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The Boys season 4 is here and, if you've already seen it, you'll know they really turned the depravity up to 11 this time. For those still playing catch-up (or just in need of a refresher ahead of season 5), our guide below fills you in on everything you need to know about the diabolical fourth season.
Post-release, we're here to take you through everything surrounding the show from a complete cast list to a recap of the whole season. As well as the above, we also cover theories and insights, as well as delivering our verdict on the Prime Video series with our review.
For more from the world of The Boys, there's also our guide to spin-off Gen V season 2.
Article continues belowThe Boys season 4 release date and episode count
The Boys season 4 premiered on June 13, 2024, and consists of 8 episodes, all available to stream on Prime Video right now. For the full rundown see our The Boys season 4 episode list.
The Boys season 4 review
Our spoiler-free full season The Boys season 4 review is in, with our writer Emily Murray giving it three stars. The verdict reads: "Although the cracks are really starting to emerge, The Boys head back into town with somewhat of a bang effectively delivering the show’s trademark mix of wicked humor and fascinating complex characters."
The Boys season 4 trailer
If you haven't already seen season 4 and would like a little spoiler-free taste, then check out the trailer above. In early 2024, we were treated to not one, but two trailers for The Boys season 4. The first trailer gave us a look at Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character, as well as the return of Black Noir, while the second trailer includes a Gen V crossover, showing the Guardians of Godolkin University, Sam and Cate.
The Boys season 4 cast
The Boys cast has grown quite a bit in the past few seasons, and many of our favorites did return for season 4, including the Boys themselves. That means there's Jack Quaid as Hughie, Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk, Tomer Capone as Frenchie, Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko, Karl Urban as Billy Butcher, and new recruit Erin Moriarty as Starlight AKA Annie.
Although numbers were dwindling at the start of the season, the Seven are also back, helmed by their fearsome leader Homelander, played by Anthony Starr. He added some new Supes to The Seven's roster this season (more on them later...) alongside Chase Crawford’s The Deep, Jessie T Usher’s A-Train, and Colby Minifie as Vought suck-up CEO Ashley. Homelander also brought his son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) into the limelight at the end of season 3, and he's back for season 4 too.
In season 4, Victoria Neuman is set to become Vice President of the United States, which means Claudia Doumit is back, as is President-elect Bob Singer (Jim Beaver). Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the biggest newcomer to The Boys season 4 cast. He plays Joe Kessler, an ex-CIA colleague of Butcher's.
We were also treated to a gaggle of Supes new and old, along with some major Gen V cameos and a celebrity appearance or two, including Tilda Swinton as The Deep's octopus lover Ambrosius, and Will Ferrell playing himself.
We have left out a few names below to keep from revealing any major spoilers, but for the full(ish) cast list, read on.
- Jack Quaid as Hughie
- Karl Urban as Billy Butcher
- Antony Starr as Homelander
- Erin Moriarty as Starlight
- Chase Crawford as The Deep
- Jessie T Usher as A-Train
- Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk
- Tomer Capone as Frenchie
- Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko
- Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett
- Cameron Crovetti as Ryan
- Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman
- Valorie Curry Firecracker
- Susan Heyward as Sister Sage
- Jim Beaver as President-elect Bob Singer
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Joe Kessler
- Tilda Swinton as Ambrosius
- Will Ferrell as himself
The Boys season 4 plot recap
Now we are heading into some real spoiler territory, so if you haven't seen The Boys season 4, turn back now. But if you are looking for a recap before watching season 5, keep reading.
The Boys season 4 picks up where it left off at the end of season 3, with Butcher being given six months to live after taking a lethal dose of Compound V, Vought's Supe-engineering serum.
With time running out, he enlists the help of former CIA buddy Joe Kessler to help take Ryan away from Homelander and put an end to the leader of the Seven once and for all. This is all while Butcher, looking decidedly worse for wear, is hallucinating visions of his dead wife, Becca.
Homelander, meanwhile, was cleared of the murder at the end of the third season. Despite growing increasingly tired of being surrounded by yes-men and sycophants, he has conspired with Neuman to assassinate President-elect Robert Singer.
The Seven has also introduced two new members: Sister Sage, the world's smartest person, and Firecracker, who is anything but and runs a grift peddling conspiracies to those willing to listen. It's technically three new faces, if you count the actor who has replaced Black Noir after his death.
