10 TV Shows Like The Boys That You Really Need To Watch

Prime Video

The Prime Video satirical superhero series "The Boys" is a lot of things — it's disturbing, hilarious, and tackles comic book culture with a deeply jaded viewpoint. One would think that with such a unique combination of factors, there just couldn't be anything else on TV like it. Thankfully, you'd be very, very wrong. There has been a boom in subversive superhero and comic book fare in the past decade or so, and there are some truly great shows that can tide fans of "The Boys" over until the fifth and final season premieres in the next year or two. (And that's not even including the two "The Boys" spin-offs, the animated "The Boys Presents: Diabolical" or the university-set "Gen V.")

Each of these shows has something in common with "The Boys," from comic book origins to truly twisted humor to extreme violence, and they're all fantastic in their own right. Fans of "The Boys" should find lots to love in each of these 10 brilliant, occasionally demented shows. And it should go without saying, but each of these recommendations are for mature audiences only, because there is a lot of adult content going on here. 

SyFy

In "The Boys" season 3, we learn that Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) sees cartoon imaginary friends from the Buster Beaver comics, a children's hero in the Vought roster of supes, and it's as tragic as it is comical. Now imagine that instead of a two-dimensional beaver, the imaginary friend was a flying blue unicorn named Happy, voiced by Patton Oswalt. And instead of the mute Black Noir, imagine our protagonist is a foul-mouthed, disgraced cop turned occasional hitman named Nick Sax, played by Christopher Meloni. Oh, and they team up to fight against an evil, kidnapping Santa Claus. If that sounds like your kind of unhinged entertainment, then boy howdy do I have the show for you.

"Happy!" ran for two seasons and was based on the comic book series by writer Grant Morrison and artist Darick Robertson. (Robertson was also the artist on "The Boys" comic book series and is an executive producer on the television show.) Brian Taylor, who created the "Crank" films, directed most of the first season, so expect high-intensity action, lots of vulgarity, and more blood and guts than you can shake a stick at. Oswalt brings a lot of sweetness as Happy, who is the imaginary friend of Nick's daughter, and Meloni manages to inject his otherwise despicable character with some serious heart. 

HBO Max

While many of the shows on this list are based on independent comics that satirize the work of Marvel or DC ("The Boys" was originally about DC's Justice League, for example), "Doom Patrol" actually takes place within the greater DC universe. Sure, it's sort of the weird cousin to things like "Batman," but it exists within a multiverse within the DC continuity, which makes it somewhat unique among these more subversive shows. (Other great shows in this vein include the deeply sarcastic but lovingly made animated Max series "Harley Quinn" and the freaky former FX series "Legion," which are based on DC and Marvel properties but take a sort of different approach to the superhero genre, along with "Peacemaker," which you can read more about below.) 

"Doom Patrol" ran for four seasons and was based mostly on Grant Morrison's run of the long-running DC comic series of the same name, which follows the world's most unlikely superhero team as they tackle their individual trauma and learn to save the world. Each of the members of the Doom Patrol got their powers through unfortunate circumstances. Each also has some kind of major negative setback from those powers, like Elasti-woman (April Bowlby) turning to human Silly Putty when emotionally distressed, or Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero) being forced to fight against her more violent alters from her dissociative identity disorder. With a cast that also includes Matt Bomer, Brendan Fraser, Joivan Wade, Alan Tudyk, and Timothy Dalton, "Doom Patrol" features a stacked cast playing some of the most compelling comic book characters on television. It's weird, it's emotionally engaging, and it deserves your attention. 

Prime Video

Nightmarish dystopian setting adjacent to our own? Check. Intense and brutal violence? Check. Heroes turning out to be homicidal maniacs? Check, check, and triple-check. The Prime Video series "Invincible" shares a number of traits with "The Boys," as it follows teenage superhero Mark Grayson/Invincible (Steven Yeun) after he first develops his powers and learns how to be a hero under the tutelage of his father, Omni-Man (J.K. Simmons), who happens to be the most powerful superhero in the world. The only problem is that Daddy Dearest is a murderous monster, and Mark is forced to face the fact that everything he's always believed about good and evil has been a lie. 

"Invincible" was created by Robert Kirkman, based on his comic of the same name, and while it does have satirical elements, it is much more focused on personal character growth than it is making sociopolitical commentary. (Read our season 2 review here!) The voice-acting from Yeun, Simmons, and Sandra Oh, who voices Mark's real estate agent mother, Debbie Grayson, is all fantastic, and "Invincible" can easily make you laugh, gasp, and cry all within the span of a single episode. 

