Steve Newall: Flicks.co.nz editor on the fourth season of superhero satire 'The Boys'

The popular superhero satire series The Boys is back for a fourth season on Prime Video.

Kiwi fans may recognise stars Antony Starr and Karl Urban, as two of New Zealand's biggest acting exports lead the series.

Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall explains whether this season is worth a watch, amid a changing climate for superhero-based media.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Steve Mull, editor at flicks dot co dot m Z.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Good morning, Good morning.

Speaker 2 (00:18):
Now two of probably a couple of our incredibly successful
actors that we sometimes forget about because they spend so
much time working overseas. Carlo barn and Anthony Starr are
back in a new season of The Boys.

Speaker 3 (00:31):
Yes, they're each sporting. They're very different accents. Carl's gratuitous
to the point of parody Cockney accent question mark and
Anthony Star's very syrupy American accent. In The Boys, which
is our prime videos, very very r rated superhero satire,

(00:55):
feels a little bit like might not get the focus
that deserves these days. Season four's at the midway point,
but the environment's just changed so much from when that
show started. Kicked off in twenty nineteen, which is kind
of the peak of the MCU. The comic book movies
are dominating the box office. Avengers Endgame was just opening,
so this is kind of like the biggest show in town.

(01:16):
The wheels have kind of fallen off that genre quite
a lot in the last few years. I think there's
been a bit of audience fatigue and the quality of
the films as well as but was diminished somewhat, but
the boys kind of kept going from strength to strength
and in already pleasing development, they have known not to
outstay their welcome. So we're halfway through season four. Season

(01:36):
five will be the last season of the show, which
is great, and it means that these two Kiwis are
going to very much remain at the heart and be
the focus of this conclusion. They won't get subbed out
and the show continue on without them. In fact, the
show runner Eric Kripkey says, speaking of their characters, Billy
Butcher and Homelander, you can't just keep that going on forever.

(01:59):
You have to let them smash into each other. So
we're going to be looking for pretty cool season five.
Season four is at stands though, is playing to the
show's strengths in that there's definitely like jaw droppingly grotesque
things we can't talk about on the radio at all,
even refer to, as well as heaps of violence and profanity.

(02:19):
But also it's just gotten really cutting in its commentary
of current events. This is a show that I keep
seeing on Twitter every now and again people that are
surprised from America's alt right that are like, oh, hang
on a minute, the show's taking the mickey out of us.
They kind of don't twig this is a merciless show.
If you are a religious zalet or fascist, the show

(02:41):
has got you in its crosshairs. And if it's taken
you four years to figure that out, it's kind of
proving some of the points I think of this show.

Speaker 2 (02:49):
I think you're right though this show, I don't know
is it going to be a bit of a cult classic.
I think it's bigger than that. It's broader than that.
I'm making it sound like it's a It's not quite
as popular as it is. But it's quite amazing to
have two kiwis so driving.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
This huge yeah, and especially in such a boundary pushing
and a reverend show. But I think Star in particular,
like Carl's chewing the scenery big time. But Anthony Starr,
he looks ridiculous. He's got this like godlike golden here
his superhero Homelander costume. He's the kind of the number

(03:26):
one American Patriot as kind of the bible of his character.
He's hubristic, he's desperate for love. He's the most dangerous
person on the planet, and we're just getting to see
such great range from Star is a fantastic actor and
given a lot to work with here. Man, there's so
many gross things that he gets in this. In this

(03:48):
season one episode in particular, he kind of goes to
revisit the origins of his character, and the turning the
tables on the torment that he's suffered as a child
back on the people that experimented on him is truly chilling,
and you know, possibly unexpected to see such a kind
of psychopathic character given some given some depth by Star.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
No both boys.

Speaker 3 (04:10):
Yeah, halfway through season four. It's on prime video. Episodes
come out weekly if you've fallen off the show. I
kind of put it on pause a little bit in
season three forgot about it somehow, and then came back
to it and realized, no, no, this really needs to
be on the.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
Rotate inside Out too, which I have been fortunate enough
to see and it is absolutely delightful. Is in cinemas
on the twenty seventh of June, and I think this
is of course in anticipation of the holidays, which are
a couple of weeks away. I think this is going
to be hugely popular. It's wonderful to have Inside Out Back.

Speaker 3 (04:43):
Indeed, I haven't had the chance to catch it yet,
but the sequel to what's already been quite a gargantuan
film for Pixar has opened internationally in some territories, and
it's on track to be the biggest film of the
year already at the US box office. It's on track

(05:04):
to beat June this weekend, other June sequel this weekend,
and sitting all sorts of records looking like the second
biggest weekend of all time for an animated film, the
seventh biggest second weekend of all time for any film. So,
you know, unsurprisingly, like the first one, it's not just
about getting bums on seats but the word of mouth,
and this will continue to be super strong and keep

(05:25):
driving people to cinemas while it's out.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
And we need this because films actually struggled a bit
this year, hasn't it. They haven't quite had the numbers,
made the money that they were hoping to. There's been
some flops like The Fall Guy and things like that
that they were hoping we're going to fill cinemas.

Speaker 3 (05:39):
Yeah, and I think the more the more sort of
pressure that gets put on these titles to deliver. You know,
the Full Guy not an unsuccessful movie, but just short
of expectations. Furio, so exactly the same thing happened. So
you know, every month or so was the sort of
hopes get pinned on a title and it just hasn't
quite been delivering.

Speaker 2 (05:57):
There we go. You've just pinned it on inside out too.

Speaker 3 (05:59):
Not not that we need to worry too much about
billionaire's pockets, but you know, a healthy film industry making money,
lets us all get some stuff made that we wouldn't
get if they were penny punching.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
That's so true, Steve Neil, thank you so much, and
we'll catch up next week.

Speaker 1 (06:15):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin. Listen
live to News Talks it'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio