7 best shows to watch while you wait for The Boys season 4
We're still reeling from The Boys season 3's insane ending, and the few teases we've seen so far for season 4 show it's shaping up to bring even more chaos. But while Prime Video already confirmed Homelander, Billy Butcher and the rest of the crew will be back in town, there's still no word on when a new season will air.
Based on the previous season's production schedule, we expect The Boys season 4 to release in the mid-to-late 2023 range at the earliest. In the meantime, viewers will have to get their fix of gritty antiheroes, over-the-top gore and dark humor somewhere else.
If you're anything like us, you're understandably getting impatient waiting, but there are other fantastic series to watch across the best streaming services (including Max and Netflix) as you're counting the days until The Boys season 4 comes out. Here are seven shows like The Boys to watch.
Preacher
If you liked the subversive, gritty take on superheroes in The Boys, you're going to love Preacher. Written by Garth Ennis (who also co-wrote The Boys' comics) Preacher turns the spotlight on Christianity. Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) is the titular preacher in a small town whose life is turned upside-down after he's inexplicably possessed by a mysterious heavenly power that enables him to control anyone who can hear his voice.
This development leads Jesse to experience a crisis of faith, and the disillusioned preacher sets out on a literal search for God. Along for the ride are his trigger-happy ex-girlfriend Tulip (Ruth Negga) and alcoholic vampire Cassidy (Joseph Gilgun). The crew encounters a quirky cast of characters from both heaven and hell vying to stop them in their tracks in what ends up being an irreverent and hilarious discourse on faith.
Watch it on Prime Video
Watchmen
HBO's Watchmen (not to be confused with the movie of the same name) is a follow-up to Alan Moore's award-winning DC comic series it shares its title with. Set more than three decades after the original story, it follows a new set of all-too-human vigilantes in an alternate timeline where superheroes exist and drastically changed the course of world history. Angela Abar (Regina King) masks up as Sister Night to stop a white supremacist group called The Seventh Kavalry, which has twisted the published ravings of Watchmen's antihero Rorschach to launch a war on minorities and the police.
The show sees the return of vigilante billionaire Adrian Veight (Jeremy Irons), who struggles to find meaning after completing his master plan to avert World War 3 at the end of the original comic. The god-like Doctor Manhattan also features prominently, as several groups are vying to locate him and use his powers for their own causes.
Even though it only has one season, Watchmen is often regarded as one of the best superhero shows of all time. Like The Boys, it explores larger societal issues like racism and right-wing extremism through the lens of its caped crusaders, whose personal struggles and flaws take center stage even as they fight for the greater good. Sadly, there's not likely to be a Watchmen season 2, but the limited series ends in such a way that it's a satisfying and complete story in its own right.
Watch it on Max
Invincible
Just as The Boys is known for its shocking moments, Invincible doesn't pull any punches when it comes to intense and gory scenes. Prime Video's adult animated series is the coming-of-age tale of Mark Grayson (voiced by Steven Yeun), whose father is the most powerful superhero the world has ever known, Omni-Man (voiced by J.K. Simmons).
When he turns 17, Mark develops powers of his own and must learn to control them while balancing his normal life and living in the shadow of his father, who's basically this world's equivalent of Homelander. As Mark forges a path to be his own hero, he uncovers that his father may not be the shining white knight he appears to be.
Things take a seriously sinister turn in the final few episodes, with gruesome but powerful scenes that will haunt you long after the show's over. It's a memorable twist on superhero tropes fueled by terrific character development at the show's heart. And we can't wait for Invincible season 2.
Watch it on Prime Video
The Umbrella Academy
If you love found families, this one's for you. The Umbrella Academy is another show that looks at superheroes through a darker, more grounded lens. Based on Gerard Way's comic of the same name, it follows the Hargreeves family, seven children adopted by an eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves after a mysterious supernatural event caused them to be born with superpowers. Reginald raises them to be the crimefighting team The Umbrella Academy, but interpersonal squabbles lead the group to dissolve as they grow older and more distant.
The first season kicks off after Reginald's untimely death brings the estranged siblings all together once more — only for it to be revealed that a global apocalypse is imminent. The family must band together to solve the mystery surrounding their father's death and save the world. That is if they don't strangle each other first.
The series follows several weird and wonderful turns, but at its center it's a story about a dysfunctional family bonded by trauma, where competing personalities get in the way of the genuine care they have for one another. For anyone with siblings, the back-and-forth between childish bickering and heartfelt moments will instantly ring familiar.
Watch it on Netflix
Harley Quinn
Harley Quinn is an irreverent and spectacular adult animated series that takes a look at what the titular clown princess of crime's life is like after she finally kicks Joker to the curb. As she sets out to fine herself, she forms Gotham's newest supervillain crew with Poison Ivy, Clayface, Doctor Psycho and King Shark.
Filthy-mouthed and filled with over-the-top violence and delightfully meta commentaries, Harley Quinn is easily one of the most engaging superhero shows out there. It's a bizarre but hilarious ride where no one is safe from ridicule. Harley Quinn takes shots at all manner of superhero tropes and some of the most iconic characters from DC, especially Batman.
Watch it on Max
Peacemaker
Director James Gunn's Peacemaker delivers a raunchy, hilarious, and action-packed commentary on right-wing ideology. And it's perfect for fans of The Boys' cocktail of gore, humor and social commentary.
John Cena reprises his role as Peacemaker, as the series explores the character's life following the events of The Suicide Squad. Though a little worse for the wear due to his injuries in the movie, Peacemaker teams up with A.R.G.U.S., the mysterious black ops squad that established the Suicide Squad. They're on a mission to defeat butterfly-like creatures taking over human bodies around the world.
Peacemaker's lack of compassion and belief in achieving peace no matter what the cost are what initially lead the team to recruit him. However, the events of The Suicide Squad left a profound impression on him, forcing him to grapple with his warped ethos. Amid plenty of comedic comedy relief is an interesting study of a morally ambiguous character.
Watch in on Max
The Sandman
If you've never seen it, The Sandman is a must-watch for comic book fans. As a Neil Gaiman creation, The Sandman comics combine quirky characters with dark comedy and a cerebral take on fantasy storylines. The show embodies this same ethos.
The Sandman follows the trials and tribulations of Morpheus, the moody personification of dreams, after he's imprisoned by an occult ritual that leaves him bound to the human world. Following a century of captivity, he escapes and embarks on a journey to find what was stolen from him, rekindle his power and restore order to the realm of dreams. Tom Sturridge, who plays Morpheus, nails the essence of the character and looks like Dream was ripped from the pages of the comic to boot.
While more fantastical than The Boys, The Sandman's dark blend of supernatural and drama strikes many of the same tones and should definitely be on your to-watch list.
Watch it on Netflix
