♪♪
-Thanks, everybody,
for joining us
for another diabolical panel
with the cast of the Amazon
original series, "The Boys."
I'm your moderator, Aisha Tyler,
and I cannot wait to dig into
all the details
about the upcoming season.
We're going to show you
a never-before-seen insane clip
and share a few surprises.
But first, a reminder.
Season 2 of the boys
debuts September 4th
on Amazon Prime Video,
so ready your tiny,
puny human bodies.
And now I am joined
by executive producer
and showrunner Eric Kripke.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Billy Butcher himself,
Mr. Karl Urban.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Hughie Campbell, Jack Quaid.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Mr. Homelander, Antony Starr.
-Oh, hey!
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Starlight, aka Annie January,
the lovely Erin Moriarty!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Get out of the way, the A-Train
is coming into the station,
Jessie T. Usher!
[ Cheers and applause ]
He's sweet and also very large,
Mother's Milk, Laz Alonzo!
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
He's The Deep, and he's
always a little damp,
Chace Crawford!
[ Cheers and applause ]
The Female, aka Kimiko,
Karen Fukuhara!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Mais oui, mon ami.
C'est Frenchie --
it's Tomer Capon!
[ Cheers and applause ]
And a brand-new addition
to the Seven.
Please welcome Stormfront,
Aya Cash!
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Yeah!
-Yeah!
-I'm really happy
to be here with you guys.
I got to do this with you
last year at Comic-Con.
I'm stoked to be back
for this conversation.
And I want to kick things off
right at the top here with Eric.
Here we are, it's a year later,
we've come full circle.
Tell me what the fan reaction
has been
to "The Boys"
since it's come out.
-Fan reaction's
been incredible.
I mean, it's, like, exceeded
all of our expectations.
I mean, without, you know,
blowing smoke up
all of our poopers,
like, we're a hit.
But I think people are really
responding
to just the superhero bit
of turning it on its head.
I think -- even more than that,
I think people are really
responding to the characters
and I think they're falling
in love with them,
which is due almost entirely
to this amazing cast.
And -- and they're also
reacting to, like, the satire
and the social commentary,
which, you know,
we worked hard to to layer in.
So it's very, very gratifying
that I think they're getting
all the things
we set out to put into the show.
And, you know,
we're all so proud of it.
So thanks to everyone
at home watching.
We really appreciate it.
-So when we pick up Season 2,
where are the Boys,
and what's going on
with the Seven?
Where do we find everybody?
-When we pick up Season 2,
it's a lot more intense.
Like, we worked hard
to make Season 2 crazier
but also more emotional
and higher stakes.
So everyone's, like,
in a really tight spot.
You know,
the Boys are wanted fugitives
coming off of last season.
They're hunted. They're
basically totally screwed.
And they're doing their best
to fight back
at Vought however they can.
But, you know, Season 1
was a big loss for them.
Conversely, you know,
Homelander killed
really the only person who could
control him in Stillwell.
And so he's increasingly
out of control.
He's ascendant.
He's making Vought
a scarier place.
And Starlight is sort of trapped
in this living nightmare.
And so, you know,
I think everyone is pushed
to the limits in Season 2.
-I really would love to
expand a little bit
on maybe the themes that you
touched on in Season 1
that you were able to expand on
or bring into Season 2,
because I think what's great
about the show
is it's not just a great ride.
There's these really big ideas
embedded in the material.
-We try to make this not just
like the most realistic
superhero show ever made,
but we try to make it
kind of a commentary
on the up-to-the-minute world
we're living in,
because it's just this strange
blur of politics and celebrity
and media
and social media manipulation.
And it says so much about
the world that we're in
that we really try to,
you know,
we try to get some
pretty sharp commentary.
And so for instance,
in Season 1, you know,
we really explored
the MeToo phenomenon
with what happened
with Starlight.
You know, we really talked about
the American weapons industry,
a lot of, like, politics,
and so -- and we explored
all of that.
I think in Season 2,
I would say it's, you know,
we continue that and probably
make it even more edgy.
I mean, because I can say we're
going after white supremacy
in Season 2, we're going after
white nationalism in Season 2,
we're going after
systemic racism in Season 2.
And all of those things
really effing suck.
The three triangles
of the show are always
strong characters first,
madness second,
which we have,
and then, you know,
and then if we can sneak in
some revelations or discussions
about the real world,
then, you know, we do that, too.
And you'll see that
in Season 2.
-I'm very excited
to see all of you.
But what I'm also very excited
about is how people are going
to react to this scene
they were about to roll in.
It may be the most epic scene
on "The Boys"
since Robin's bloody
and explosive demise.
So let's take a look
at a clip...
-Oh, God.
-...from Season 2.
Yeah.
Hold on to your selves.
[ Laughter ]
-Come on!
Stand up!
Go, go, go!
-Go, go, go!
♪♪
-Look, there!
Head for the storm drain!
♪♪
♪♪
-Oh, [bleep].
♪♪
[ Roar ]
♪♪
[ Bellowing ]
♪♪
-Butcher, what are you doing?!
-Argh!
♪♪
[ Screaming ]
[ Loud squish ]
[ Bellows ]
-Oh!
-So good!
[ Laughter ]
-So insane.
[ Chattering ]
[ Laughter and sighing ]
-No super large mammals
were hurt
in the making of the scene.
-Thank God.
-Karl, I'm gonna go to you.
What was it like
filming that scene?
And is that the weirdest thing
that you've ever done
in your career?
-I think hands down, that's
probably the weirdest thing
that a lot of us
have done in our careers.
The scene was, I think,
for everybody but Jack,
really a lot of fun to shoot.
[ Laughter ]
Jack was sitting
in the front of the boat
and as you actually saw
in that footage,
we were actually getting
quite a bit of air
off some of the waves, and...
-Yeah.
And Karl was actually driving.
-That's not a great place to be.
Yes.
[ Laughter ]
And, you know, and that's
actually one of the things
that I really was surprised
and thrilled about.
You know, the way that we shot
that was, you know,
you had all -- you know,
all of us actors in the boat,
and we were actually doing it.
And we had a helicopter
that was hovering,
you know,
80 to 100 feet in the air,
flying along parallel with us
and flying around us.
