# Gen V season 1
The first season of *Gen V* is an eight-episode American superhero satire television season, a spin-off of *The Boys*, that premiered on Prime Video on September 29, 2023 with three episodes and concluded on November 3, 2023[1](https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/entertainment/how-to-watch-gen-v-on-prime-video) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/gen_v/s01). Set at Godolkin University, a college for superheroes run by the conglomerate Vought International, the season follows a group of young supes who uncover a sinister plot at the school[3](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/genv). It is the first live-action spin-off of *The Boys* and is set between that show's third and fourth seasons[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/gen-v-the-boys-timeline/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Premiere and finale | Premiered September 29, 2023 with three episodes; finale aired November 3, 2023[1](https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/entertainment/how-to-watch-gen-v-on-prime-video) |
| Episodes | 8[5](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0QL016992N86EED5P1FO3ER0P5?tr=bj) |
| Setting | Godolkin University ("God U"), America's only college for superheroes, run by Vought International[3](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/genv) |
| Timeline placement | Between *The Boys* season 3 and season 4[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/gen-v-the-boys-timeline/) |
| Creators | Eric Kripke, Evan Goldberg, and Craig Rosenberg; showrunners Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/gen_v/s01) |
| Critical reception | 97% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (113 reviews); 73 on Metacritic, "generally favorable"[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/gen_v/s01) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/gen-v/critic-reviews/?season=season-1) |
| Rating | TV-MA[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/gen_v/s01) |
## Premise and setting
The season is set at Godolkin University, a prestigious superhero-only college where students train to be the next generation of heroes, preferably with lucrative endorsements[3](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/genv). The students are the first generation of "supes" who know their powers come not from God but from Compound V, a drug manufactured by Vought International and injected at birth; Vought also runs the university[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-09-29/gen-v-review-the-boys). Students compete for the university's top ranking and a chance to join The Seven, Vought's elite superhero team[5](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0QL016992N86EED5P1FO3ER0P5?tr=bj).
The season begins shortly after the end of *The Boys* season 3, in which [Homelander](https://www.edgepedia.org/homelander) was publicly celebrated for lasering a man to death, as a new crop of young supes arrives at Godolkin[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/gen-v-the-boys-timeline/).
## Characters and cast
The ensemble centers on [Marie Moreau](https://www.edgepedia.org/marie-moreau) ([Jaz Sinclair](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaz-sinclair)), an 18-year-old freshman who can control and weaponize her own blood, a power she discovered traumatically at her first menstruation[1](https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/entertainment/how-to-watch-gen-v-on-prime-video) • [8](https://elpais.com/television/2023-10-28/gen-v-el-giro-adolescente-feminista-y-todavia-mas-sangriento-de-the-boys.html). Around her are:
- **Andre Anderson** (Chance Perdomo), a junior with magnetic powers, son of the famous superhero Polarity[1](https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/entertainment/how-to-watch-gen-v-on-prime-video).
- **Emma Meyer** ([Lizze Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/lizze-broadway)), known as "Little Cricket", who shrinks by vomiting and grows by overeating, a literalization of disordered eating[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-09-29/gen-v-review-the-boys).
- **Cate Dunlap** ([Maddie Phillips](https://www.edgepedia.org/maddie-phillips)), who manipulates minds through physical contact[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-09-29/gen-v-review-the-boys).
- **Jordan Li** (played by [London Thor](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-thor) and Derek Luh), who uses they/them pronouns and switches between male and female forms, each with a different subset of powers[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-09-29/gen-v-review-the-boys).
- **Luke Riordan / Golden Boy** (Patrick Schwarzenegger), the school's top hero, positioned as the next Homelander[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-09-29/gen-v-review-the-boys) • [9](https://www.axios.com/2023/09/28/new-streaming-prime-video-hulu-gen-v-the-kardashians).
- **Sam** (Asa Germann), monstrously strong and nearly invulnerable but unstable off his medication, treated like a science experiment for most of his life[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-09-29/gen-v-review-the-boys).
- **Indira Shetty** (Shelley Conn), a university dean[1](https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/entertainment/how-to-watch-gen-v-on-prime-video).
Guest stars include [Clancy Brown](https://www.edgepedia.org/clancy-brown) as Professor Rich "Brink" Brinkerhoff and [Jason Ritter](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-ritter), and several *The Boys* cast members reprise their roles, including [Jessie T. Usher](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessie-t-usher) (A-Train), Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit (Victoria Neuman), and P.J. Byrne[3](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/genv). Jensen Ackles also appears as Soldier Boy[9](https://www.axios.com/2023/09/28/new-streaming-prime-video-hulu-gen-v-the-kardashians), and Karl Urban appears as Billy Butcher in one episode[10](https://the-boys.fandom.com/wiki/Season_One_%28Gen_V%29).
## Plot
The season's central mystery involves a missing teen and a sinisterly clandestine laboratory connected to the university, teased out in increments[11](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/09/the-boys-spinoff-gen-v-review). A group of students led by Marie band together to take down the culprits behind a sinister plot that may threaten the lives of all supes[9](https://www.axios.com/2023/09/28/new-streaming-prime-video-hulu-gen-v-the-kardashians). Victoria Neuman, a Congresswoman from *The Boys*, plays a significant role in the season, taking the supe-killing virus from Dr. Cardosa and killing him[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/gen-v-the-boys-timeline/) • [16](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/gen-v-season-1-episode-7-review-recap-a-major-the-boys-villain-returns/).
