The Boys Season 5: Creator Explains Why Series Is Ending

The Boys TV series creator Eric Kripke confirmed today that the upcoming The Boys season 5 will be the final one for the series. For years the executive producer has teased a plan for five total seasons for The Boys, but has always added the caveat that he’s been wrong before (Kripke famously had a five-season plan for Supernatural on The CW, and the series ended up running for 15 total seasons). Having now confirmed The Boys season 5 is the end of the road for the show, Kripke has pulled back the curtain and revealed exactly why.

“Part of it is such a wonky stupid screenwriter thing but three and five are the big magical numbers for writing,” Kripke said to EW. “Three is movie acts, TV acts are five. Jokes are a runner of three for five. Five just seems like a good round number. It’s enough to tell the story but also bring it to a climax without wearing out its welcome. It’s been hard because I haven’t been able to tell everyone. I was thrilled to finally be able to get the word out there.”

Kripke also went on to note that he felt the fourth season was crafted in such a way that audiences would watch it and naturally assume that it would end with the next batch of episodes. That in mind he felt it was natural to confirm their suspicions and reveal the ending is in sight.

Referencing his famously incorrect plans for Supernatural, which ran for ten more seasons after he departed the show, Kripke said, “I’m excited to finally execute a 5-season plan. That’s very exciting for me.”

In The Boys season 4, Karl Urban stars once again as Billy Butcher, leader of The Boys, which also includes Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell, Laz Alonso as M.M., Tomer Capone as Frenchie, and Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro. Some of the “supes” featured in the series include Antony Starr as Homelander, Jessie T. Usher as A-Train, and Chace Crawford as The Deep. Other stars of The Boys include Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett, CEO of Vought International, and Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman.  

The Boys season 4 will premiere with three episodes on Thursday, June 13, 2024 on Prime Video, with new episodes debuting weekly until The Boys season 4 finale premieres on Thursday, July 18. Prime Video describes the new season as follows:

The world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.