And it's just, you never get
to really experience that,
you know, doing something
for real anymore.
It's usually like, well,
done on the green screen.
But we were actually out there
in the water
doing horrendous speeds
and having fun.
Well, except for Jack.
-Except for Jack.
-Who wasn't really having fun.
-Well, Karl, you were
having the most fun --
-You were doing
horrendous speed.
-Yes.
I was so surprised
because when we were
actually doing it,
I thought a stuntman
was going to be driving it.
And then it was you.
And we were going
at enormous speeds,
and I was getting seasick
in the back
after about hour three
of shooting.
-Yeah, it's crazy.
What showrunner would ever
let the cast...
[ Laughter ]
get in such an impossibly stupid
and actually dangerous
situation?
[ Laughter ]
-Eric?
Eric just cares about
that authenticity, man,
He's just trying to make sure
it's real.
Yeah.
-Yeah.
-Look, I'm trying to get
the truth,
and the truth, you know,
isn't free, man.
What can I tell you?
-And then did you guys build --
Did you build a big
practical whale
filled with, like, you know,
garbage and gooey stuff
and whenever people are throwing
out of their trailers that day?
Like, was that
a big practical piece?
-Yeah. They literally built
a huge prosthetic whale,
and it was it was
on the beach.
And it was
very practical.
You could, you know --
We actually
end up inside the whale,
without giving too much away.
And it was
a pretty surreal experience.
And pretty, pretty hot
and stinky
in the Canadian summer.
It was great.
-[ Laughs ] Oh, good times.
The glamour of Hollywood.
Yeah, I would --
I want to add to that
that one of the best
professional moments
of my career
was when I told
the production crew.
They're like, "We're not really
building this whale, right?"
And Arv Grewal,
the production designer,
and I said, "Yeah, yeah,
we're building a [bleep] whale,
and it's gonna be 40 feet long
and 11 feet high, and...
-Oh, man.
-We started --
Long before we started
shooting episode 1,
we were deep into building
that whale
because we knew it was
such a huge project
and so much --
it was so expensive, too.
It was such an expensive whale.
[ Laughter ]
-But it moved.
Like, its tail moved,
its mouth opened,
it was awesome.
-And it makes the scenes work
because they're interacting
with his real dead thing
with an exploded belly.
It's not just a CG effect,
so it was really
one of my prouder moments
as a producer, actually.
-I have to say, the whole cast
gave me so much guff
for, you know,
me complaining
about how much I'm covered
in blood in the first season.
Nobody's making fun of me
for that anymore.
They all understand
what it's like.
-Never.
[ Chuckling ]
-Ooh, it's not pretty.
-Oh, yeah.
Oh, you guys are picking whale
out of your ears
and your pants
for, like, days after that.
-For weeks. Weeks.
-There was just whale
everywhere.
-Oh, yeah.
-I want to hear
a little bit
more from Karl about
how Butcher's dealing with
the fact that this guy
that he's been chasing
for all of Season 1
with the intent
on taking his life,
that he discovers at the end
of Season 1 that this guy
is his wife's son's father,
or in the street vernacular,
his wife's supe baby daddy.
It really does change
the dynamic,
not just Butch's relationship
to kind of
who he's been all this time,
but obviously
his relationship to Homelander.
-Oh, definitely.
Yeah, yeah, no, definitely.
I mean, you know,
the end of Season 2
was a complete game changer
for Butcher.
It is a real paradigm shift.
It changes everything
going forward for him.
You know, his objective
through Season 2
is to really find Rebecca
and rescue her,
to get his wife back.
And so if Season 1 was,
you know,
Butcher really focused
on blind revenge
for the perceived death
of his wife,
Season 2 really becomes about
getting her and saving her.
And, you know, the questions,
the moral questions
that arise from that is, how far
is Butcher willing to go?
How much is he willing
to sacrifice?
And it's particularly pertinent
coming off Season 1
where we see that Butcher,
you know,
would turn us back on the Boys
if he could inflict
some, you know, degree of pain
and suffering on Homelander,
on the Seven.
And, you know, there's a certain
evolution for Butcher
in Season 2 where, you know,
he has some tough choices
to make whether, you know,
he will be able to do
something to achieve that goal,
to get him close
to Becca.
Will he, you know, again
jeopardize his team?
And that was
a lot of fun to play.
Season 2 really, I think, has
some very interesting pair-ups.
You know, I think --
I really enjoyed
getting to work with Erin
and obviously -- and Starlight
through Season 2,
which is such an unlikely
odd couple pairing.
And I think that
that's one of the things that
Season 2 does
really successfully
is throw people together,
unlikely combinations
of characters together.
And you get to see
how they bounce off
each other and interact.
-There's so much exciting
kind of dynamism
between characters
that don't just --
you wouldn't imagine them
together, but they
don't really particularly
want to be together,
but they're forced together by
circumstance or by shared goals.
-Right, yeah.
-But speaking of motherhood
and Mother's Milk, Antony,
you have some of
the strangest scenes --
-As soon as you try
to say anything...
-"Speaking of motherhood."
-...about mothers, I'm like...
It's my turn.
It's got to be.
-"Is it me?"
-A little Oedipus over here.
-This guy...
-Hey, this guy!
-I want to show a photo
from a scene
that happens really early on
in Season 2,
and I want you to explain
to everybody what's going on.
Antony is in frail
emotional state,
and he's going through it.
-You know, we've seen
through Season 1
that really this guy
is desperately,
painfully lonely
and desperate for connection.
Of course, a big part of that
was the lovely
Elisabeth Shue-
slash-Stillwell,
but she wasn't willing
to let Homelander
expand in Season 1
and, you know,
fulfill what he believed
he was capable of --
his "mission,"
so to speak.
So he dealt with
his Oedipal complex
at the end of Season 1,
and then I think Season 2
has been a lot about
trying to find his place.
Season 1 was very external,
whereas Seasons 2
is very internal.
And I guess there's nothing more
internal than milk,
and --
[ Laughter ]
...as a way to connect
the dots between
Season 1 and 2
and bring Stillwell into his
world a little bit.
