Since The Boys is finally ending with season 5, many viewers may be curious whether it has been canceled. Premiered in July 2019, The Boys has had a solid six-year run, with each season earning both critical and commercial success. The show has also expanded its roots into several spin-offs, which have also performed incredibly well. Considering how valuable of an IP The Boys is for Amazon Prime Video, it is hard not to question why the streamer is finally concluding its run after five seasons.
Five seasons, too, is also a long enough time frame for a television show to exhaust all of its core storylines and main character beats. Owing to this, The Boys will likely be able to reach a natural and satisfying closure with its fifth and final installment. However, since the show has only grown from strength to strength in popularity with each new installment and boasts an impressive average Rotten Tomatoes score of 93% across all seasons, audiences are wondering why it is being wrapped up with The Boys season 5.
The Boys Was Always Meant To Have 5 Seasons
The Show’s Five-Season Plan Was Hinted At A Long Time Ago
On many occasions, Erik Kripke has revealed that he always wanted to end The Boys‘ run with five seasons and not extend it beyond that. Even the show’s overarching pacing seems to have perfectly built up to season 5 to finally mark the end of its run. The Boys season 4 also felt like the penultimate arc in the show’s storyline, setting the stage for season 5 to resolve all loose ends and bring a natural and well-rounded conclusion to the series.
By ending its run with season 5, The Boys avoids becoming too redundant and losing the edge that helped it etch its identity in the superhero genre.
Even when it comes to creating novelty with each season, The Boys is starting to run out of new ideas and is seemingly on the verge of exhausting all the narrative avenues with its established character beats and lore. Since The Boys is known for its shock value, the show has also carried the pressure of topping its wildest moments with each new installment. By ending its run with season 5, The Boys avoids becoming too redundant and losing the edge that helped it etch its identity in the superhero genre.
Kripke Has Ensured The Boys Does Not Outstay Its Welcome
Despite initially hinting that The Boys would end with season 5, Erik Kripke made conflicting remarks that suggested the show might last longer. However, during season 4’s premiere week, he finally confirmed that season 5 would be the show’s last, assuring viewers that he was sticking to his original plan. Given how The Boys‘ entire narrative had been planned according to Erik Kripke’s initial vision of wrapping it up with five seasons, it made sense for the showrunner to not get carried away by the show’s success and stretch it beyond its intended conclusion.
The Boys Ending With Season 5 Avoids The Mistakes Of Other TV Shows
The Boys Could Have Repeated Supernatural’s Biggest Mistake
In the past, many great shows have been weighed down by unnecessary extensions of their runtime beyond their initially planned conclusions. Kripke’s Supernatural is a solid example of this, as it was initially supposed to have only five seasons. Kripke and co-stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki had envisioned a five-season journey for Sam and Dean’s journey, which would eventually bring a natural closure to the show’s run. However, owing to Supernatural‘s burgeoning popularity, the show’s producers decided to continue it even after Erik Kripke stepped away after season 5.
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The Boys Franchise Timeline Explained (All Shows)
With The Boys becoming a rapidly expanding TV franchise, it can be difficult to keep track of the timeline, but there is a set framework in place.
Although some story beats beyond Supernatural‘s season 5 were still gripping, the show was never the same after it was stretched past Kripke’s original plan. Another comic book adaptation, The Walking Dead, faced a similar decline in quality when the decision to extend its stay was solely driven by its commercial success and lucrative potential for more content. Fortunately, despite its popularity and critical success, The Boys is not treading the same path as many other long-running shows. It is avoiding Supernatural‘s biggest mistake by ending where it needs to.
The Boys Season 5 Will Not Be The End Of The Prime Video Franchise
Spin-offs & A Prequel Will Continue The Franchise’s Run
While Gen V season 2 is expected to be released before The Boys season 5, the spin-off series will likely have a lot more stories to tell even after its second installment. Regardless of what happens in The Boys, Gen V could always continue the franchise’s run by portraying how the aftermath of the parent series’ conclusion impacts the new generation of supes from Godolkin University. As Erik Kripke has confirmed, another spin-off/prequel series, titled Vought Rising, is already in the world and is set to expand the franchise’s lore.
Since The Boys season 5 is expected to be released in 2026, Vought Rising will likely not come out before 2027.
Featuring Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and Stormfront (Aya Cash) as its leading characters, Vought Rising will be set in the 1950s and unfold more as a murder mystery drama. The spin-off’s announcement confirms that The Boys franchise is far more over. Although season 5 will end one major arc in the franchise’s overarching narrative, there will still be enough room for many more stories.
