Amazon has issued a statement on The Boys Season 4 finale following the assassination attempt on former U.S. president and current presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Boys Season 4 Episode 8, initially titled "Assassination Run," features assassination attempts on the president-elect Robert Singerand and vice president-elect Victoria Neuman.
Prime Video’s hugely popular The Boys is as much a political satire as it is a superhero show, with characters and storylines inspired by real-world politicians and events. Episode 8 was written more than a year ago and was filmed in 2023, but airs just days after the assassination attempt on Trump. Because of this, Amazon retitled the episode "Season 4 Finale" and has added a "viewer discretion advised" warning that shows on-screen at the start.
Here’s the statement, also posted to Instagram, in full:
The season finale of The Boys contains scenes of fictional political violence, which some viewers may find disturbing, especially in light of the injuries and tragic loss of life sustained during the assassination attempt on former President Trump.
The Boys is a fictitious series that was filmed in 2023, and any scene or plotline similarities to these real-world events are coincidental and unintentional. Amazon, Sony Pictures Television and the producers of The Boys reject, in the strongest terms, real-world violence of any kind.
In June, The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke responded to fans saying supervillain Homelander is a hero and the series had gone “woke.”
“Anyone who wants to call the show 'woke' or whatever, that’s okay. Go watch something else. But I’m certainly not going to pull any punches or apologize for what we’re doing," Kripke told THR.
"Some people who watch it think Homelander is the hero. What do you say to that?" he added. “The show’s many things. Subtle isn’t one of them. So if that’s the message you’re getting from it, I just throw up my hands.”
When asked whether the showrunners always intended to parallel Trump’s presidential race via Homelander’s authoritarian rise to power, Kripe responded that Homelander was always intended to be a proxy for Trump.
Kripke has confirmed The Boys TV series ends with Season 5. Laz Alonso, who plays The Boys team leader Mother’s Milk, wants a The Boys film to wrap up the series.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