He finds traces of Stillwell
and reconnects that way,
and that is a moment
of pure connection
between Homelander
and Stillwell, Season 2.
-You're drinking
her breast milk!
-Exactly.
-Basically
I'm drinking breast milk.
-Yeah. Leftovers.
-It's very nutritious,
filled with natural antibodies.
It's quite good for you.
Part of it is that you can
see him doing terrible things,
but you understand...
-Yeah.
...that in a lot of ways
he's just deeply bruised.
-Yeah.
-And that's also confirming
how much power he has
that he's so powerful,
but yet he can't force people
to connect with him.
He can't force relationships.
-That's right.
-The one thing he really needs,
he can't can't form.
-Yep.
Yeah, that's right.
And I think that, you know,
in a lot of ways --
and that's the duality
of the character,
which is, you know, these guys
have really done a great job
playing both sides of that.
The strongest man
on the show is --
the strongest physical man
on the show
is the weakest emotionally
on the show, in my opinion.
And it's really --
it's fun to bounce in and out
of there as well.
It's like I was saying, like,
every time dia--
Every time Homelander
does something horrible
or deranged,
It's the best day's work
for me.
I have such a good time.
I just laugh my off my ass.
[ Laughter ]
I really do. I just think
it's hilariously funny.
He turns up,
zaps the plane --
the controls of the plane,
and then...
Oop, oop, may as well
get out of here.
I think it's hysterical.
-I was gonna say, he's
perfectly dissociated,
which I think
is also a byproduct of --
I mean, I'm sure, Eric, you've
been thinking a lot about this,
about the idea of like ultimate
power corrupting ultimately.
-Right, mm-hmm.
-The fact that he's
so powerful means
he has a very hard time
caring about anybody
that is not
as powerful as he is.
So, you know, he's like,
"Eh, I tried it."
-Yeah. But there's also
this weird parenting thing
where it's, you know,
"I can do whatever
I want to my kids.
I can say whatever I want
about my kids, but you can't."
So if it's -- if someone's
bullying one of the Seven,
then you can expect Homelander
to just sort of bully
the bully back.
Not that that really
ever happens,
except for The Deep,
which is just --
he's just not really worth much.
But...
[ Laughter ]
-Shots fired. Shots fired.
-It's The Deep.
He talks to fish. He's got
no respect from anyone, so...
-I'm coming back, baby girl.
-...argument about that.
[ Laughter ]
-Coming back for you,
baby girl.
Whoo!
-Well, let's talk about
let's talk about Hughie now.
-Oh, great.
-Because, you know,
Season 1 was so transformative
for him, right?
He goes from being this very
kind of timid, low-key,
very interior character
to, you know, really
blossoming in the company
of this team of maniacs.
-Yeah.
-And now Butcher is gone,
and so what does that do
for Hughie
and his position in the Boys,
and how does that transform
his experience
and his connection
with the other characters?
-It's interesting
because, you know,
Butcher essentially,
from Hughie's perspective,
just betrayed everybody.
So now he's just kind of left
there and he feels very alone.
He feels terrible about lying to
Annie all of Season 1.
It was a bad move.
And he is just super alone.
He has nothing.
And then he -- at a certain
point, he starts realizing,
"Okay, like, okay,
what do I do now?
I need to -- Do I keep
this fight going?
I kind of have to because
I don't really have
anything else,
and this is the right
thing to do."
And he does that by,
you know,
he sneaks a few
conversations with Annie
even though they're not
technically supposed to
because he's on the run.
It's not something romantic yet,
although he's kind of
hoping it could be.
But something I really
found fascinating
about what Eric did with Hughie
this season
is that,
you know, in Season 1,
it's he kind of latches on
to a lot of people
that tell him what to do
and how to navigate his way
through this crazy world.
And in Season 2,
he's starting to realize
how he can do that on his own
and just kind of
he's starting to realize
who he is on the inside
and what he wants to do,
not just in relation to, you
know, what people like Butcher
or even the Boys
or Starlight want him to do.
-Was there a specific moment in
the season where you felt like
Hughie had really need a turn,
like the transformational moment
where he starts to be
a little bit more of a leader?
Although I think it was
showing up with his retainer
at the end of Season 1.
-You know, sure, yeah.
-I mean, like, "I came to save
you with my retainer."
-If there's one thing
that says leadership,
it's a good retainer, right?
[ Laughter ]
Yeah, there's one moment
early on where -- spoilers --
Butcher comes back
and Hughie's not --
not excited about it.
And he gives Hughie
the old classic,
"Oh, we're gonna do
this thing."
You know, the old Kenan and Kel,
"We're gonna do this thing,
it's gonna be great,
you'll love it!"
And I think the first time
I realized Hughie's
a little bit --
-That's so good.
-How'd I do, Karl?
-"You'll love it!"
-"You'll love it!"
[ Laughter ]
But after that, Hughie says,
"No, I never love it.
I never...love it."
I censored myself.
-Ooh.
-And that was the first point,
I realized, like, okay,
this guy, you know, he's
standing up for herself.
He's owning himself
a little bit more.
He's still Hughie, you know.
He's still got to scream a lot.
But he's, you know,
he's coming into his own.
-So, Erin, a big challenge
for Annie
during Season 1 was how
to navigate everything
that's going on in the world
with the Seven, with the Boys,
and still hold on
to her personal moral compass.
I mean, she's someone
who believes in the goodness
of superheroes
and wants to be a good supe.
So does that mean for her --
her life, her arc in Season 2?
How does it manifest?
-You know, what was fun
about Season 2 is,
and what I think people
will find satisfying
in terms of her trajectory
is that she kind of steps
into her own power.
She's kind of forced to,
and into our strength,
and her objective
stays the same.
You know, it's the same thing
is Season 1, episode one,
when she says she wants to be
the best superhero in the world.
Her morals stay totally intact,
but she's forced to adapt
to the dark world
that she's become exposed to.
And her means to attain
that objective totally change.
And that's where some really
interesting storylines come in,
like collaborating
with characters
and doing team-ups
that you would never anticipate,
and exploring dynamics
between her and Hughie,
for example,
who's broken her heart,
who she has
residual feelings for,
who she totally
fell in love with.
