Gen V Review: A Spinoff Series That Shines On Its Own
Gen V is avaliable to stream now on Amazon Prime Video. Photo by Hanna Zabski '25
In 2019, Amazon Prime Video released its sensational show, “The Boys.” “The Boys” is a series that follows a group of vigilantes who set out to take down corrupt superheroes who abuse their superpowers. The show first aired in July 2019 and features many well-known actors such as Jack Quaid, Karl Urban, Chace Crawford, and Anthony Starr.
The show was so well received by both critics and audiences, that a spinoff series was announced in September of 2020. This spinoff series, titled “Gen V” is set within the same universe as “The Boys.” The show takes place at a college that is known for training superheroes and revolves around the students discovering the suspicious activities that are happening on school grounds. Whereas “The Boys” is centered around adult characters, “Gen V” is centered around young adult characters.
The series follows Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) as she begins her first year at Godolkin University. Marie possesses the rare power of being a hemokinetic, someone who can move and manipulate blood. Her main goal while at Godolkin University is to stay out of trouble and become the best superhero possible, but these plans are quickly halted when she finds herself already arriving into trouble on day one. Marie realizes that some of her newfound acquaintances have deadly desires and that Godolkin may not be all that it is hyped up to be.
Even though Marie is technically the main character of “Gen V”, the show has an exceptional ensemble cast full of many fascinating and complex characters. Fan favorite characters include Jordan Li (played by both London Thor and Derek Luh) and Cate Dunlap (played by Maddie Phillips). Jordan is a superhero who can gender-shift, manifesting different powers whether they are in their female form or their male form, while Cate is a superhero who has telepathic abilities. “Gen V” has a very diverse and unique set of main characters that people can relate to in many ways.
One interesting perspective that both “The Boys” and “Gen V” brings to light is the idea of corrupt superheroes. Normally, superheroes can be synonymous with the concepts of safety and justice, however, these shows make it a point to say that not all superheroes use their powers for good. Throughout season one of “Gen V”, many of the main characters battle with this idea of doing what is best for themselves, or what is best for their community. Many of the characters, such as Marie and Cate, face challenging situations that test not only their abilities but also their character.
“Gen V” does an excellent job of making itself stand out from its predecessor, while also featuring key aspects of “The Boys” that fellow fans have come to love. One does not need to watch “The Boys” before watching “Gen V”, although it is recommended if you prefer to fully understand the context of the world in which “Gen V” operates.
This series is a perfect example of how the college setting in TV shows needs to be more utilized. The writers used the setting of Godolkin University to explore how the characters could shift instantaneously from stressed college students to superheroes fighting villains hidden in plain sight throughout their school. Even though this show is set at a college, the setting expands to a much greater “big bad” as the series explores how much corporate companies and higher powers truly manage everything within our society.
The first season of “Gen V” consists of eight episodes, which just recently concluded on Nov. 2nd. However, the spinoff series was so well received that Amazon Prime Video announced a season two renewal on Oct. 19, weeks before the first season’s conclusion.
With the way that the first season ended, fans are particularly interested to see if the events of “Gen V” will affect the new and upcoming season of “The Boys,” which concluded filming over a year ago but whose release has been put on hold due to the WGA strike. Since the shows are set in the same universe and characters from “The Boys” were featured on “Gen V,” these two shows may now merge timelines and take place at the same time. This is an exciting concept considering that only a few shows nowadays can successfully pull this off.
Challenging us to consider whether or not someone can be considered “truly good,” “Gen V” is a solid show raising intriguing questions about power and corruption.