In the finale, Cate Dunlap and Sam Riordan go on a revenge-murder spree that culminates in them linking up with Homelander[4](https://www.gamesradar.com/gen-v-the-boys-timeline/).
## Development
On September 24, 2020, Amazon announced that a spin-off series had been put on fast-track development following *The Boys* record season 2 launch[12](https://the-boys.fandom.com/wiki/Gen_V). The title "Gen V" was announced on July 14, 2022 through a clip of production posted on *The Boys* Twitter account[12](https://the-boys.fandom.com/wiki/Gen_V), and cast members announced on social media in September 2022 that production had wrapped.
[Sony Pictures Television](https://www.edgepedia.org/sony-pictures-television) and Amazon Studios serve as the show's production companies, working alongside Kripke Enterprises, Point Grey Pictures, and [Original Film](https://www.edgepedia.org/original-film).[3](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/genv)
## Reception
Season 1 holds a 97% approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 113 reviews, with a critics' consensus reading "Just about as gruesomely subversive as its origin series, *Gen V* builds on *The Boys* in occasionally chaotic but overall inspired fashion"; the audience Popcornmeter score is 77%[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/gen_v/s01). On Metacritic it has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100 based on 31 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews"[6](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/gen-v/critic-reviews/?season=season-1).
Reviewers highlighted the show's tone and themes. The Guardian's Lucy Mangan gave it four stars, calling it "extraordinary" and noting that the gory, mind-bending action crams in metaphors about adolescent life[13](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/sep/29/gen-v-review-this-teen-spinoff-of-the-boys-is-extraordinary). The Los Angeles Times found that it strikes its own tone, veering away from much of the political and cultural parody of *The Boys* to focus on a peer group navigating the mess left by their parents' generation[7](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-09-29/gen-v-review-the-boys). Vanity Fair praised how the series filters contemporary adolescent concerns through its superhero matrix, with disordered eating and cutting addressed via two characters' particular abilities[11](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/09/the-boys-spinoff-gen-v-review). GameSpot noted that the main characters deal with self-harm, eating disorders, and mental health in ways that directly apply to the plot[14](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/gen-v-review-the-boys-gore-and-cynicism-now-with-more-compassion/1900-6418121/).
Some reviews were more critical. [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide) argued the spin-off was reluctant to address the events of *The Boys* season 3 with any kind of meaning[15](https://www.tvguide.com/news/gen-v-review-the-boys-college-spin-off-prime-video/), and Vanity Fair felt that by the sixth episode the show had lost its way, unsure whether it was a generational spoof or a probing trauma drama[11](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/09/the-boys-spinoff-gen-v-review).
The season spent 8 weeks in the Prime Video Top 10[5](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0QL016992N86EED5P1FO3ER0P5?tr=bj).
## References
1. [How to watch Gen V on Prime Video, About Amazon UK](https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/news/entertainment/how-to-watch-gen-v-on-prime-video)
2. [Gen V: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/gen_v/s01)
3. [GEN V, Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://www.sonypictures.com/tv/genv)
4. [Where does Gen V take place in The Boys timeline?, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/gen-v-the-boys-timeline/)
5. [Prime Video: Gen V - Season 1](https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0QL016992N86EED5P1FO3ER0P5?tr=bj)
6. [Gen V critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/tv/gen-v/critic-reviews/?season=season-1)
7. [Review: 'Gen V,' the irreverent spinoff of 'The Boys,' flies on its own, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2023-09-29/gen-v-review-the-boys)
8. ['Gen V', el giro adolescente, feminista y todavía más sangriento de 'The Boys', El País](https://elpais.com/television/2023-10-28/gen-v-el-giro-adolescente-feminista-y-todavia-mas-sangriento-de-the-boys.html)
9. [New on streaming: "Gen V" and "Henry Sugar", Axios](https://www.axios.com/2023/09/28/new-streaming-prime-video-hulu-gen-v-the-kardashians)
10. [Season One (Gen V) | The Boys Wiki | Fandom](https://the-boys.fandom.com/wiki/Season_One_%28Gen_V%29)
11. [Gen V Is a Raunchy Spin-Off at War With Itself, Vanity Fair](https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/09/the-boys-spinoff-gen-v-review)
12. [Gen V, The Boys Wiki (Fandom)](https://the-boys.fandom.com/wiki/Gen_V)
13. [Gen V review – this teen spinoff of The Boys is extraordinary, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/sep/29/gen-v-review-this-teen-spinoff-of-the-boys-is-extraordinary)
14. [Gen V Review - The Boys' Gore And Cynicism, Now With More Compassion, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/gen-v-review-the-boys-gore-and-cynicism-now-with-more-compassion/1900-6418121/)
15. [Gen V Review: The Boys' College-Set Spin-Off Has Nothing New to Teach, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/gen-v-review-the-boys-college-spin-off-prime-video/)
16. [Gen V Season 1, Episode 7, Recap: A The Boys Villain Returns](https://www.escapistmagazine.com/gen-v-season-1-episode-7-review-recap-a-major-the-boys-villain-returns/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Screen seasons › Streaming-original series seasons*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license