But the only way
that both of them
are able to attain their goals
is to get over that and work
towards their goals together.
So they have all of this
underlying emotional stuff
going on and this tension,
and yet there's still
chemistry there
and they're able to totally tap
into their former chemistry.
So it's confusing, and then
she's got Butcher,
who she has like --
who shot her in the chest.
Yet she's got to kind of
join forces with him.
So her objective stays the same,
but she hardens a lot
as a result of Season 1.
And what I found really
kind of interesting to explore
is a really thick wall
goes up with her
that is inevitable when you take
someone who's really earnest,
naive -- like naive
and kind of gullible,
and then they have
their heart broken
by every single person
in their life that they love,
by all the systems
that they've believed in.
And so she builds up a wall.
It's almost too thick
to compensate for it, I think.
And so beginning of Season 2,
that wall is up so thickly
that perhaps she has --
I don't know, she's still doing
the same thing in terms
of trying to save the world,
but she's a little bit
inaccessible.
And I think she learns
to start to drop the wall
so that she balances
the line between being informed
and not naive,
but also finding herself again.
So there's a lot going on,
basically.
-So, Erin, at the end
of Season 1, obviously
Starlight and A-Train had
this this big boss fight,
and Starlight didn't put
A-Train down.
He had a heart attack, but...
-Mm-hmm.
-It was not
the best interaction.
And now you guys have got to go
back to work together.
And I think it's going
to be a little awkward!
-Mm-hmm.
-So what can we expect
in terms of your dynamic
during Season 2?
-I mean,
it's not a positive one,
certainly at least not
in the beginning.
Basically, there's a mutual
figuring out
of how to handle each other.
And she has to ultimately,
you know, blackmail him,
which is something
she's really uncomfortable with,
but she's got no choice
but to do.
You know, he don't respond
too well to it.
It's the most positive
relationship.
-They're both being
really toxic towards each other,
but they're so unpredictable.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-A-Train has no idea
what Starlight's capable of,
and Starlight just doesn't know
what A-Train knows.
So they...
-Well, yeah.
-There's a lot of
confusion there.
-Yeah. Yeah.
-There is a lot of figuring out.
-So at the end of Season 1,
Jesse,
A-Train was in terrible shape.
He had been in this big boss
fight with Starlight.
He had a heart attack.
And it means something
for him personally, obviously.
But I think professionally,
he's really afraid of losing
his position in the Seven.
So what is going on with him
at the beginning of Season 2,
and where does he stand
in relation to the Seven?
-Physically, A-Train
is in bad shape.
You know,
he's abused Compound V
and it's taking some very
long-term effects on his body.
And him being an athlete,
you know, that's very much
in the forefront of the issues
that he has to deal with.
But A-Train has so many things
that he's been literally
running from for so long,
like, now he's in the place
where he has to just stop,
turn, and face these things,
and it's tearing him apart.
You know, he's fueled
by this hate and this rage,
and a lot of
it's self-inflicted,
even though he's kind of
pinning it on other people.
But it's -- you know,
everywhere he looks,
he just feels betrayed or hated
or something,
like he's he's attaching
negative emotions
to every aspect of his life.
And now he has to kind of
turn around and deal
with these things
all at one time.
And it's a lot for him to do.
The end of Season 1 was --
was a lot of confusion
for him,
a lot of, like,
misplaced anger.
It's a lot.
You know, it's a lot for anybody
to have to deal with,
superpowers or not.
And it's just unfortunate
that he takes it out
on other people
the way that he does.
But for him, he just doesn't
feel like there's any other way.
You know, he wants something
that feels like
is his safe haven.
He doesn't know that it's
leading to his own destruction,
but he's doing whatever he feels
like he needs to do
to keep the life
that he is so proud of,
so happy to be in.
And he's willing to do
anything to keep --
he's willing to die
for it, you know?
He's willing
to kill for it.
And we see that time
and time again in Season 1.
He's almost...
It's a pretty sad case,
but he's kind of ruthless
in a sense,
you know, where his decisions
are always the worst ones
because what he's trying to get,
he just doesn't care
about what he loses
in the process.
-What I love about the show
is how sympathetic
all these characters are,
even when they're doing
really terrible things.
And A-Team is really in this
position of insecurity, right?
From the beginning,
he's worried about
the security of his job.
-Right.
-And he's willing to do
anything to stay on top.
And I think that's
really interesting
because we we always
see superheroes
as just kind of like
perfectly formed
and they've got powers and
they do things the right way.
But this is a guy who feels
his security slipping away
through the entire season --
you know, Season 1.
-Yeah, you know, that's
something that I like
a lot about this show,
that it's unique,
that I haven't seen very often.
It's like, in a world
with superheroes,
the ones that you know and love
are not the only
ones that exist.
So for A-Train having
a power that,
you know,
what what we'll learn
is like,
there's quite a few people
who have the same ability
as him.
They might not be quite
as good as he is.
But, you know, that is always
in the back of his mind.
It's like, "I'm not the only
super speedster in the world."
What's important to him
is that he's always on top.
So he has to be the best.
He has to be the fastest.
Because if he's not, you know,
everything crumbles from there.
So he's willing to do whatever
it takes to keep that top spot.
And it means a lot to him.
And we'll learn a little bit
more about that in Season 2,
like why it means so much,
and, you know, the things
that he's afraid of happening.
A lot of what fuels him is fear,
to be honest with you.
When I broke it down --
you know,
as I was reading the scripts
and talking with Eric
and the various directors
that we had
and kind of just thinking
about it on my own,
he's afraid of a lot of things
that could happen.
You know, he's, like, afraid
of his own nightmares.
They haunt him
and they drive him
to doing some really
crazy stuff.
And despite the fact
that he knows better,
he just can't control himself,
you know.
-He's like...
-Right.
-"What do you want me to do?"
-Right.
When you're always terrified,
then everybody becomes a threat.
Right? There's a threat
around every corner for him.
-Absolutely.
-And in Season 1,
Hughie really was
his main target.
But in Season 2, he shifts
his attention to somebody else
because he really has
a lot of fear about --
-I don't know if we can
say, but... [ Laughs ]
I don't know if we can say,
like, where it goes.
