The Boys Creator Reveals Season 4 Premiere Title

The Boys TV series creator Eric Kripke has revealed the title of the Season 4 premiere episode, which is "Department of Dirty Tricks". Kripke shared a shot of the script for The Boys #401 on Twitter, with the caption "Day One", to denote that The Boys is back in production on Season 4, starting today. The Boys star Antony Starr (Homelander) also rang the bell for the start of production on Season 4, by sharing an old-school photo that shows how far the series and its characters have come. 

Here's Eric Kripke's post about The Boys Season 4: 

The title "Department of Dirty Tricks" is a callback to the nickname of the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), which was the precursor to the CIA. The OSS/CIA is now infamous for developing a lot of the most nefarious espionage tactics and weaponry we know today – be it silenced pistols, suicide bombs, miniature or disguised explosives, forged identities, assassinations, and interrogation. The OSS also developed the MKULTRA program, which used a combination of torture and psychoactive drugs to interrogate and/or brainwash subjects. 

Obviously, The Boys TV series could make multi-pronged use of this episode title. Half the fun of The Boys is its in-universe twists on actual history or contemporary society; the Season 4 premiere could establish The Boys' new status quo as a clandestine agency trying to undermine Vought's tightening ties to the US government. The title could also hint that the Season 4 premiere could flip the CIA's history and endeavors into a revelatory new bit of mythos about how the "Department of Dirty Tricks" and superhero community are intertwined. 

(SPOILERS) The Boys Season 3 ended with Butcher and The Boys dealing serious blows to Vought and The Seven superhero team. Homelander tore out Black Noir's guts for never telling him he was cloned from old-school hero, Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles); Maeve and Homelander finally battled, which resulted in Maeve faking her own death in order to leave The Seven for good. A-Train finally got a super-heart to restore his super-speed power, while The Deep got back on the team – at the cost of being their personal assassin and flunky. On the upside for the bad guys, a surprising cliffhanger to Season 3 saw Homelander's son Ryan finally taking his place at his father's side, after being enamored with Homelander getting away with murder in front of a cult-like crowd of supporters.

Meanwhile, The Boys think they have a new day to strike at the supe power structure – but Billy Butcher hasn't told them yet his life is coming to an end.

The Boys Seasons 1-3 are streaming on Prime Video.