Gen V Season 1 Recaps, Cast and Everything to Know

Gen V is Prime Video's college-set spinoff of The Boys, its flagship black comedy based on the comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The new show's first season just came to an explosive, game-changing end that sets up The Boys Season 4 — and of course Gen V Season 2, which has already been ordered. Here's everything you need to know about Gen V Season 1 including cast, how it connects to The Boys and its full release schedule and recaps.

Gen V episode titles and release schedule

TLDR: The show premiered with three episodes on Sept. 28, 2023. The season finale debuted on Friday, Nov. 3. The season consists of eight episodes.

THE DETAILS: Here's Gen V's list of episodes with release dates — and links to The Messenger's episodic coverage.

Ep. 1: "God U" (Sept. 28, 2023)
Ep. 2: "First Day" (Sept. 28, 2023)
Ep. 3: "#ThinkBrink" (Sept. 28, 2023)
Ep. 4: "The Whole Truth" (Oct. 6, 2023)
Ep. 5: "Welcome to the Monsters Club" (Oct. 13, 2023)
Ep. 6: "Jumanji" (Oct. 20, 2023)
Ep. 7: "Sick" (Oct. 27, 2023)
Ep. 8: "Guardians of Godolkin" (Nov. 3, 2023)

Gen V cast

TLDR: Jaz Sinclair and Chance Perdomo reunite after Chilling Adventures of Sabrina on Gen V. There are a ton of fresh faces in the cast, as well as some familiar characters from The Boys and The Boys: Diabolical.

THE DETAILS: Sinclair was announced as the lead of Gen V way back in March 2021. The casting was made shortly after fellow Gen V protagonist-player Lizze Broadway joined the show’s ensemble cast.

Main cast list

Jaz Sinclair as Marie Moreau, an 18-year-old superhero with the ability to control and weaponize her own blood. Her ultimate goal is to become the first Black woman to join The Seven and leave her tragic past behind.
Chance Perdomo as Andre Anderson, a junior at Godolkin University with magnetic powers. He’s Golden Boy’s best friend and the son of a famous superhero known as Polarity.
Lizze Broadway as Emma Meyer, aka Little Cricket. Emma’s superpower is the ability to get super small. Together with her roomie Marie, they navigate the mysterious dangers at Godolkin University.
Shelley Conn as Indira Shetty, the dean of Godolkin University. She doesn’t have powers, but she does have a unique background in superhero psychology.
Maddie Phillips as Cate Dunlap, a junior at Godolkin University who is good friends with Jordan and Andre and is able to get anyone to do anything she wants with the touch of her hands. She’s also Luke’s girlfriend.
London Thor and Derek Luh as Jordan Li, a competitive student who can change between male and female forms, through which different powers manifest – the male form is dense and indestructible, while the female form is agile and can launch energy blasts.
Asa Germann as Sam, a troubled, extremely powerful supe who is desperately trying to escape his unfortunate circumstances and make sense of the world he perceives.
Patrick Schwarzenegger as Luke Riordan, aka Golden Boy. Luke’s superpower is the ability to light his entire body on fire. He is a senior at Godolkin University and is in the top rank, having the brightest prospects of joining The Seven.
Sean Patrick Thomas as Polarity, Andre’s father and largely celebrated Godolkin University alumnus and trustee.
Clancy Brown as Professor Rich “Brink” Brinkerhoff, a renowned professor of crime fighting at Godolkin University who taught superheroes such as A-Train, Queen Maeve and The Deep.
Marco Pigossi as Dr. Edison Cardosa, a gifted doctor with ties to Godolkin University.
Derek Wilson as Tek Knight, a God U alum and the host of Vought+ true crime show The Whole Truth With Tek Knight.

Confirmed guest stars reprising their roles from The Boys include Jessie T. Usher as Reggie Franklin/A-Train, Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett, Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman, P.J. Byrne as Adam Bourke and Jensen Ackles as Ben/Soldier Boy.

Gen V plot

TLDR: Gen V is about a blood-bender's coming-of-age story at a college where students learn how to be superheroes.