You know, I don't want
to give away too much,
but, yeah, you're right,
you're right.
He is that guy
who has a problem.
And instead of dealing
with the problem
the way that
it should be dealt with,
he kind of takes it
and he aims it at someone.
And in Season 1,
he aimed at Hughie.
And a lot of times people,
you know,
when I talk about
this character,
they ask me, like,
"Did A-Train really believe
that, you know,
Hughie killed his girlfriend?"
And it's like, no,
he doesn't believe
that Hughie killed
his girlfriend.
He just needs someone to blame
for his girlfriend being dead.
And God forbid
he blames himself.
So he looks at Hugh
and he's like,
"You did this," you know,
"And you're going to pay
for it."
Hey, Hughie, man,
good to see you.
-Hey, man. Hey, dude.
-His way of, like, dealing,
you know, is deflecting.
And it's really unhealthy,
but he just doesn't know
a better way.
-Right. Right.
And he has, I think,
for someone who's been,
you know,
abusing Compound V
for all that time, you know,
you just start to kind of
slowly make compromises.
And rather than take
responsibility
for your own behavior,
you blame it on other people.
-Absolutely.
-Which is a pretty typical
mind-set when someone is
struggling with addiction.
-He's so dependent on it --
Yeah, exactly.
He's so dependent on it,
the addiction kind of takes over
whatever clear mind-set
he would have had.
And it just it -- it blurs
his vision, to the point
where the only thing that makes
sense to him is keep running.
Keep going.
Don't look back.
And you know, don't deal.
Just don't deal.
And everything
has been piling up.
And then now in Season 2,
with this heart attack,
he kind of -- the physical
aspect gets snatched from him,
and now he has to deal
with the mental and the
emotional state that he's in.
-All right. So I want to talk
about Mother's Milk.
I wonder how your character
is going to navigate this
in Season 2.
He's incredibly loyal
to the Boys.
And with Butcher
out of the way,
he becomes kind of the anchor
in a lot of ways
and keeps everybody in line,
but he also has his own goals,
which may be at odds,
I think, going forward.
-Yeah, no, I mean,
it was interesting
kind of working through
with Eric,
why his Mother's Milk
in the Boys?
If you really look
at Mother's Milk as we find him
in Season 1,
you know, he's got his family.
He's got a daughter
who he cares very much about.
He's got a wife
that he is tremendously...
subservient to, you know.
He wants to make her happy.
He cooks her tilapia for her.
And so why would he risk
all of that
to join this group of, you know,
essentially misfits?
You know, and what I love
is that, you know,
Garth had taken this character
and molded him after,
in theory,
after the crack babies,
you know, of the '80s, where
he was physically infected,
you know, with an addiction to V
because of his family's,
you know, working in factories
and they ingested it
and breathed it in, you know.
But here in in our version
of "The Boys,"
in our ecosystem,
you know, that's not the case,
so what is he infected with?
And Eric kind of,
you know, beautifully, like,
created this infection
with being a fighter of freedom.
You know what I'm saying? Like,
that's what he's infected with,
is risking what he has
in the pursuit of justice.
And, you know,
even if it doesn't necessarily
mean justice for him,
but if it's justice
for his daughter,
who's the future,
then it's worth the fight.
And so I love that take
on this character.
There was a tremendous amount
of emotional intelligence
that I had to bring
to this character,
because what he had to be
within this group
was the voice of morality
to keep us from going so far
over the edge
where we might become
as dark as the supes,
you know, so that we don't
forget why we're here
and what we're fighting for.
So that's kind of the line
that I try to always measure is,
when we have a scene together
as a group
and we're planning
what we're going to do is,
you know, morally speaking,
you know, what would
Mother's Milk do, you know?
You know, and...
-Right, right, right.
-And try to kind of steer
the group in that direction.
-Mother's Milk is like
the physical manifestation
of the moral soldier,
of the guy
who will go into a fight
because it's
the right thing to do.
Almost none of the other
characters on the show
really have that same kind of
internal moral compass.
They're motivated by
their own personal desires.
But Mother's Milk is like,
"No, I'm loyal,
and I've got to do
the right thing
because that's just who I am."
-Yeah, absolutely. I mean --
-When Butcher comes to him --
When Butcher comes to him
and says, "We can put
an explosive device
up the anus of a superhero
and blow that superhero up,"
Mother's Milk's like, "That is
what I need to do with my life!"
[ Laughter ]
-Been waiting for it.
[ Laughter ]
-It is intriguing!
I'm not gonna lie,
it's intriguing.
I think that there is
a tremendous amount of,
you know,
"Hold on a second, guys.
Let's pull back here.
Let's think about
what we're gonna do.
You know,
is this really the way?"
And sometimes it works.
Sometimes it doesn't.
If we just went for ours,
with no type of pushback
within our own group,
then the show would be over
in two episodes.
You know, so you need somebody
to kind of hold us back,
"Wait a minute.
Hold on a minute.
Have you thought about this?"
You know, and you need somebody
that's going to be
the conscience,
the conscience of the group.
You know, you've got your your
you're a little bad double
and the good angel
on the shoulder.
I kind of see Mother's Milk
as the good angel
telling everybody,
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Let's not jump off
the cliff yet.
You know, let's try
this approach."
-Now, guys, out there
in virtual Comic-Con land,
we have a very special question
from a very special guest
that send in a video message
just for Chace Crawford.
-Oh!
-So let's play that clip now
and then we can answer
when we come back.
-This is gonna be good,
I already know.
-Ooh.
-Oh! Oh!
[ Laughter ]
[ Dolphin chirping ]
-What's that, baby girl?
[ Laughter ]
-Ooh.
-Oh, yeah.
[ Chirping continues ]
-Ah!
-Season 2 is way better,
isn't it? Yeah.
[ Chirping continues ]
[ Laughter ]
I think so, too.
[ Chirping continues ]
-He's so cute.
-Yeah.
[ Dolphin wails ]
[ Laughter ]
-Outrageous.
-I miss you, too.
[ Dolphin blusters ]
[ Laughter ]
"I miss you, too."
[ Laughter ]
-He's twerking.
-Bye.
