Gen V

Available on Amazon Prime

It’s somewhat surprising to see The Boys, a series that has defiantly parodied cinematic franchises since its 2019 debut, launch a spin-off series but, despite the slight whiff of contradiction that lingers around Gen V, the end result is good fun.

Serving as a prelude to The Boys’ highly anticipated fourth season, this series follows the travails of a group of teenage ‘Supes’ that attend the Godolkin University School of Crimefighting, where students compete for top ranking and a chance to join The Seven, the nefarious group of morally compromised superheroes made famous by The Boys. Unsurprisingly, over the course of Gen V’s eight-episode run, we discover that all is not as it seems at the University, and that its powers-that-be harbour ulterior motives.

Given its knowing title, Gen V is geared towards contemporary audiences and helmed by a fledgling cast, of which Jaz Sinclair, Chance Perdomo, and Maddie Phillips shine, although not as brightly as London Thor and Derek Luh, who benefit from being assigned the series’ most interesting role as the gender-shifting Jordan Li. Shelley Conn is also good value as the nefarious University dean (although her thunder is well and truly stolen by a returning big bad from The Boys), while there’s a promising turn from Arnie offspring Patrick Schwarzenegger.

Although the teen-centric tone of the show means it can at times be difficult to differentiate Gen V from genre bedfellows such as The Hunger Games or X-Men franchises, this is a welcome addendum to one of Amazon Prime’s major success stories that succeeds in building anticipation for what’s to come next.