THE DETAILS: Like its predecessor The Boys, Gen V will likely have some screwed-up superheroes and steely social commentary about capitalism, topped with a scoop of spoof of our real-world current events and gallons and gallons of blood. Only this time, Gen V will focus primarily on a group of young adults, versus the aged-up, Vought-controlled Seven. Prime Video describes Gen V as "Part college show, part Hunger Games – with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys." And Gen V’s bleak source material, The Boys Vol. 4, "We Gotta Go Now," (#23–30), is a dead giveaway of what the Hunger Games part of the show entails.

Here's Prime Video's official logline: "Set in the diabolical world of The Boys, Gen V expands the universe to Godolkin University, the prestigious superhero-only college where students train to be the next generation of heroes – preferably with lucrative endorsements. You know what happens when supes go bad, but not all superheroes start out corrupt. Beyond the typical college chaos of finding oneself and partying, these kids are facing explosive situations… Literally. As the students vie for popularity and good grades, it’s clear that the stakes are much higher when super powers are involved. When the group of young supes discover that something bigger and sinister is going on at school, they're put to the test: Will they be the heroes or the villains of their stories?"

Gen V source material

TLDR: Gen V is based on The Boys’ comic book story arc, "We Gotta Go Now," by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. It is largely considered to be one of the most disturbing chapters in The Boys’ compendium, due to its subject matters of youth indoctrination, child abduction and pedophilia.

THE DETAILS: In "We Gotta Go Now," readers are introduced to John Godolkin, for whom the Godolkin University School of Crimefighting is named after. He is best known in the Boysverse as the founder of (and evil mastermind behind) the G-Men, the second-most-profitable superhero group of all time. The G-Men started off as children – six orphans lured into Godolkin’s mansion with promises of candy and toys, only to be abducted, indoctrinated and routinely raped, all while being injected once per week with Compound-V (the fictional jab that gives children in the Boysverse superpowers).

Things get more complicated and savage from there, but the point is: Gen V may be disguised as a "teen show," but it’ll likely be just as TV-MA as The Boys.

Speaking of The Boys, the events of Gen V are set concurrently with the fourth season of The Boys, which is currently on hold due to the ongoing Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.

Gen V trailers

THE DETAILS: Not only is there a Gen V teaser and a trailer, but in true satirical fashion, both cheekily censor all naughty words while leaving none of the franchise’s famed graphic violence to the imagination. Because it's fine to see people get disemboweled, but F-words are inappropriate!

Gen V filming locations

THE DETAILS: Caught a glimpse of your alma mater in the Gen V trailer? Filming primarily occurred at the University of Toronto Mississauga, which is known for its Brutalist architecture (an aesthetic that fits the very brutal world of the Boysverse quite aptly). Gen V’s second primary filming location was at the Claireville Conservation Area, Brampton, a slightly isolated, forested area in Canada that that may clue viewers in on something sinister going on far from school grounds.

Gen V reviews

TLDR: The Messenger gave Gen V Season 1 an 8.3/10

THE DETAILS: Mónica Marie Zorrilla said that the show is "unturnoffable," particularly when "it is more concerned with exposing and expanding upon Vought International's diabolism and less intent on being a college drama set within the world of Prime Video's satirical superhero dramedy The Boys." Zorrilla added that Gen V "builds upon the franchise's signature satirization of mega-conglomerates and 'Murican values with surprising emotional depth and never-before-seen degrees of nastiness that'll leave you asking, well, what about the (super) children?" Gen V currently has a aggregated critics score of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 78% average audience score — a slightly higher critics score than Season 1 of its predecessor, The Boys, but slightly lower audience score.

Where to watch Gen V

THE DETAILS: Gen V can be exclusively streamed on Prime Video like the other shows in the gruesome Boysverse – which so far also consists of The Boys and the animated anthology Diabolical.

Lizze Broadway, Jaz Sinclair and Maddie Phillips in 'Gen V.'Brooke Palmer/Prime Video

‘Gen V’ Season 1 Recaps, Cast and Everything to Know

The first season of 'Gen V' has come to an end, so here's your complete guide to the inaugural round of Prime Video's 'The Boys' spinoff