After two years, a new season of The Boys finally arrives on Prime Video this month, with its first three episodes debuting on Thursday, June 13. Season 4 will include five additional episodes, one premiering every Thursday through July 18. After all this time and all its superhero lampoonery, the question is whether the satirical comic book adaptation can continue to feel fresh, and the first reviews of the season somewhat disagree on the answer. The good thing is that for die-hard fans of the show, The Boys: Season 4 doesn’t seem to disappoint.
Here’s what critics are saying about The Boys: Season 4:
Is the show still going strong?
Thankfully, the answer is a resounding “f–k yes” for The Boys as it enters its fourth season.
— Trent Moore, Paste Magazine
The Boys is at the top of its game.
— Amon Warmann, Empire Magazine
Thankfully, the Boys themselves are still very lovable, even as the series complicates them and makes them a little more human.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
The real reason The Boys remains still captivating is the exceptional writing, which continues to engage viewers.
— Abhishek Srivastava, The Times of India
The Boys still maintains its power to shock. Returning for a new season, numerous scenes will once again leave your jaw on the floor, even if on the whole the show is starting to lose its biting edge.
— Emily Murray, Total Film
In 2019, it was the superhero satire the world needed. In 2024, with its work done, The Boys might be best served by fastening its cape and soaring into the sunset.
— Ed Power, Daily Telegraph
(Photo by Amazon MGM Studios)
Will the fans be happy?
Fans of The Boys will not be disappointed with its fourth go-around.
— Cassondra Feltus, Black Girl Nerds
Fans will love it; Season 4 is simply phenomenal.
— Trent Moore, Paste Magazine
Fans who felt as if things were wrapped up too neatly at the end of season 3 should be pleased with the chaos of season 4. It’s mean, sometimes too mean, but it’s still full of plenty of the things The Boys fans love.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
At times, Kripke’s tale can be a tad unwieldy; even long-time fans will find it challenging to completely keep up with its entanglements.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
How does it compare to the other seasons?
The Boys’ latest season is its best yet.
— Amon Warmann, Empire Magazine
It’s a wild ride, arguably the show’s wildest yet, which is saying something.
— Trent Moore, Paste Magazine
Showrunner Eric Kripke did it again, and by “it,” I mean that he managed to one-up previous seasons.
— Kimberly Ricci, Uproxx
While the writing is as sharp as ever, this season takes a slower approach than all its predecessors, and it’s all the better for it.
— Kaiya Shunyata, RogerEbert.com
After the brilliant heights of season 3 it’s hard not to feel like this season is a bit of a letdown — but it’s setting the stage for a potentially perfect fifth season.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
Season 4 may be the weakest so far.
— Lyvie Scott, TV Guide
(Photo by Jasper Savage/Prime Video)
Is it darker than before?
It’s the darkest installment yet.
— Alison Herman, Variety
This is a show that’s always been pretty bleak, but season 4 gets downright depressing in places.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
The Boys has always had a flair for the grim, but there are sequences in season 4 that are among the absolute bleakest television that I have ever seen.
— Noah Berlatsky, Observer
And is it more political than ever?
Season 4 marks the most central this parallel version of American government has ever been to the core story, with all eight episodes unfolding between the election of anti-“supe” presidential candidate Robert Singer and the vote’s certification on — brace yourself — January 6th.
— Alison Herman, Variety
The season’s political allegory is broader and more obviously informed by every damn upheaval of the 2020s than before… The power struggle metaphors play like something we’ve simultaneously earned, deserve and ought to appreciate in quivering awe.
— Bob Strauss, The Wrap
The politics are muddled at best, which is a real shame… It’s all pretty toothless.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
Do not worry about this season feeling political.
— Kimberly Ricci, Uproxx
(Photo by Jan Thijs/Prime Video)
Does it ramp up the R-rated material?
It occasionally feels a bit tedious and overwrought, especially when tied to the more depressing storylines, but when it’s on the more comical side of things, it still really works.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
The first thought I had when the premiere-episode credits rolled: “Well, I’ve never seen that body part on a TV show before now.”
