13 TV Shows Like ‘The Boys’ That Are Worth Watching
Prime Video’s satirical superhero action film The Boys , based on the (really excellent) comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, continues the genre’s deconstructionist lineage established by Alan Moore’s Watchmen . The film’s tone is less philosophical but even more cynical, suggesting that power doesn’t just corrupt—it makes people complete idiots.
The series is set in a world where people with superpowers work for a powerful multinational corporation with vast sums of money and a robust PR machine that helps them clean up their excesses and abuses, as well as maintain their public goodwill. When Hughie Campbell’s (Jack Quaid) girlfriend is brutally murdered by an uncaring superhero, he is recruited by a group named after him, determined to keep the “superheroes” in line by any means necessary. Beneath the show’s gritty, casual exterior lies a disturbing truth: if people with superpowers really existed, they would probably act exactly like this.
While you wait for the show’s fifth and final season to premiere next year (and prepare for the upcoming prequel Vought Rising ), you can check out the Gen V spinoff, the animated miniseries Diabolical —and these 12 other shows you might be interested in.
Creature Commandos (2024–)
The old DCEU (as in 2023) certainly wasn’t shy about being edgy—just remember, the plot of the first-ever Batman and Superman duet revolved around a urine explosion—but the new version, starring James Gunn, is ready to go even further. In this animated show, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis, reprising her role) assembles a covert operations team to protect a foreign country from the Amazonian sorceress Circe. Waller can’t be trusted with real people, so her team consists entirely of real monsters: the Bride (Indira Varma), Doctor Phosphorus (Alan Tudyk), Eric Frankenstein (David Harbour), and the aquatic mutant Nina Mazursky (Zoe Chao), as well as the Nazi-obsessed GI Robot and the rodent Weasel (both played by Sean Gunn). The film is incredibly violent and darkly humorous, but Gunn also impresses with his warmth. Watch “Creature Commandos” on HBO Max.
Slow Horses (2022 – )
I agree with that. Based on Mick Herron’s books, this series does for spies what The Boys did for superheroes. Led by Gary Oldman’s gruff and brash Jackson Lamb, Slough House is a dumping ground for former (or never-former) MI5 agents who either can’t be trusted with important missions or, like Lamb, have pissed off too many people. They’re not superspies, they’re mostly just mediocre at their jobs, but their expendable nature often puts them in the line of fire, and their general swagger and disregard for the rules have saved them more than once. Kristin Scott Thomas is Lamb’s antithesis, the politically savvy head of the spy ring at headquarters. It’s easily my favorite show on Apple TV+, and it gets extra points for having a consistent schedule; it’s been renewed for a seventh season. Watch Slough Horses on Apple TV+ .
Doom Patrol (2019–2023)
Here’s an uncharacteristically bold and indescribably bizarre entry into the superhero canon, featuring characters like the non-binary Danny the Street (a real street), paranormal investigators the Sexmen, Fake Jesus, and orgasm-inducing bodybuilder Flex Mentallo. But all the weirdness is grounded in the superb, often emotional performances of the entire cast, including Brendan Fraser, Matt Bomer, April Bowlby, Diane Guerrero, Joivan Wade, Michelle Gomez, and Timothy Dalton, all of whom play characters dealing with immense amounts of trauma and guilt, becoming something of a superhero in spite of themselves. It’s very queer and very sex-positive, making it stand out in the typically chaste, heterosexual world of superhero television. Watch Doom Patrol on HBO Max .
Deadlock (2023 – )
The wittily titled “Deadloch” turns classic crime drama clichés on their heads. It’s also a superb detective-crime procedural that doubles as a genre parody—not superhero stories, but gritty “murder series” like “Broadchurch” and its many imitators. Australian actress Kate Box plays Dulcie Collins, a meticulous senior police sergeant in the fictional town that gives the series its name. When a body is discovered on the beach, Dulcie is joined by Eddie Radcliffe (Madeleine Sami), a gruff and obnoxious detective brought in to investigate. The web of secrets and mysteries in the tiny Tasmanian town makes for a gripping story, and it’s often downright funny. Watch “Deadloch” on Prime Video .
Legends of Tomorrow (2016–2022)
After a rocky first season spent trying to find its footing by cramming in characters from other CW shows, Legends quickly evolved, taking its core premise seriously. Brought together by a time traveler, the Legends were initially brought together because, while they all had useful abilities, none of their lives were intended to have a noticeable impact, and thus they could be plucked from their respective timelines with impunity. With this in mind, the show developed a sense of humor about its team of time-traveling misfits and an even greater heart. Caity Lotz leads the team as former assassin Sara Lance, along with her future-clone wife Ava Sharpe (Jes Macallan); they are joined by a pyromaniac romance novel writer, a stoner from an alternate timeline, British occult detective John Constantine, and a rotating cast of unusual heroes.Watch Legends of Tomorrow on Netflix .