-Yeah.
-Aw!
-He's twerking.
-I'll see you down in the Keys.
-He's twerking for you, Chase.
-Oh, my God, I know.
She was making it clap
[ Laughter ]
-I'll join her down in the...
-[ Laughs ]
-...Intracoastal Waterway
down in the Florida Keys.
Bring your lobster.
I love you.
[ Laughter ]
-That was a very attractive
dolphin.
And very, very verbal,
she was.
-Very vocal.
-Seriously...
I think one of the most
interesting and complex
personal journeys
on the show has actually
been The Deep's.
I mean, he's been the one
who's really, like,
hit a true rock bottom.
He's exiled from the Seven.
He's alone in Sandusky, Ohio.
I mean, he does what
every teenager does
when they've had
a terrible emotional experience.
He shaves his head.
You know, he's going through it.
I want to hear
a little bit more about
what your journey's
like in the season.
I know.
But without giving me spoilers,
you again have a really
transformational experience
in Season 2 as well.
Your character's really not
just trying to find
a way back into the Seven,
but figure out who he is,
I think on some level.
-Yeah, I know, you said it.
I mean, my hair is back.
That's the important thing.
You know, it's here.
-Yes, exactly.
That's the most
important thing.
-No, I mean, you know,
yeah, the first season,
you know,
even the first couple episodes,
I was with other actors,
other other characters and --
But it's been
very interesting
being quite literally
on my own --
my own journey, you know.
And, yeah.
You know, I think being
in Ohio was tough for him,
you know, a little bit
like quarantine, you know.
He started out
making margaritas,
and then, you know, he was
drinking from the bottle
and then, you know, yeah,
he was in a very,
very dark place.
And I think, you know,
it was someone like The Deep,
I mean, he's not
very self-aware.
And, you know, I think he
finally was confronted with,
you know,
his own inner turmoil
and trying to figure out
who he is.
And he was very ripe
for getting, you know,
pulled into a certain kind
of spiritual journey.
And, yeah, you know,
he goes on
a few different quests
to find love
and to find, you know,
connection in that way.
And, yeah.
And there's, you know,
there's some humor
interlaid in there.
You know, we see
on the whale.
And, yeah, it's interesting.
I think he still wants to be
back in the Seven.
And, yeah, it was fun.
To me, he represents a very
specific kind of archetypal
or stereotypical idea
of of a Hollywood character,
a guy who doesn't really know
who he is outside
of the public gaze, right?
So when he is kind of
relegated to obscurity,
he really falls apart
because his sense of himself
is completely tied up
in his position in the Seven.
-You're exactly right. No.
And being somewhere like
New York and being being famous,
you can get really, you know,
he was totally wrapped up
in that identity.
And when that rug is pulled out
from you right away,
yeah, and you're stuck in
Sandusky Ohio,
you know,
with just a water park,
you know, you really
are confronted with not --
with not knowing who you are.
Someone joins him,
you know, from his past.
And, yeah, it's a very
interesting
storyline he goes on.
-Yeah.
He has a triumphant return,
and then it's quickly deflated
by a speeding boat.
But his journey is
really entertaining.
I think people are really
going to love it.
-Yeah.
-Karen, your character
is a woman of few words.
Actually, absolutely
no words whatsoever.
-No words.
We can say it.
-No words at all.
But she makes herself
perfectly understood.
How has that been for you
as an actor?
Has it been challenging
or has it been freeing?
Because I know when I show up
and I have my lines,
I'm like,
"It's a no-line day!"
I'm so happy.
-Yeah.
-Has that been really
freeing for you?
-I mean, for sure.
I know that some of
the castmates,
I think Laz said something
one time, he was like,
"I would love
to not have any lines."
And it's true, you know.
It's nice
not having to learn that.
But it's definitely a challenge
as an actor
because I've never done a role
like this before.
And even in Season 2,
we kind of dive
into more of her psyche
and her emotional state,
more so than her physical side,
so definitely a challenge,
but a fulfilling
in the end, yeah.
-It's super physical also.
I mean, what that means
is not just that you're doing
a lot of incredible
emotional work with your face,
but you're doing extraordinary
physical work with your body.
It's super stunty.
Is there anything special
that you're coming into that,
like approaching those days
differently than you would
normally approach an acting day?
Because it looks
pretty punishing.
I mean,
there are some pretty big --
I don't think it's spoily
to say
there's some pretty big boss
fights in this thing.
-Yeah, yeah, I mean,
for the physical bits
I work with a fantastic trainer
named David in Toronto.
And Tig Fong,
our stunt coordinator,
is just amazing
with all the choreography.
He helps us learn
all of the bits ahead of time
so that we're comfortable
on the day to perform them.
And yeah, I think it's a balance
of training,
your fitness,
to build the muscle,
and then learning
the choreography appropriately
so that you feel like
it's second nature,
it's already in your skin by the
time the cameras are rolling.
This season,
we got to do a stunt --
we called it
the Black Widow stunt,
and we got it on camera
with me doing it.
So I'm excited
for everyone to see that.
-Oh, awesome. Yeah.
The action this season
is explosive.
It's really, really cool
for everybody who's watching.
It's spectacular.
We get to learn a lot more
about Kimiko's past.
There are some big reveals
about where she came from
and how she got to be
the person that she is.
And that's --
we can't say anything more,
but I think was really exciting
to go on that journey
with your character
and really get to understand
who she is -- who she is,
why she is,
potentially why
she doesn't speak.
Which I think --
-Yeah.
-Yeah, I think it's going to be
really exciting for people.
-Her relationship
with her history
that we find out in Season 2
also alters the relationship
that she has with Frenchie
a little bit.
And it's interesting to see
different sides of her come out.
Not so much
the feral, animalistic side,
but her growing into her own
womanhood and individuality,
I guess, yeah.
-So much of Frenchie's time
in Season 1
was about trying to save Kimiko,
trying to bring Kimiko
out of her shell,
trying to protect her,
and we will see
is that maybe Kimiko
doesn't need
any protecting at all.
We get to spend a lot of time
with Frenchie,
and he'll learn a lot more
about himself.
Tell us what you can about
how we expand
Frenchie in Season 2.
