In an interview, Eric Kripke—'The Boys' showrunner—talks about the show's politics, Homelander v. Butcher, fighting trolls, creating new supes, and more.
variety.com
And as you’ve said, “The Boys” has become increasingly political. At what point did you realize that that was an intrinsic part of the show?
Very early. When we first pitched the show, it was before Trump was elected. And the idea that a celebrity would actively want to turn themselves into a fascist autocrat was kind of a crazy idea. I mean, it still is. But it turned out to have happened?
We sort of lucked into a show whose metaphor is really about the moment we’re living in, which is the cross-section of celebrity and authoritarianism. And so once we realize that, we’re like, “Well, we have to go all the way.”
And so every season we’ve just pushed it a little bit further, but it’s all over. I mean, it’s all over Season 1. I mean, he’s giving very George Bush speeches. He’s being praised by throngs of devout followers. It is there from the beginning.
Do you ever worry about being too political? I mean, Liberty was a literal Nazi in Season 2. Or is it just something you lean into?
I’m just going to lean into it, and then the audience can sort of decide whether they want to watch or not. I mean, it’s almost become like “South Park,” you know what I mean?
There’s just so few shows that can directly comment on the world we’re living in, and they get to do it as a cartoon. We get to hold up a mirror as a fantasy genre show. But again, because we’re just like, we’re right there. I mean, it’s all in the original comic. The comic is really political. It just, it’s political about the post-9/11 George Bush era.
