A new dawn of Earth’s mightiest superheroes is here to save the day from … ehh, scratch that! Are you tired of watching the same superhero show or movie over and over again? Tired of seeing that obnoxious band of good heroes always trying to save the day from the most evil, vile, and sinister villains? Amazon Prime’s The Boys, which aired in 2019, managed to change the landscape of shows featuring superpowered humans in a very different way.
This satirical yet gory project inspired by Garth Ennis’ comic book series of the same name is probably the best we’ve had in years. Since season 4 is still underway, why not indulge yourself in 10 other TV shows you need to binge-watch if you like The Boys?
Peacemaker
After somehow a mild success of The Suicide Squad (the one with Idris Elba, not Will Smith), DC managed to create one of the best TV superhero series of all time – Peacemaker. Known as a superstar in the wrestling world, John Cena followed the footsteps of Dwyane “The Rock” Johnson and Dave “Batista” Bautista as wrestlers who turned to acting in their later years.
Thankfully, Cena’s acting career skyrocketed after his exceptional portrayal of the violent vigilante and anti-hero.
Peacemaker is a fun and thrilling ride with some touch of comedy in it. The show was released by HBO Max last year, in January 2022. Season 2 is rumored to be released sometime in 2025 or 2026.
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series
There’s no doubt that Marvel controlled the live-action movies. On the other hand, DC has been dominating the animation industry for many years. Although the popular comic book giant has been underperforming on the silver screen thus far, their catalog of animated series did not suffer the same fate (thankfully).
Harley Quinn: The Animated Series features the titular character, Harley Quinn, who teams up with other villains (Poison Ivy, Clayface, Bane, and King Shark) all the while the psychotic femme fatale is trying to find out her true self. The show has been running for 4 seasons and has aired a total of 46 episodes.
Preacher
Don’t be surprised if Garth Ennis’s twisted writing mind also created another masterpiece many years ago. In 2016, AMC created a live-action adaptation of Ennis’ Preacher, a supernatural series featuring a Texas
The best part is that Preacher is set in the same universe as The Boys. Knowing that now, maybe we’ll get a Preacher and The Boys crossover real soon!
Invincible
Don’t think, Mark! Yes, Omni-Man wouldn’t want you to think twice before watching this amazing animated series. Prime Video has been all hits in the superhero department.
The superhero animated show, Invincible, based on the comic book series by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) is one of the top shows on Amazon Prime Video. While it seemed to be a parody of DC’s Justice League due to the uncanny resemblance of some of Kirkman’s characters to that of DC’s JL, they showed that it’s more than just a satire. Along the way, we learn more about Mark Grayson as the hero “Invincible” and his bloody journey as Earth’s defender.
The Boys Presents: Diabolical
The MCU has an animated anthology series called “Marvel’s What If…?”, but The Boys somewhat has a similar version with The Boys Presents: Diabolical. The spin-off series is based on comic book series by Garth Ennis, featuring an anthology of different storylines in The Boys universe.
If you’re looking more of the hit adult superhero show, this is definitely perfect for you. Also, this animated series shows some characters that are yet to be introduced in the live-action adaptation, so there’s that.
Gen V
Since we’re already at it, it should not come as a surprise that The Boys’ spinoff series, Gen V, will be on this list. Following a group of superpowered teens, Gen V takes place roughly after The Boys season 3 ended but well before season 4 begins.
It completely uses the formula mastered by The Boys and utilizes it very well. If you’re a fan of the satirical superhero series, look no further than compound V-powered teens in Gen V.
No Heroics
Have you ever wondered what happens to failed superheroes? You probably haven’t heard of No Heroics yet. The British superhero-comedy television series debuted in 2008, featuring superheroes who are usually referred to as “capes” (yeah, capes).
What happens to superheroes after saving the day? Well, they do things just like normal people do – shopping, eating out, working day jobs, or whatever it is. No Heroics features a group of seemingly ordinary people who are considered B-listers in the hero department who need to prove something for themselves. This comedy series is a great way to have a laugh and enjoy the superhero flic without the difficulty of trying to understand the comic book genre (we’re looking at you fake Marvel fans!).
The Umbrella Academy
4 years and 4 seasons later, we’re already looking at what could be the end of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy.
A dysfunctional family of adopted siblings who have spent their childhood being superheroes have been away from each other for quite some time. That was, until, their adopted father passed away. However, their father’s passing was met with an imminent danger, an upcoming apocalypse. There’s a lot more to The Umbrella Academy than just that famous meme, after all, everything is about to come to an end in season 4.
Happy!
The Boys isn’t the only positively received show based on a graphic novel in recent memory. In 2017, SyFy created a live-action adaptation of Happy!, an R-rated series with the same intensity as The Boys.
The show follows a disgraced former detective, Nick Sax (played by Christopher Meloni) who turns into a psychotic hitman who had a near-death experience. But, after being revived, Nick gains an imaginary friend, a blue cartoon whimsical horse named Happy. Yes, I know what you’re thinking – is he very similar to Black Noir? In The Boys season 3, we learned that Noir was actually heavily supported by his imaginary friends who look just like Happy. Anyway, if you’re into this stuff, we highly recommend binge-watching Happy this weekend!
My Hero Academia
Surprise, surprise. You didn’t think of a Japanese anime, did you? Well, My Hero Academia (Boku No Hiro) should definitely be on your list of shows similar to The Boys.
My Hero Academia is an animated series based on the Japanese manga series of the same name. The story begins with Izuku Midoriya, who at first thought he was born with no superpowers (called Quirks in the show). Despite being discriminated against, he pursues his dreams of being a superhero one day. Thankfully, he was chosen by the superhero Midoriya looked up to, All Might. This anime spawned multiple seasons, spin-offs, and even movies which makes it one of the best anime in recent memory.
Unpopular opinion: Although they have very different personalities, is it just me, or does All Might look eerily similar to Homelander?