In addition to sharing a streaming home, "Invincible" also shares executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg with "The Boys," and their unique sense of superhero silliness can definitely be felt.

Warner Bros.

Speaking of superhero silliness, James Gunn's "The Suicide Squad" spin-off series "Peacemaker" is a super-strength kick in the pants. It's a violent and vulgar masterpiece that follows disgraced DC "superhero" Peacemaker/Christopher Smith (John Cena) after he kills his hero and wakes up from a coma to realize that he's a lonely, angry man who needs to change. Through new friendships with a rag-tag team that includes his slightly sociopathic second best friend Vigilante (Freddie Stroma), blond badass Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland), fellow child-of-a-supervillain Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), and handlers Clemson Murn (Chukwudi Iwuji) and John Economos (Steve Agee), Chris starts to learn how to be a decent human being and an actual hero. Oh, and they fight off a seriously scary alien invasion that includes a battle with a killer, super-smart gorilla. You know, superhero stuff.

"Peacemaker" is easily as filthy and violent as "The Boys," with plenty of comedic bite, but it also has a tremendous amount of heart. Oh, and it has the best opening sequence pretty much ever and a killer hair metal soundtrack to boot. Really, the only negative thing about "Peacemaker" is that fans have had to wait a while between the first and second season while Gunn works on "Superman: Legacy."

BBC Worldwide

The British sci-fi superhero series "Misfits" was created by Howard Overman and wasn't based on any specific comic book series, though it clearly draws inspiration from the giants of the genre, particularly "X-Men." In "Misfits," five delinquents are doing community service at their community center as part of their sentencing for various criminal activities when they are caught in a supernatural storm that gives them each powers that are somehow related to their personalities. The regularly ignored Simon (Iwan Rheon) can become invisible, the often gossiped-about Kelly (Lauren Socha) gains the ability to read minds, the extremely sexual Alisha (Antonia Thomas) can send people into a kind of sexual mania when they touch her, and Curtis, who wants to escape his past, can rewind time if he feels intense regret. Initially, it seems like Nathan (Robert Sheehan) is unchanged, though he eventually discovers that his power is immortality. 

"Misfits" is a little bit like "The Suicide Squad" by way of "Skins," a young adult drama with plenty of sex, drug use, and dark humor. Though the American remake has disappeared more completely than Simon using his powers, the original U.K. run is a unique, entertaining take on surviving with superpowers. The later seasons also include pre-"Preacher" runs by Ruth Negga and Joseph Gilgun, too, which can be a lot of fun to see for fans of the other Garth Ennis television adaptation.

AMC

"The Boys" comic book series was created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, and in 2016, AMC adapted another Ennis comic series, "Preacher." (The "Preacher" comic was originally drawn by artist Steve Dillon.) Where "The Boys" satirizes superheroes and comic books, "Preacher" satirizes organized religion, especially Christianity. Nothing is sacred in this story about Texas preacher Jesse Custer (Dominic Cooper) who becomes possessed with the all-powerful "voice of God" during a crisis of faith and ends up in the middle of a war between heaven and hell. Along with his best friend, a vampire named Cassidy (Gilgun), and his ex-girlfriend Tulip (Negga), Jesse takes on angels, demons, all kinds of human monsters, and even one especially terrifying undead hellion, the Saint of Killers (Graham McTavish). 

The "Preacher" TV series was developed by Rogen, Goldberg, and "Breaking Bad" writer/producer Sam Catlin, and while it definitely got a bit messy near the end, the show carried plenty of all of its creators' trademarks, from Ennis's brutal perspective on the world to Rogen and Goldberg's perverse sense of humor, so it's still pretty darn great. It may not be about superheroes, but "Preacher" deals with a lot of the same themes and has the same levels of violence, sex, and pitch-black comedy, so "The Boys" fans should definitely check it out. 

Netflix

The Netflix series "The Umbrella Academy" was based on the comic book series of the same name by My Chemical Romance frontman Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá, following the unusual adopted "siblings" that comprise the Umbrella Academy, led by their strict patriarch, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore). Each of his adopted children was one of 43 babies randomly born on October 1, 1989, imbued with superpowers because of their unnatural birth, and he's tried to shape them into a superhero fighting team since childhood. He's not a particularly loving "father," calling each of the children by a number instead of their names. 

