Gen V: Review

The Boys world is an obvious one to draw inspiration from.

This latest spinoff (following the animated Diabolical and three series of at time puerile mayhem from The Boys itself) settles definitely for The Kids are not All Right as it heads to Godolkin University where Supes go after their parents have dosed them with Compound V early on in their lives.

Mixing the usual college tropes of fitting in and finding your way in life, Gen V initially leads with freshman Marie (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Jaz Sinclair) who discovers her superpowers when she gets her first period - to devastating effect.

Enrolled in Godolkin U by a mysterious benefactor, Marie is thrown into a world she does not know - one ruled by social media, and by on-site student rankings. Her roommate, Emma (Lizzie Broadway) doesn't want her to just hide away, even though her super power gives her the chance to make a YouTube show that's a middling success.

However, along with a group of other teens, Marie and Emma are thrown into a conspiracy when it's revealed corporate shenanigans from Vought are taking place on campus - what is the mysterious Woods so often whispered about?

Gen V takes the teen predilections of consent, bulimia, cutting, overbearing parents, social media bullying and bundles them all up into an awkward mix that produces compelling results.

There's nothing new here in terms of teen concerns, but thrown through the Boys' own prism of blood, gore and grossness, it's given a fresh spin for a series that occasionally fumbles its way and at times doesn't quite know what it wants to say.

One character is able to flex between being male and female, which clearly appears to be The Boys' commentary on the trans and non-binary debate afflicting much of society, but then doesn't seem to know what it wants to do with them. Equally a couple of the rest of the group's characters feel underwritten and a touch underdeveloped in places.

But Sinclair's freshness and Broadway's innocent loveability help Gen V through some of its more familiar tropes. The idea that Vought is up to no good is not a new one, and it's not exactly handled differently from the conspiracies that are riddled through the main show's DNA, but Gen V still manages to feel watchable enough.

Gen V may well expand The Boys' universe to positive effect and it's worth taking the ride with this fresh group but its satire, while, very familiar a lot of the time, lacks some of the more caustic edges of the main show in its first season - however, given the grounded way it's played out and the likeable leads, it's more than worth enrolling in this college.

Gen V begins streaming on Prime Video on Friday, September 29 with 3 episodes.