Aya Cash joins “The Boys” in season two as the newest member of The Seven. Aside from being a constant thorn in Homelander’s (Anthony Starr) side, Cash’s version of Stormfront marks the Amazon series’ biggest change from the comic it’s based on.
In Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s 72-issue run, Stormfront is male. But showrunner Eric Kripke had a very specific reason for changing the character into a female for the TV version.
“We wanted to sort of create Homelander’s worst nightmare. And his worse nightmare would be a strong woman who wasn’t afraid of him and proceeded to steal his spotlight,” Kripke said Thursday during a virtual CTAM panel to promote the upcoming season. “I think that would hurt him way more than if it were a male character because he is a gaping hole of insecurity.”
In the Amazon series, Cash’s Stormfront is also very social media savvy, which Kripke said allowed them a more modern way of showcasing some of the “hateful ideologies” that the comics-version of the character is known for harboring. In the comics, “The Boys” takes place between 2006 and 2008, when social media was very much in its infancy.
“A lot of hate and negative thought these days, if you look online, is packaged in really slick, social media-attractive ways,” Kripke explained. “It’s not like the old dudes with crew cuts in the 1960s newsreels anymore.” He added that Cash represents how some of those movements are led by “young people, who are trying to hook in a new generation and we sort of wanted to reflect how insidious that is.”
“The Boys” return for Season 2 on Amazon beginning Sept. 4.
Emmy Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises, From Bob Odenkirk to Baby Yoda (Photos)
Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.
Surprise: "What We Do in the Shadows" FX's series adaptation of the vampire mockumetary from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi only secured two below the line nominations for its first season, but it's second outing scored big with eight nominations, including an Outstanding Comedy Series nod.
FX
Surprise: "The Mandalorian" Drama heavyweight "Game of Thrones" was out of the running this year, leaving room for a new series to sneak in among a slew of past nominees like "Better Call Saul," "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Crown." But instead of Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show," voters went with a different new streaming service, nominated Disney+'s "The Mandalorian."
Disney+
Snub: Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul" Odenkirk has been a perennial nominee in the lead actor category since 2015, but this year the "Better Call Saul" star was overlooked in favor of a pair of actors from "Succession" and "The Morning Show" star Steve Carell.
AMC
Snub: Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" Moss won the award for lead actress in a drama series in 2017 and has been nominated numerous times in the past, but, like "This Is Us" star Mandy Moore and "How to Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis, failed to make the cut for the most recent season of "Handmaid's Tale."
Hulu
Surprise: Zendaya, "Euphoria" In a category comprised mostly of returning players, dark horse candidate Zendaya managed to sneak a lead actress nod for her role on the HBO drama "Euphoria," slipping in alongside fellow category newcomer Jennifer Aniston of "The Morning Show."
HBO
Snub: "Big Little Lies" HBO's Liane Moriarty adaptation was the belle of awards season in 2017, all but sweeping the limited series categories with its roster of big-name stars including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. But Season 2's move to the drama series category hurt the show, leaving "Big Little Lies" with only two nominations for supporting stars Laura Dern and Meryl Streep.
HBO
Surprise: "The Masked Singer" Fox's absurdist singing competition finally became too big for Emmy voters to ignore in Season 2, shaking up the Oustanding Competition Program category with 10-time winner "The Amazing Race" ineligible this year.
Fox
Snub: "Westworld" Turns out "Westworld" wasn't the "Game of Thrones" successor HBO hoped iy would be, earning only two acting nods for its third season, for supporting actors Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright, and missing out on the marquee drama series category entirely.
HBO
Snub: Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, "Unbelievable" For much of the voting period, the two stars of Netflix's harrowing "Unbelievable" seemed like locks for lead actress in a limited series nominations, but neither made the cut in a crowded category, not even TV Academy darling Merritt Wever, who has twice before pulled out a surprise upset on Emmy night.
Netflix
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”Better Call Saul“ and ”The Handmaid’s Tale“ leads miss out, while ”What We Do in the Shadows“ sneaks in
Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.