Posted in: Amazon Studios, Preview, TV | Tagged: amazon, bleeding cool, cable, comic books, Comics, darick robertson, garth ennis, highlander, prime video, streaming, television, the boys, The Seven, tv, Vought

According to Nielsen, "The Boys" Are What You Want – What You Really, Really Want

It's been a long haul, people – but by now, millions of you know it was more than worth the wait. Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic book series The Boys has been sticking some righteously sweet superhero three-point landings since it premiered on Friday, July 26 – and spoiler? Check out Bleeding Cool's two-scoops-of-spoilers-filled review here to find out why we (like a whole lot of you) are big fans of the series – and see why it was picked up for season 2 (more below).

But exactly how many of you enjoyed the series? Now that Nielsen is measuring Amazon Prime Video, we actually have some numbers for the Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen, and Evan Goldberg-created series' freshman season debut via Nielsen's Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) Content Ratings system.

Here's a look at what we learned (minus tablet and smartphone data):

● During the first 10 days of the season's release, the average audience size was 4.1 million people, with an average of more than 6 million screening the premiere episode.

● Viewers 35-49 comprised the largest share of the show's viewing audience, making up 39% of the total audience for the show over its first 10 days.

● Between premiere date July 26 and August 4, The Boys was screened by nearly 8 million viewers.

"Adding Amazon Prime Video will provide subscribing clients not only with an ability to uncover and analyze their own content streamed on this additional platform, but also to better understand the total content lifecycle of competing media offerings regardless of distribution model– from live or time-shifted viewing to video-on-demand via set-top-boxes to streaming. Also, this gives clients will now have a more comprehensive look into a larger portion of the streaming landscape, helping them to further uncover the relationship this content has in regard to other streaming platforms, as well as how content compares to the television ecosystem as a whole."

– Nielsen (statement)

Last week, Kripke took to Twitter to reveal that Patton Oswalt (A.P. Bio, Happy!) has joined the season in a "secret role. Earlier this month, Kripke also took to Twitter – this time to tease the second-season appearance of The Crimson Countess – which would mean that supes team Payback may not be too far behind:

From her name alone, it should come as no surprise that the red-haired "hero" sports a red costume and cape and has heat-based powers. In the comics, the Payback member is involved with Mind Droid but was rumored to be having an affair with fellow team member Stormfront (which could make for an interesting dynamic considering the change in Stormfront's character for the series, but more on that below).

Unfortunately, Crimson makes the mistake of going after Butcher's dog and… well… it doesn't go well.

In fact, let's just say that if the series goes the way of the comics? Things don't go very well for Payback, either…

Meanwhile, series co-creator Seth Rogen revealed that he's seen the first episode – and it's more than any of them could've imagined:

"They already have more resources for the second season. They're adding more characters, the scope of the show organically grows as the show continues. We just watched, actually, the first episode of the second season this week. It was a wonderful thing as producers. This is way better than I ever could've hoped it would be."

With the series released and work on the second season underway, Rogen believes having the first season out there as a resource for the returning actors helps ease the process of getting back into "character mode":

"With a show like The Boys, especially, where the tone is so unique, for the actors to be able to watch the show and to see like, 'Oh, that's what it is.' It allows them to come back completely locked into it."

Though it seemed pretty inevitable when news leaked that Aya Cash (You're The Worst) was in negotiations for the role of Stormfront if a second season was ordered, Amazon Prime made the second-season renewal official at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) – one week before the highly-anticipated series premiered.

Joining Cash for the sophomore season are Goran Visnjic, Claudia Doumit, and a returning Malcolm Barrett – setting the stage for an unofficial Timeless reunion.

In the comic books series, Cash's Stormfront is a male character, a member of super team Payback – and representative of every nightmarish aspect of the Neo-Nazi agenda. Even scarier, his power levels put him on par with Homelander and Black Noir. Visnjic's Alistair Adana is the charismatic and shadowy leader of a mysterious church, while Doumit's Victoria Neuman is a young wunderkind congresswoman. Barrett returns as Seth Reed, a Vought Marketing executive who had a very "personal" run in with a supe.

A Look at Amazon Prime's "The Boys"…

Here's a look at the previous trailers and teasers for The Boys, with some serious eye-opening NSFW stuff:

(Check out Bleeding Cool's two-scoops-of-spoilers-filled review of the series premiere here.)

In a world where superheroes embrace the darker side of their massive celebrity and fame, THE BOYS centers on a group of vigilantes known informally as "The Boys," who set out to take down corrupt superheroes with no more than their blue-collar grit and a willingness to fight dirty.

THE BOYS is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes – who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It's the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about "The Seven," and Vought – the multi-billion dollar conglomerate that manages these superheroes.

On the side of The Boys, Karl Urban's Billy Butcher is mysterious and brutal, hiding a personal agenda as he approaches potential new recruit Hughie (Jack Quaid), claiming to be a shadowy government operative. Butcher capitalizes on Hughie's rage over his girlfriend Robin's accidental death at the hands of Superhero A-Train and enlists Hughie as part of his plan to bring down the super-hero franchise.

Rounding out Butcher's team are Laz Alonso (The Mysteries of Laura) as second-in-command Mother's Milk; Karen Fukuhara (Suicide Squad) as The Female, a young Asian assassin with blistering fighting skills who happens to have superpowers; and Tomer Capon as unpredictable wild card Frenchie, a brutal warrior when who lives a life of no attachments or responsibilities.

On the flip side, The Seven are Antony Starr (American Gothic) as The Homelander, leader of the main superhero team, The Seven; Dominique McElligott (The Last Tycoon) as Queen Maeve, a member of The Seven; Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl) as The Seven member The Deep, an aquatic hero; Jesse T. Usher (Survivor's Remorse) as speedster with a major PR problem, A-Train; Nathan Mitchell (iZombie) as Black Noir, a masked superhero with fighting and Set martial arts skills; Alex Hassell as perverted invisible hero Translucent (who's not really…you know… "translucent"); and Erin Moriarty (Jessica Jones) is Starlight/Annie, a young woman who can make lightning bolts flash from her eyes and dreams of being a "real superhero" like the famous Seven;

Elisabeth Shue's (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Karate Kid) super-hero handler Madelyn Stillwell was the Vice President of Hero Management for Vought and the person responsible for cleaning up after the "heroes." Jennifer Esposito (NCIS, Blindspot) has also been cast in the recurring role of CIA Agent Susan Raynor, with Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) set as Hughie's father and Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul) as the mysterious Mr. Edgar

Based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Ennis and Robertson, The Boys was developed by showrunner Kripke (Supernatural), who also serves as writer, executive producer and directed the season finale. Joining Kripke as executive producers are Point Grey Pictures' Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver (Preacher), Original Film's Neal H. Moritz (Prison Break), Pavun Shetty (New Girl), and Ori Marmur (Preacher), as well as Ken Levin and Jason Netter. Ennis and Robertson also co-executive produce, with the pilot episode directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane).

Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios co-produce the Amazon Prime Video with Point Grey Pictures, Kripke Enterprises and Original Film.

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