How you got to grow him
as a character.
In Season 2,
the fans, the audience
do get a chance to peek,
you know, through the window,
the door to all kinds
of different characters
in Season 2,
including Frenchie,
which you're gonna get a little
sneak peek of origin story.
I think that's how you say it.
-Yeah.
-Right?
-That's exactly right.
-I mean, those things,
to me, as a kid,
like being a comic book fan
or even just being a kid
or just being me,
I loved this stuff so much.
Like the chance to get,
you know,
to know a character.
You're gonna get to know
how Frenchie
got into the Boys
like other characters did.
And gonna even get to know
his real name,
which is really interesting.
And, yeah,
it was exciting to me
as an actor,
and I can't wait
for fans to see that.
-Yeah. He goes on a real ride
this season.
He's been attached to Kimiko,
like really he's been
by her side this entire time.
And because of
her transformation,
because of her growth, they have
to separate a little bit
and they have to figure out
who they are on their own.
And that's really difficult,
I think, for Frenchie,
because he's made her
his mission...
for so much of the first season.
-Exactly.
You're right on point.
That's right.
All Season 1 Frenchie did
was kind of hang on to
what he saw as the most
beautiful thing he could,
you know, take care of,
which was Female.
In Season 2, you know,
he can't take --
I mean, she can't take it
anymore.
She got to spread their wings
and start talking.
Really, guys.
Not really.
But...
[ Laughs ]
-And yeah --
-But it plays beautifully, yeah.
-That puts Frenchie
in a really, really,
first of all, lonely spot.
And second of all, he needs
to deal with his traumas.
And there's a lot of them.
And that's what I love
about this season
so much, again --
the fact that...
I mean, the stories
are so well taken care of.
I was just amazed by everyone's
performances in this season
and the way we just get,
I think, much deeper
and further away.
It was amazing.
-It was wonderful to watch
that transformation
for both of your characters
because I just felt like there
was, like, so much real emotion
in that relationship and so much
injury for both characters.
And you really care about them.
And then things explode,
which is the best combination
in a show.
A little bit of tears,
then something explodes.
Perfect television.
-No tears fake.
No tears fake.
All real tears.
-Yes.
-Real tears in "The Boys."
-All real tears. Awesome.
We have a new character
on the show this season,
Stormfront.
And right away, I think we're
going to find out that
Stormfront is a little bit
more --
She's got a little bit more
going on
than we see at first blush.
She is absolutely a match
for Homelander.
So -- and he's
spinning apart.
And then he meets somebody
who's at least as intense
and as kind of out of
her tree as he is.
What -- when you first
read this,
did you know exactly what
the backstory was going to be
for your character
when you came on board?
-Yeah. I...
Basically,
I was given some sides
that show a little bit of sort
of her social media savvy
and maybe a little
of what's going on underneath.
And then Eric and I chatted
about what was going to happen.
So I didn't necessarily know
from beginning to end,
but I definitely
knew who she was.
And I was really excited
to play her,
mainly because I think --
I thought there was no chance
that they would let me play her.
When I first got the sides
and I realized what it was,
because that was sort of
a little disclaimer
that came with the role,
I think I said to my agent,
I even have a text from like
the waiting room being like,
"There's no way
this is happening,
but, like, I'm going to have
so much fun in this audition."
And so then he let me do it,
which is exactly what I look for
in a role, is --
is something that I --
[ Talking at once ]
-Yeah, so basically a job.
-Me too. Me too.
-I think that's what we all
want in a role is getting it.
-Yeah.
-Right.
-I want to get paid.
But I also -- I do.
I look for things
that I don't think
that I'm necessarily good at
because I think that's
the fun part about
being an actor
is trying to do new stuff.
And sometimes you run
into people who are like,
"No, no, no, I can see the thing
in you that's excited about this
and that knows this,
even if you're not necessarily
the typical fit
for what you would think
of this role."
For many reasons,
some of which are obvious,
like I do Zumba as a workout.
I am not, like,
a kick-ass superhero.
And then for some reasons
that will sort of be examined,
or will be revealed later
in the season.
-Well, you are killer
in this role.
And I think it doesn't spoil
the show to say right away
that when you come in,
you're a different
kind of female character
than we've seen in the Seven.
And one of the things I think
that the show does beautifully,
and you know, Eric,
is that you make people
so complex and so likable
and then, you know, you kind
of exploit all of our loyalties.
And without giving that up,
I mean, when
Stormfront comes in,
she feels like this breath
of fresh air.
She's, you know --
she's a badass.
She takes no prisoners. She's
not gonna take anybody's guff.
And so you really love this
character, like, off the bat,
and, you know,
then hilarity ensues.
But, um...
-Oh, yi-yi-yi!
-I don't wanna
blow this up.
I mean, this Stormfront
storyline is just --
it's extraordinary
and it's very prescient
for where we are right now
in our culture.
Um...
And that's not even a question.
I guess I just want to know
what that felt like to play her,
because, you know,
you have to do
and say some pretty unusual
and extraordinary things.
But the storyline itself,
I think, really serves,
you know, where we are, like,
in the real world.
It really serves that up
on a platter for the viewers.
-Yeah, I mean, what I think
is so great about "The Boys" --
And I got to also see episodes
before I even auditioned.
So I sort of came in as a fan.
And what I love about it is that
it's so topical and it takes --
What I love about all sci-fi
and comic books and fantasy
is that it allows us to look
at current issues without --
with some sort of distance that
allows us to see them clearer.
Because when we talk
about current events,
often people take things
very personally.
And when you are watching
something that is a fantasy
or in a heightened world,
you end up being able
to sort of listen better
and learn new things
in different ways
because they're out
of your personal context.
So I was really excited
about that.
Not to say that there
weren't really hard moments
of being a human being
and playing a role,
someone who I ultimately
violently disagree with.
But I also --
You know, my job as an actor --
not to get uhh.
But my job as an actor
is to find the humanity
and go to, like, the ugly,
gross parts of ourselves.
And it's Eric's job to decide
what happens to that character.
And I think that he has done
a beautiful job
of both allowing her humanity
and hopefully punishing her.
[ Laughs ]
-[ Laughs ]
-That feels right.
