Amazon Prime Video has a slower rotation of returning shows than some of the best streaming services, so knowing when to cancel and when to resubscribe is a bit of a different equation.
This month there's only one real big returning show on the horizon: The Boys.
For some, resubscribing to Prime Video for The Boys is a "no duh, already ready" moment — as it's one of the service's biggest hits. That said, back when season 2 was airing, I wasn't feeling it.
But then, one second chance later? I was converted. And since The Boys season 3 (one of our picks for the new shows to watch in June) is almost here, I'm here to explain why you gotta watch The Boys. And, yes, the first (small) reason is simple: make the most of your Amazon Prime membership.
Watch The Boys to fight MCU fatigue
If there's one common pop culture gripe I see and hear around many of my friends, family and colleagues, it's that people are tired of superhero movies. Heck, one of my colleagues has declared it's time for Marvel movies to die. Another declared that Moon Knight was pushing him away from Marvel's TV shows. It's so in vogue right now to say "enough" that all sorts of folks, including beloved pro wrestler Adam Page) are tired of them. And while The Boys is about super-powered people, it's not about superheroes at all.
The Boys presents a world where the 'supes' (as they're called) are corporatized, and many of them are practically villainous. Chief among them is Homelander, a pitch-perfect satirization of Superman. Played by Antony Starr, Homelander is a caped super-dude with bleach-blonde hair (with obvious dark roots to highlight how phony he is) and a too-perfect smile. He is also The Boys' central villain.
So, who do you send to fight an evil Superman? You wouldn't pick an everyman, but you didn't write The Boys (unless comics legend Garth Ennis, who created The Boys, is reading this, and, well, hello, sir).
Our primary protagonist is Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), who had a pretty boring life. Emphasis on 'had.' One day, he's just living at home with his dad and treasuring every minute with girlfriend Robin. The next? Hughie's life is thrown into shambles when a tragedy involving a super-fast 'supe' tears his life into pieces. Just like how anger leads to the dark side, Hughie's changed by this moment and desires revenge. And so he's a prime target for Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), a supe-hating vigilante.
The pair (along with others) look to uncover the truths about Vought, the company that employs Homelander and the rest of the supes he works with. Along the way, they discover a whole lot of dirt. I won't spoil anything here, but The Boys is a show that rewards sticking around, with shocking reveal after shocking reveal. And by that I don't mean surprise betrayals. I mean the surprising "they didn't just do that!" moments you get from movies with a hard-R rating, and not the PG-13 MCU.
Along the way, we also meet other supes who are pulled into the Vought system and miserable about that life. Starlight (Erin Moriarty) and Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) are prime examples, who show how there is no ethical consumption under superhero capitalism. Especially when they have to work alongside particularly stupid and perverse supes.
The Boys even has (some) romance
There are a few of relationships at the core of The Boys, and Hughie's is the primary one. The kid falls for Starlight, and the two engage in a particularly complicated situation, filled with lies and spandex. And no matter how over-the-top The Boys gets, their moments help ground the show.
Then, there's the story of Billy Butcher and his wife Becca. While it may at first seem like The Boys is telling a tired story with her, trust me: it's not. The arc that Billy's taken over the first two seasons of The Boys is fantastic stuff.
Even Homelander has something of a love life, but it's a little too R-rated for me to publish the details of it on this site. Safe to say, Homelander's squeaky-clean image has more darkness underneath than even his roots suggest.
How much time do you have until The Boys is back?
The Boys season 3 release date is Friday (June 3). This means you have a little under a week to see if The Boys is your kind of show — if you want to watch the new season with everyone else.
Season 3's first three episodes will drop together, then the following episodes come out one by one. So, you should try an episode or few now, and then see if you just push all other shows away until you've watched all 16-ish hours of the first two seasons (eight episodes a piece, each around an hour long).
Why am I pushing you to rush through The Boys? Well, from what we've heard, it seems like season 3 is going to be as talked-about as any before it. That's because not only are they adding a Captain America-like hero named Soldier Boy (played by Jensen Ackles, best known for Supernatural), but that there's going to be an extremely-graphic all-supes orgy scene, known as 'Herogasm' in the original comics.
Next: Is Netflix one of the 3 streaming services we'd cancel this month? Looking for something else to watch? A return to South Park is in order as this week will see fans watch South Park The Streaming Wars online. Plus, Amazon Freevee just ordered a remake of this classic British comedy
