The Boys season 4 may or may not disclose the fate of Generation V’s heroes, but it is not required to. The plot of Gen V is currently set up to run concurrently with the original series. Being a high-profile, big-budget program, The Boys typically takes more than a year to develop a new season. While fans wait for The Boys’ next episode, Gen V may provide them with another show set in the same universe. The filming timeframe for Gen V season 2 indicates that this strategy works, even if the release date is yet unknown.

Gen V Season 2’s Filming Update Makes A 2025 Release Date Likely

Gen V’s filming window means season 2 should be completed by 2025

Writer Tom Schnauz told Arc Studio that Gen V season 2 would begin filming in 2 or 3 weeks, which means that the outing will likely arrive sometime in 2025. Gen V’s 2025 arrival would allow the spinoff to replace The Boys during its year off, since the original show will likely release season 4 in 2024 and season 5 in 2026. As such, The Boys is making good use of its spinoff. Rather than taking lengthy breaks between each season, the franchise is filling the gaps between outings of the original show with new seasons of the spinoff.

“Releasing seasons of Gen V between seasons of The Boys maintains audience interest in an era when shows can often be off screens for years at a time.”

This is a great release plan considering the creators of the series want The Boys to remain relevant. Releasing seasons of Gen V between seasons of The Boys maintains audience interest in an era when shows can often be off screens for years at a time. The Boys season 5 renewal proves that the series won’t be ending any time soon, meaning the franchise will need to sustain viewers for at least another two years. This would be tricky if there were empty eighteen-month gaps between outings, but Gen V filling these blanks makes things much more palatable.

Gen V Season 2 Proves The Boys Franchise Will Avoid A Streaming Problem

Although other expensive streaming shows like Stranger Things have announced spinoffs, these typically don’t enter production until after the original series concludes. In some ways, this makes sense, since the franchise’s creators want to focus on ending one project before beginning another. However, the immersive world of The Boys means that the show is better off taking its current approach. Gen V’s season 1 ending may have already been explained by The Boys season 3, proving the two shows can rely on each other instead of one acting as a direct sequel or prequel to the original series.

“Much of what makes The Boys so great is the show’s willingness to kill off fan-favorite characters suddenly.”

Gen V being released simultaneously alongside The Boys proves its legitimacy where, in contrast, a sequel series can often feel like an attempt to continue a franchise that has already ended. The Boys can’t keep its story going forever, since characters like Butcher and Homelander are too unstable and unpredictable to maintain a series for more than a few seasons. Much of what makes The Boys so great is the show’s willingness to kill off fan-favorite characters suddenly, and the continued survival of both Butcher and Homelander would necessarily sanitize the show’s ruthless streak somewhat.

Other Streaming Shows Could Learn From The Boys Franchise’s Release Approach

Luckily, Gen V’s continuing storyline can allow the spinoff to expand the universe of The Boys without requiring the survival of its existing lead characters. Homelander and Butcher are headed toward a showdown that will likely doom both of them, but Gen V can keep the franchise’s fictional world alive long after they are gone. Many similarly ambitious streaming shows could learn from the franchise’s release model. There will be three years between Stranger Things season 4 and the show’s final season, and releasing one of the show’s planned spinoffs in this window could have made the wait easier.

In an even more egregious case, Wednesday season 2 will not arrive until three years after the Netflix hit debuted. While the Addams Family spinoff was a success, it is optimistic to assume that everyone who viewed the series in 2022 will still be eager to see more in 2025. The Boys’spinoff Gen V allowed for this reality when the show’s creators chose its shooting window, since this led the spinoff to maintain interest in the original show while viewers await its return. Thus, The Boys has proven how to keep a slow series appealing and engaging via Gen V.