There's Luther/Number One (Tom Hopper), who has super strength and is part gorilla, Diego/Number Two (David Castañeda), who can change the trajectory of thrown objects, Allison/Number Three (Emmy Raver-Lampman), who can control minds with a phrase, Klaus/Number Four (Robert Sheehan), who can speak with the dead, and Number Five (Aidan Gallagher), who can jump through space and time but as a result is stuck in a teenaged body. Ben/Number Six (Justin H. Min) is unfortunately rather dead, and Viktor/Number Seven (Elliot Page) doesn't appear to have powers but ends up being able to turn sound waves into weapons. This wildly complicated family fights with one another, time-traveling government agents, and even alternate-universe versions of themselves before it's all over, leading to some seriously intense superpowered shenanigans.

If "The Boys" is riffing on both the Justice League and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, "The Umbrella Academy" is riffing most heavily on "X-Men" and its idea of a "benevolent" older man who takes in superpowered youths. It's not as satirical as "The Boys," but it's still very much a subversive take on the genre. 

Mark Hill/HBO

Alan Moore's comic book series "Watchmen," with art by Dave Gibbons and colors by John Higgins, is a seminal work in dissecting superhero stories. It asks us "Who watches the Watchmen?" using superheroes to deal with concerns about fascism and police states. Damon Lindelof's HBO miniseries adaptation of the comic takes it a step further, diving deep into the racist horrors of America's past and the brutal truths about policing still. Though Moore wasn't a fan of the miniseries (but he's never happy with any adaptation of his work), "Watchmen" was a brilliant new way to use his world and characters to help open minds. 

"Watchmen" doesn't just boast a fantastic story, but also an insanely talented cast that includes Regina King, Jean Smart, Jeremy Irons, Hong Chau, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Tim Blake Nelson, and Louis Gossett, Jr. It's a glossy, high budget affair with gorgeous cinematography, flawless special effects, and even a score by the always-excellent Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. When it comes to shows using superheroes to tackle the issues of our own world, you simply can't do any better than "Watchmen." 

PlayStation Network

"Powers," based on the Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Avon Oeming comic book series of the same name, is so akin to "The Boys" that it's kind of eerie. The show, which only aired on the PlayStation Network, was set in a world just like our own where some people, called Powers, develop superpowers when they become adults. Powers are much like the supes of "The Boys," as they are part law enforcement, part celebrity, with management teams and fans and the whole shebang. The series follows a former Power named Christian (Sharlto Copley) who had his abilities stripped from him but now works for the Powers Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, investigating superhuman crimes. Basically, imagine Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) if he (mostly) operated on the legal side of things and you're headed in the right direction. 

Susan Heyward, who "The Boys" fans will recognize as season 4's Sister Sage, plays Christian's partner in the Powers Division, and together they try to solve superpowered crimes and deal with a bizarre, corrupt world. "Powers" didn't get the love and attention it deserved when it was airing, and while it's a little bit messy, it's interesting to see how another show took on similar topics, just a few years earlier.

Unfortunately, because of the whole PlayStation Network thing, "Powers" isn't available to stream, though you can buy episodes wherever digital media is sold.

Hulu

"Future Man" isn't a superhero show, but it is one of the most hilarious and bizarre satires of the past few decades and it is both just as violent and crude as "The Boys," with a similarly irreverent view towards pop culture. Created by Howard Overman (yep, the "Misfits" guy), Kyle Hunter, and Ariel Shaffir, "Future Man" follows Josh Futterman (Josh Hutcherson), a janitor at a research lab, who ends up beating his favorite game and summoning two warriors from the future who need his help, a la "The Last Starfighter." They rope him into their mission to "fix" the future but the trio encounters all kinds of stumbling blocks along the way, even having an extended stay in the afterlife in season 3. 

Hutcherson's Josh, along with Wolf (Derek Wilson, a.k.a. Tek-Knight on "The Boys") and Tiger (Eliza Coupe) go through all kinds of insanity throughout "Future Man," but the show never loses its singular vision. It's horny and crude and so very, very funny, riffing on everything from the depths of James Cameron's ego to polyamory in a post-apocalyptic barter town. Keith David stars as Josh's boss, a scientist obsessed with curing herpes, and Haley Joel Osment gets to play several different versions of his second-in-command, who goes hilariously evil in season 2. And of course, executive producer Rogen appears, as "Susan," who presents a "The Running Man"-inspired death game show called "The DieCathalon." Yup, this is yet another Rogen/Goldberg production, so expect to laugh and then feel awkward about it, just like "The Boys" and "Preacher." 

"Future Man," despite being a Hulu original, is currently only available to purchase wherever digital media is sold. Oh well. We'll always have our memories of Cabo Wabo.