The Boys boss credits 'exploding genitalia' for official season 4 renewal

The Boys will live to fight another day.

In a not-so-surprising move, since everyone has kind of already been talking about it, Amazon renewed the hit superhero satire series for season 4. Showrunner Eric Kripke thinks it might have something to do with the "exploding genitalia" in the season 3 premiere.

"Speaking for the cast and crew, we're so grateful to Sony, Amazon, and most of all the fans for embracing the show and allowing us to make more," Kripke said in a statement. "We're thrilled to continue Butcher and the Boys' fight against Homelander and the Seven, as well as comment on the insane world we're living in. Also, this is the first time in history that exploding genitalia has led to further success."

Star Karl Urban had previously mentioned to Variety at SXSW this year that he was planning to shoot more of The Boys "through the end of the year." So, it already seemed like a sure thing, but you never really know these days until the official announcement comes down.

According to Amazon, the worldwide audience for The Boys grew 17 percent larger than its season 2 audience over the initial three days of the first three episodes of season 3 being available on the Amazon Prime Video streaming platform. It also amounts to a 234 percent boost from the season 1 audience.

Jensen Ackles made his debut as Soldier Boy in the flesh on The Boys season 3, episode 4, which dropped on Amazon today.

With the Superman-like Homelander (Antony Starr) even more out of control than normal these days, the Boys gang — Butcher (Urban), Hughie (Jack Quaid), MM (Laz Alonso), Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), and Frenchie (Tomer Capone) — are on the hunt for something that might kill him once and for all. That answer could very well be Soldier Boy, the Captain America-esque supe who's been seemingly dead since he was active in World War II.

Erin Moriarty, Jessie Usher, Chace Crawford, Dominique McElligott, Nathan Mitchell, Claudia Doumit, and Colby Minifie also star.

"From our first conversation with Eric Kripke and the creative team about season 3 of The Boys, we knew the show was continuing to get even bolder — an impressive feat considering the wild success of the Emmy-nominated second season," Vernon Sanders, head of global television at Amazon Studios, said of the renewal announcement. "The Boys continues to push boundaries in storytelling while also being relentlessly entertaining and threading the needle on social satire that feels all too real. This stylized world of the series has incredible global reach and the viewership for opening weekend is proof of that. We are immensely proud of the cast and crew that has spawned a franchise for Prime Video, and we look forward to bringing more of The Boys to our customers."

Sony Pictures Television president Jeff Frost and co-president Jason Clodfelter also gushed about the show in a joint statement: "The Boys producers and cast have proven year after year that there is no bar they can't jump over. We are incredibly proud of this brilliant and subversive genre bending series. Our relationship with Prime Video is much more than a partnership, it's more like extended family. Everyone here at Sony Pictures Television is thankful to join Prime Video and Eric Kripke for another successful season."

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