The Boys season 2 episodes will be released weekly: Here’s why

The Boys season 2 premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Sept. 4. Many of the characters from the first season will be back, and it looks wilder than ever before.

While fans can expect much of the same in season 2, based on the trailer, it looks like the Boys are back together again and on a mission to stop The Seven, who has also added a new member, Stormfront, played by Aya Cash. Stormfront replaces Translucent, who was obviously blown to smithereens in the first season.

There will also be a few changes in The Boys season 2.

The Boys season 2 will be released weekly

Unlike the first season, The Boys season 2’s new episodes will be released weekly.

The first three episodes of the season will be available on Friday, Sept. 4, and then one episode will be added to Prime Video every week.

The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke spoke with Netflix Life during a virtual roundtable and confirmed it was his idea, along with the other producers, to release episodes of The Boys weekly.

“Just so the fans know, like, it was not like a corporate overlord decision,” Kripke says. “Actually, the idea to air weekly came from the producers. Me, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg lobbied Amazon, who were actually reluctant to do it because they’d never done it.

“Because we found in season one, you know, there was such an overload of material so quickly, that a lot of scenes that we loved and thought should have been talked about on social media, kind of, just weren’t being talked about, because everyone was only talking about the biggest craziest things. And we wanted to just slow it down ever so slightly to just let each episode land with the fans a little bit more just, so they could take a little bit more time obsessing and talking and analyzing it before they moved on to the next one.”

While fans might not love the idea, because they can’t binge-watch the new season in one go, it’s a really good decision to release The Boys weekly. New episodes will turn into can’t-miss TV events, and fans will be able to talk about what’s happening in real time basically.

There’s no better time to try this strategy with the pandemic interrupting production on a number of shows and movies. We’re looking at a pretty dull fall for new TV, and if The Boys can make that a little more exciting with weekly episodes, I’m all for it.

So, what can we expect in The Boys season 2? If The Boys season 2 trailer is any indication, things will be crazier than ever before.

How The Boys season 2 finds balance

Because The Boys is one of the most ridiculous shows on TV right now, we also asked Kripke about how the show finds a balance between the comedy and the super dark content.

“We try to use, as our North Star, what would the most stringent reality be if something as absurd as superheroes existed in the real world. And that keeps us, I think, from getting too broad with the comedy or too dark even because the real world is a complicated, messy place.

“And if you were to throw superhumans into it, there really wouldn’t be that kind of violence because they’re super strong, and they really would be perverts because they have unlimited access and power. So that’s the been the secret to the tone because it (the show) does take these wild swings from social commentary to crazy dick jokes to really emotional character moments. And, I think that sort of helps hold it all together.”

The Boys season 2 is going deeper

Finding that balance is something that Kripke and the writers took into account heading into the new season. Kripke mentioned that the goal heading into the season was to put every character in their worst position in season 2.

“I walked into season 2 fairly nervous actually because I was so happy with how season one turned out and hitting that bar is stressful. I have to say season two is very stressful for me,” he says, “And, the writers and I decided very early on that the mistake that a lot of second-year shows make is they try to top the first season. Trying to go bigger and bigger every season is kind of unsustainable. So we wanted to try to go deeper.”

I don’t know if “deeper” meant inside of a whale, but as we’ve seen in the exclusive clip from The Boys season 2, that’s clearly where the show is headed!

The Boys season 2 arrives on Sept. 4! Be there!