Eric, I want to circle back
to you
just on the global themes
of the show.
It's so fun.
Obviously,
it's such a wild ride,
but it has these
really big ideas,
you know, buried at the core
that make the show
the kind of thing
that you can watch a few times
and each time
get something different
from what you're seeing.
-Yeah, I mean,
we just really try
to be very character-forward
in the show.
I mean, I really think
that's the compass
of getting this tone right
of just when you look
at these superheroes
explore the most stringent --
try to apply
the most stringent reality
to how that character
would really behave
if they had those powers.
'Cause I think the thesis
of the show is, you know,
superheroes with power
are inherently people.
And so they are prone
to the types of challenges
and potential corruption
that happens when you get
so much power and access.
And, you know,
the metaphor, you know,
when we started with Seth Rogen
and Evan Goldberg and I,
you know, we were always --
we started with the metaphor
of celebrities,
of how so many get...
you know, so much access
and suddenly can do
whatever they want.
And I think one of the theses
of the show
is power doesn't
actually corrupt you.
It just reveals the thing that
you've secretly always been.
And, you know --
And so we get an opportunity
with these heroes to --
Obviously,
it's horrible behavior.
It's just terrible.
They're terrible.
So many of them
are just truly...
-They're terrible people.
-...truly terrible people.
Bug bites and everything.
But --
-The funny kind of terrible,
yeah.
-Yeah,
but with that being said --
with that being said,
I think, you know --
and what these actors --
the humanity they bring
to the part is amazing.
And I think in partnership
with them, you know, I hate --
Not only do I hate writing
just straight villains,
like, I'm kind of
incapable of it.
Like, I don't understand it.
I'm always like, "Well, huh,
why did they act that way?
And what made them
the way they are?
And what would forced someone
to make such a horrible choice?"
And certainly that's
what I bring to the scripts.
But then these guys
carry it all the way
by bringing all this,
you know, complicated,
messy humanity to the roles.
And so we end up with,
you know --
I don't want you to agree
with what these superheroes do,
but I want you to understand
why they're doing it.
-Right.
-And I think that helps
make the show a little more --
you know,
a little more complicated.
-So I said earlier
that I'm a big fan of the show,
and I'm very excited
about this next announcement.
Here to tell you something
that's gonna be coming up
for you and all of us fans
of "The Boys"
are executive producers
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg.
-Hi.
-Hello.
-Seth and Evan
in the best way possible --
not in person, on a screen.
[ Laughter ]
Thanks for having us.
-Yet still side by side.
-Exactly.
We're one room apart
from one another.
This is a practical wall.
-High five.
-Yeah, exactly.
But, yes, thank you so much
for watching "The Boys."
-Thank you so much to all
our fans for watching the show.
It's the greatest.
We're just so pumped about it.
It's a dream come true.
-Yeah, and because
this show has fans
and it is watched
by people like you,
they have decided to renew it
yet again for a third season.
So if you like "The Boys,"
you got more of it, thank God.
-We never know if things we make
are gonna keep moving on forward
or just get shut down.
This one's not shut down yet.
No, exactly.
When can we film Season 3?
Anyone's guess.
Hope sometime this decade.
-We don't know where.
We don't know when.
But we're gonna do it.
-Exactly.
Don't be surprised if you see
a lot of superheroes
in what are essentially
hermetically sealed outfits
that do not allow
any of their breath
to interact with
anyone else's breath.
It's just a wardrobe choice.
Has nothing to do
with the current climate.
But thank you so much.
We appreciate it.
And we hope you enjoy
the third season
as much as you are about
to enjoy the second season.
-And I'm really looking forward
to meeting the new members
of the Seven -- Biohazard
and Social Distancing.
That's gonna be dope.
-Exactly. [ Laughs ]
-[ Laughs ]
-Super excited for those guys.
-Cough. Yeah.
-Cough. Yeah.
And Cover Your Mouth.
-Exactly. [ Laughs ]
Thank you so much.
We appreciate it.
Thanks for having us.
-Thanks, guys.
-Thanks.
[ Cheering ]
-Congratulations, guys.
That's amazing.
So exciting.
It's an early pickup.
I mean, you know,
it's always nice to be able
to announce at Comic-Con
that you're coming back
for another season.
And so we want to thank
everybody out there in Hall H
for all of their support.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.
-Since we're
making announcements,
I've got one more piece
of really exciting news.
There is going to be a brand-new
aftershow for "The Boys"
where we're gonna unpack
each week's episode.
We're gonna dig into
the affecting themes
and big ideas
that underpin this world
and offer exclusive works
at exactly
how the sausage gets made.
The show is called
"Prime Rewind: Inside The Boys,"
and it will be hosted
by yours truly, Aisha Tyler,
and it debuts September 4th...
[ Cheers and applause ]
...right after the show,
and new episodes are gonna post
each week along with the series.
And I'm really excited
about that.
As I said at the beginning,
I love this show.
I'm a big fan,
and it's gonna be so much fun
to get to nerd out
with you guys every week.
And I just want to say
that it was great
to hang with you guys last year
when we were getting ready
for Season 1 to come out.
I'm a big fan. I'm thrilled
to be here with you again.
I'm looking forward to doing
this back after Season 3
in San Diego, hopefully.
-Yes.
-CV-free and back in effect.
Because it's a great show.
And it's not just entertaining,
but I think it's one
of the most thoughtful
superhero shows out there.
So I'm thrilled
to be a part of this.
I want to thank everybody
who's watching out there
around the world for joining.
The new season of "The Boys"
drops September 4th
with the first three episodes.
And then we'll be back each week
for a new episode
through the October 9th finale.
And every week, "Prime Rewind:
Inside The Boys" is gonna drop
so that you can hear and talk
and discuss with all of us
the themes, big ideas,
and the crazy moments
that occur in Season 2.
I've seen the entire season.
It is a doozy.
And in the immortal words
of Eric Kripke,
the pooper hits the fan.
[ Laughter ]
So everybody check out
the new season of "The Boys."
And we'll see you this fall.
Thanks for watching, everybody.
-Right.
-Thanks, everybody.
-Thanks, guys. Yay.
