommate Emma.

How does Emma Meyer, 'Little Cricket', initially shrink in Gen V?

Emma shrinks by purging and grows by binge-eating, a Supe power the show ties to an eating disorder.

Who plays Luke Riordan, the pyrokinetic 'Golden Boy' of Gen V?

Patrick Schwarzenegger plays Luke Riordan, Godolkin's top-ranked student Golden Boy, who kills himself in the Gen V premiere after turning on Professor Brink.

Cate Dunlap of Gen V controls others through what?

Cate's power works through physical touch: skin contact lets her push commands into a person's mind, as Maddie Phillips's character does to her friends.

Which of these comedians wrote for the animated anthology Diabolical?

Awkwafina wrote and voiced the Diabolical episode 'BFFs'; Andy Samberg, Ilana Glazer and Justin Roiland also wrote episodes, each in its own animation style.

In the comics, what was strapped to the young Homelander to stop him escaping?

Vought kept the young Homelander chained to a hydrogen bomb so he could not escape; he had been grown from genetic material taken from a Nazi-era Supe.

In the comics, who turns out to be a clone of Homelander created to kill him if he went rogue?

Black Noir, a clone of Homelander created as his failsafe, went insane waiting to be used and committed the atrocities in the doctored photos, including the assault on Butcher's wife.

What power does Kimiko's brother Kenji Miyashiro have?

Kenji's power is telekinesis: he throws people and objects with his mind in season two, where Abraham Lim played him.

Who plays Alastair Adana, chairman of the Church of the Collective?

Goran Višnjić plays Alastair Adana, the Church of the Collective chairman whose head Victoria Neuman pops in the season-two finale.

Which Payback member did Soldier Boy kill at a remote cabin in season three?

Mindstorm, the mind-reading Payback member who had become a recluse, was killed by Soldier Boy at his cabin in season three; Ryan Blakely played him.

Whose heart does A-Train receive in a transplant after his own fails?

A-Train had killed Blue Hawk over his violence against Black residents, including A-Train's brother Nathan.

Who plays Little Nina, the Russian mob boss introduced in season three?

Katia Winter plays Little Nina, the Russian crime boss from Frenchie's past who forces him and Kimiko into a job in season three.

Who plays Gunpowder in the present day in season three?

Sean Patrick Flanery plays the present-day Gunpowder, the former Payback member Soldier Boy kills in a gun-show car park in season three.

Translucent's invisibility comes from turning his skin into what?

Translucent's skin becomes a carbon meta-material that bends light, which also makes it hard as diamond; only the inside of his body is vulnerable.

How does Butcher subdue the shrinking Supe Termite in season three?

Butcher drops him in a bag of cocaine, where the tiny Termite overdoses; Vought later cuts him a deal and he walks free.

How does Homelander injure Blindspot, the blind Supe proposed as Translucent's replacement?

Homelander injures Blindspot by clapping his ears, bursting the blind Supe's eardrums after Ashley pitched him for the Seven in the season-two premiere.

How does Sister Sage temporarily switch off her genius-level intellect in season four?

Sage has herself lobotomized: she gets the Deep to push an ice pick through her eye socket to quiet her mind, and her brain heals within hours.

Which actor plays Splinter, Firecracker's multiplying associate?

Rob Benedict, who played Chuck on Supernatural, plays Splinter, the self-duplicating Supe devoted to Firecracker in season four.

Hughie's love of which musician stems from memories of his absent mother?

Hughie's Billy Joel fandom goes back to his mother Daphne, who left when he was a child and is played by Rosemarie DeWitt in season four.

Who plays Cherie, Frenchie's former criminal partner?

Jordana Lajoie plays Cherie, Frenchie's old partner in crime who in season two lines up paid hits for a grieving Kimiko.

Who was Frederick Vought's first successful Compound V test subject?

Stormfront, born Klara Risinger, married Frederick Vought and was his first successful Compound V test subject; Aya Cash plays her.

What is the name of Hughie's girlfriend killed by A-Train in the pilot?

Robin Ward was Hughie's girlfriend, killed when A-Train ran through her at super-speed in the pilot; Jess Salgueiro played her.

Which actress plays Firecracker, the far-right streamer who joins the Seven?

Valorie Curry plays Firecracker, the far-right streamer from Starlight's pageant past who joins the Seven in season four.

Who anchored Vought News Network's show 'Seven on 7' until season four?

Cameron Coleman anchored VNN's 'Seven on 7' until Homelander beat him to death in season four after Sage named him as the leaker.

Casting which Supernatural actor in the final season would complete Kripke's 'game of Supernatural Pokémon'?

Kripke joked that The Boys was playing 'Supernatural Pokémon' with Jared Padalecki the catch he lacked; Padalecki was cast for the final season in 2025.

On what date did the fifth and final season premiere?

The fifth and final season premiered on April 8, 2026 with two episodes and ran weekly to its finale on May 20, 2026.

What codename does Grace Mallory give the weapon said to have killed Soldier Boy?

BCL RED is the codename Mallory gives the weapon that supposedly killed Soldier Boy in Nicaragua; the Boys learn the death was a cover story.

Kripke described Soldier Boy as what, when explaining how he'd differ from the comics?

Kripke called Soldier Boy 'the Homelander before Homelander', Vought's original star Supe of the 1940s; Jensen Ackles plays him as a bigoted curmudgeon.

What is the name of Butcher's bulldog in the comics?

Terror is Butcher's bulldog in the comics; the show keeps him too, living with Butcher's Aunt Judy in season two.

Which Broadway names joined The Boys cast on the 'Vought on Ice' song 'Let's Put the Christ Back in Christmas'?

Shoshana Bean, James Monroe Iglehart and Andrew Rannells sang 'Let's Put the Christ Back in Christmas', the Vought on Ice holiday number recorded for season three.

Which studio secured the film rights in August 2012, reviving the project before it was cancelled in 2016?

Paramount Pictures picked up the film rights in August 2012 after Columbia let them lapse; the project was dropped in 2016 as the TV series was developed.

Which DC imprint published the first six issues of The Boys comic before abruptly cancelling it in 2007?

WildStorm published the first six issues in 2006 and 2007 before DC pulled the plug; Dynamite Entertainment resumed the series with issue seven later in 2007.

Which actor was the visual model for Wee Hughie in the original comic and wrote the foreword to its first collection?

Simon Pegg later played Hughie's father in the Amazon series, a nod to the comic's Wee Hughie having been drawn to look like him.

Which artist co-created The Boys comic with Garth Ennis?

Darick Robertson co-created The Boys with Garth Ennis and drew most of the series; Russ Braun drew many of the later issues.

How many issues of The Boys comic were published between its 2006 debut and its conclusion in 2012?

The Boys ran 72 issues from 2006 to 2012; an eight-issue epilogue, Dear Becky, followed in 2020, after three earlier six-issue spin-off miniseries.

In Gen V, what is the name of the underground research facility secretly overseen by Dean Indira Shetty?

The Woods is the secret lab beneath the university where Dean Shetty held young Supes for experiments, including Luke's brother Sam Riordan.

Hamish Linklater joined Gen V's second season as Godolkin's new dean, known by what name?

Hamish Linklater plays Dean Cipher, the Supe-supremacist who replaces the murdered Indira Shetty as dean and takes Marie under his wing in season two.