— Kimberly Ricci, Uproxx
This season doesn’t quite reach the depraved depths of “Herogasm,” but it certainly tries.
— Lyvie Scott, TV Guide
While The Boys’ latest run may not feature a jaw-dropping sight to equal last season’s premiere-episode sex scene, that’s not for lack of trying… Kipke’s series habitually pushes the boundaries of good taste.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
After a second and third season that felt like the writers were constantly trying to one-up their commentary and shock factor, Season 4 washes the gore away and lets these characters take center stage once again.
— Kaiya Shunyata, RogerEbert.com
Is it still funny?
Whilst this season is packed with terrors, the series sure hasn’t forgotten about its silly side too.
— Emily Murray, Total Film
Everything surrounding the Boys is unrelentingly bleak, so the moments of vulgar, villainous humor can be real lifelines.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
This chapter is an absurdly entertaining outing that maintains the toxic revenge tale with a heaping helping of gallows humor.
— M.N. Miller, Nerd Alert
Many of Season 4’s bigger satirical set pieces stick the landing. Superhero conglomerate Vought’s own version of Disney on Ice proves hilarious.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
(Photo by Jasper Savage/Prime Video)
How are the performances?
The good news is that our cast is still making the most of it, especially on Team Vought. Usher embraces the softer side of A-Train and gets great opportunities to connect with new allies.
— Lyvie Scott, TV Guide
Antony Starr’s nefarious turn remains a highlight of The Boys, as his villainous tyrant rampages through a mid-life crisis, all while absentmindedly keeping Ryan in check.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
Erin Moriarty rises to the challenge delivering an incredible performance, becoming the beating heart of the show this season.
— Emily Murray, Total Film
This may be [Erin Moriarty’s] most devastating performance yet.
— Bob Strauss, The Wrap
Are there any problems?
As the stakes rise and franchise expansion continues, The Boys has a less steady handle on these newer aspects of its growing mission.
— Alison Herman, Variety
There is a lot going on in The Boys season 4… Everything is spread just a tiny bit too thin, though it does feel like they’re getting all of the pieces into place for a truly wild season 5.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
The concentration on individual internal conflicts and tragic backstories is part of why the season feels unfocused. Rather than building towards a climactic resolution, the plot staggers and meanders, heaping up misery off to the side as the apocalypse grinds on.
— Noah Berlatsky, Observer
(Photo by Jasper Savage/Prime Video)
Do we need to have seen Gen V?
Don’t worry too much if you’re behind on the spinoff. The Boys is still about The Boys, though like any good franchise-building, you’ll have a better understanding of what’s going on if you’ve been following along.
— Trent Moore, Paste Magazine
While Gen V isn’t considered essential viewing in order to follow what’s going on in Season 4, I still highly recommend you watch its 8-episode inaugural season.
— Cassondra Feltus, Black Girl Nerds
Elements from last year’s teen spin-off Gen V make their way onto the grownups’ stage in smart and scary ways.
— Bob Strauss, The Wrap
Characters from Gen V cross over with little introduction, an infusion of lore that’s disorienting in its own right and tricky to balance with cracks about the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s seemingly infinite, interconnected phases.
— Alison Herman, Variety
Will this show ever run out of steam?
One nagging question hangs over the latest episodes of Amazon’s demented superhero series. Is there enough imagination left — on the planet, let alone in this particular writers’ room — to keep it up?
— Bob Strauss, The Wrap
The cracks are beginning to show – surely season 5 has to be the last? As we await news on whether the end is in sight, at least there’s plenty here to enjoy from this wildly entertaining latest chapter.
— Emily Murray, Total Film
The Boys is still really good, so here’s hoping that they don’t get lost in the misery porn of it all and can right the ship next season. The world is bleak enough as it is, so something this depressing needs to feel like it has a point.
— Danielle Ryan, Slashfilm
The series is running out of reasons to keep going — and not even its salacious shock value can keep it from spinning its wheels.
— Lyvie Scott, TV Guide
The first three episodes of
The Boys: Season 4
(2024)
premiere on Prime Video on June 13, 2024.
Thumbnail image by ©Prime Video
On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.