The Boys

This Amazon series is set in a world where there are superheroes; they aren't typical superheroes though; they work for the powerful Vought Corporation and consider ratings and profit to be more important than saving lives. They are also arrogant, disillusioned or generally unpleasant. The worst of these are 'The Seven', the most senior heroes who are heavily marketed by Vought. Working to expose them is a group known as 'The Boys'; led by Billy Butcher who is convinced that leader of the heroes, Homelander, is responsible for the disappearance of his wife. We are introduced to each group via new members; Hughie Campbell joins The Boys after ultrafast hero A-Train ran through his girlfriend; and Annie January an idealistic young heroine known as Starlight who joins The Seven. Hughie and Annie become friends before learning what the other is doing.

When I first heard of this I thought it was just a case of Amazon jumping on the superhero bandwagon but then heard a radio review which made it sound like a series I might like... it most certainly is! If you like your heroes to be heroic and good rather than self-centred egomaniacs you might not like this but if you like to see conventions turned on their head this is great. Another major difference between this and more typical stories featuring superheroes is that this is definitely not family friendly; there is a lot of strong violence, some sex and nudity and possibly the most swearing I've heard in a TV show. The story develops well over the two seasons that are currently available with some good twists and plenty of interesting character development. The characters on both sides are interesting and the cast does a great job portraying them. While the story can be a bit dark at times it is lightened by its humour; often being genuinely hilarious as we see events that wouldn't seem the most obvious source of laughs. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to older superhero fans who are looking for something different. I can't wait for season three.