Watchmen (2019)
A standalone sequel to the groundbreaking 1980s graphic novel by Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons, and John Higgins, this series takes place within the sandbox of that book (arguably the source of all modern superhero deconstruction). Set in an alternate Tulsa, Oklahoma, a world where vigilante superpowers exist and are outlawed, the series begins dramatically with a depiction of the real-life massacre and destruction of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street by white residents in 1921. Regina King plays Angela Abar, a modern-day police officer whose grandparents were killed in the attacks, an event that reverberates throughout the series, which focuses on the fallout from the original comic’s plot and the conspiracies that grew out of it. Watch Watchmen on HBO Max or buy episodes on Prime Video and Apple TV .
Riverdale (2017–2023)
Shifting from superhero action to teen drama while still maintaining a core of comic book deconstruction, Riverdale offers a wild take on the once perfectly healthy Archie Comics universe. The show veers wildly between genres, beginning with a coming-of-age story blended with a sexy detective story. The comics’ grumpy, elderly Miss Grundy begins a romance with Archie early in the series, leading to a bloody whodunit. Soon, we’re immersed in supernatural horror and alternate universes, made even stranger by the show’s continued utter seriousness despite its wild plot twists.Download Riverdale on Netflix or buy episodes on Prime Video .
Talamasca: The Secret Order (2025 –)
Who watches the watchers? That’s the central question of The Boys (and its spiritual predecessor, Watchmen ), and it’s explored in this surprisingly fun and lively supernatural spy show. The third season in what AMC calls its Immortal Universe of Anne Rice-based shows, this season stars Nicholas Denton as Guy Anatole, a new recruit to the titular supernatural spy organization. William Fichtner plays a vampire vying for control of the organization, and Downton Abbey ‘s Elizabeth McGovern delivers another delightfully confusing performance as the leader of the Talamasca’s New York motherhouse. Throughout the first season, we, like Guy, are left completely in the dark about whether the Talamasca are good or bad, but perhaps there’s no clear answer to that question. Watch The Talamasca on AMC+ .
Hit-Monkey (2021–2024)
A breath of fresh air among more than a million hours of Marvel TV and film content, the animated series Hit Monkey eschews clichéd morality in favor of, well, simian violence. The title character, simply known as “Monkey” (Fred Tatasciore), is a highly aggressive macaque exiled from his tribe and under the care of Bryce (Jason Sudeikis), a dead killer who has returned to the world as a helpful ghost. It’s all impressively animated, and the talented voice cast includes Ally Mackie, Olivia Munn, George Takei, Leslie Jones, and Cristin Milioti. Watch Hit Monkey .
Murderbot (2025 – )
One of the wittiest new series of the year is also a dark comedy based on Martha Wells’s Hugo Award-winning book series. Alexander Skarsgård is a hilariously unflappable robot, a personal “security construct” who has managed to hack his own programming and gain free will, which he mainly uses to watch his favorite streaming services. He can’t escape for fear of attracting attention, but the self-proclaimed “Manbot” (ironically) makes do with the bare essentials when he’s assigned to a team of inexperienced and naive hippie explorers who see no need for a security robot—at least until they become embroiled in a complex capitalist conspiracy in which they are all mere cogs. Watch Manbot on Apple TV+ .
Harley Quinn (2019–)
Kaley Cuoco voices the Joker’s former assistant Harley Quinn in this very adult animated series starring the antiheroine who debuted in Batman: The Animated Series back in the day. Don’t expect traditional superheroics or epic plot twists like The Boys —this is, at its core, a wacky comedy that offers compelling queer representation and moments of personal growth for our (anti)heroine after her serious breakup with Mr. J. Watch Harley Quinn .
Peacemaker (2022–2025)
Peacemaker is a spinoff of James Gunn’s 2021 film The Suicide Squad , bridging the old DCEU with the modern one. John Cena’s character, having survived the events of that film, is once again recruited by the U.S. government to join a team trying to stop mysterious butterfly-like creatures from taking over human bodies. The film maintains the film’s gory, comic tone but adds enough depth (and emotion) to the jingoistic superhero’s story to make him easy to empathize with, even if his sense of self remains… limited. Watch Peacemaker .
Legion (2017–2019)
Though loosely an X-Men spinoff, this show from Noah Hawley ( Fargo, Alien: Earth ) stands alone and ultimately feels unlike anything else on television. Dan Stevens plays David Haller, a schizophrenic with profound psychic abilities. In one of the many mental hospitals he’s been committed to, he first meets the uninhibited Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) and then Syd (Rachel Keller), who can swap bodies with anyone she touches. Entering psychedelic astral planes and experiencing profound trauma, David soon realizes he’s not crazy, and also that he’s probably not the story’s hero, even as he finds himself caught between authorities who would exploit him for power and the Shadow King who has haunted his mind since childhood. Watch Legion on Hulu .