“The Boys” viewership started off strong for its final season. The Prime Video superhero drama landed at No. 2 on the Nielsen streaming charts with 899 million minutes for the week of April 6, following its two-episode Season 5 premiere.
The milestone marked the 21st appearance for “The Boys” in the overall Top 10 list and 29th in Nielsen’s original list. The two new episodes accounted for 64% of the the show’s watch-time in that interval, as others caught up on previous seasons, 65% of viewers were among the 18-49 age demographic.
It was only bested by HBO Max medical drama “The Pitt,” which landed the top overall list spot for the second consecutive week around the release of Season 2’s penultimate episode. It gathered 1.13 billion minutes.
“The Boys’” viewership success comes amid a blockbuster final season for the five-season superhero send-up. Following Wednesday’s release of “The Boys” Season 5, Episode 6, only two more episodes remain before the conclusion of Prime Video’s raunchy commentary on superheroes and modern politics.
The fifth season of “The Boys” picks up after the shocking conclusion of Season 4, which ended with several of the show’s main characters — Hughie (Jack Quaid), Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) — being sent to an internment camp as Homelander (Anthony Starr) takes control of America. Meanwhile, Starlight (Erin Moriarty) began organizing an anti-Homelander resistance, while Butcher (Karl Urban) searched for ways to kill the most powerful Supe.
With The Boys out of prison and reunited early in Season 5, most of “The Boys’” final episodes have focused on a search for V-One, a superhero serum that would make Homelander immortal, even more powerful and immune to a Supe virus meant to kill him (and possibly all other powered individuals).
The final season of “The Boys” has been bigger than ever, loaded with gore, nudity and on-the-nose political commentary. Though the flagship Prime Video series is ending, “The Boys” universe will continue to expand through spin-offs like the upcoming “Vought Rising,” which will see Jensen Ackles and Aya Cash return as Soldier Boy and Stormfront.