The Boys are also being split apart bit by bit: Annie has renounced the Starlight name, opting instead to do good with her own charity; Hughie is dealing with his father's stroke; Kimiko is grappling with her own past once more, and Frenchie is in a relationship with Colin, a charity worker whose family he killed years ago. On top of that, MM has recruited A-Train to be his reluctant man on the inside at Vought.
In the middle of the season, we are subjected to the show's most violent episode yet, as Homelander visits the lab where he was raised and wreaks havoc on the scientists who tested on him as a child. In the same episode, A-Train forms an alliance with the Boys, and Firecracker outs Starlight as a 'baby killer' for having an abortion. The two get into an altercation but, when the rest of the Boys come to Annie's aid, Butcher reveals his seriously strange tentacle powers.
Then, the Boys head to Stan Edgar's messed up farm-turned-lab in search of the Virus, only to find it has leaked into the water supply and turned the nearby farm animals into V'd-up killers. Butcher and his crew manage to escape, but not before Billy and his imaginary friend abduct Neuman's lover and Vought scientist to produce more of the Virus.
Towards the end of the season, we saw the Seven, Neuman, and the Boys attend a crazy alt-right cocktail party run by Supe billionaire Tek Knight. But the real debauchery was taking place downstairs in Knight's sex dungeon, where he and Ashley tormented Hughie – who was posing as Web Weaver at the time. Upstairs, though, Homelander is fleshing out his plans to get rid of Singer and invoke full Supe domination.
In a bid to kill Singer, Homelander and his minions instruct a shapeshifting Supe to wack the president-elect. To get closer to the Boys – and therefore Singer – the Shapeshifter abducts Annie and steals her identity, unbeknownst to Hughie, who continues to have a relationship with her and even accepts her marriage proposal.
In the blood-soaked finale, we see the Boys race to create another batch of the Virus as Neuman's exposure as a secret Supe by Homelander puts real pressure on things. Now in the light, Neuman turns to Hughie for help when Homelander threatens her life after the shapeshifter attempts to kill Singer but is stopped by the real Annie. However, when Neuman arrives at the Boys' makeshift lab, she is killed by Butcher who now has full control of his powers. Oh, and elsewhere, Ryan kills Grace in another one of his outbursts.
Despite the Boys' best efforts, in the end, Homelander remains on top as he takes full control of the new president and legal system in the US. Frenchie, Kimiko, Starlight, Huighie, and MM try to flee but are stopped by Supes and taken away. But that's not all: in a sneaky post-credits scene, it is revealed to Homelander that Soldier Boy is still alive, and lies unconscious in a glass tank at the CIA.
For more in-depth run-throughs, see our full list of episode recaps below:
- The Boys season 4 episode 4 recap and Easter eggs
- The Boys season 4 episode 5 recap and Easter eggs
- The Boys season 4 episode 6 recap and Easter eggs
- The Boys season 4 episode 7 recap and Easter eggs
- The Boys season 4 episode 8 recap and Easter eggs
The Boys season 4 insight and explainers
There's been plenty to talk about with The Boys season 4, from hilarious Easter eggs you can access via Prime Video's X-ray feature to whether you need to watch Gen V to make the most of this new season.
Below, you'll find our latest guides to the new season.
- Homelander's dark past, explained
- The Boys season 4 takes full advantage of Prime Video’s most overlooked feature, and the result is hilarious
- Do I need to watch Gen V before The Boys season 4?
- Who is the new Black Noir in The Boys season 4? His return from the dead explained
- Our writer’s opinion piece - The Boys season 4 plays heavy on cameos, and I'm worried it's becoming what it set out to mock
- Who is Tek Knight and how the billionaire Supe is way worse in the comics
- Who is Webweaver?
- Is this surprise A-list appearance in The Boys season 4 the show's best cameo yet?
Is The Boys season 4 the final season?
In June 2024, ahead of the launch of season 4, Kripke announced that the show would be ending with the upcoming season 5, which was given the green light this summer. In a statement, the showrunner revealed: "Always my plan, I just had to be cagey till I got the final OK from Vought. Thrilled to bring the story to a gory, epic, moist climax."
Not only this, but we know that Gen V season 2 is on the way as well as a potential Mexico-set spin-off.
The Boys season 4 is currently streaming on Prime Video. In the meantime, check out our guides to the best Amazon shows and the best Amazon movies to stream right now.
