The Boys’ Best Spinoff With 97% on Rotten Tomatoes Just Got a Devastating Update

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Over a year before Gen V hit its streaming home, The Boys Presents: Diabolical dropped. Each episode of the series focused on a standalone story set in Kripke’s universe, and nearly all of them featured Homelander. Despite operating in familiar territory, Diabolical received rave reviews from critics, who praised its humor and unique animation. Good reviews aren’t the only thing required to become a success, though, and Diabolical just couldn’t get enough eyeballs on it, leading to a three-year hiatus.

Well, Kripke recently revealed in an interview with The Wrap that Diabolical‘s siesta may be more than that, explaining that he doesn’t foresee another season of the show coming together.

“I don’t think there’s going to be a Season 2 of Diabolical,” he said. “It’s not for lack of us pushing. I think ultimately the viewer numbers weren’t there to justify a second season, sadly. Although, we love it and Simon [Racioppa], the showrunner, would be game to do it, but we haven’t gotten a go-ahead on that.”

The Boys Franchise Isn’t Going Anywhere

With The Boys preparing to wrap up and its first spinoff seemingly getting the axe, it may seem like the franchise isn’t long for this world. That couldn’t be farther from the case, as Gen V is going strong in its second season and setting up plot lines that could fit at least another couple of seasons’ worth of story. There are also two other major spinoffs on the way, Vought Rising, which will turn back the clock to the 1950s and follow two notable Supes, Soldier Boy and Stormfront, as they get up to no good, as well as The Boys: Mexico.

There’s no guarantee that future seasons of Gen V, Vought Rising, or The Boys: Mexico will have the same charm that’s present in Diabolical. However, Kripke and Co. are doing all they can to guarantee that their franchise keeps fighting the good fight. It’s a shame that animation doesn’t seem to be a medium that they can explore, but there are enough worthwhile live-action stories that it’ll be easy to move past the soft cancellation. And, hey, maybe the arrow continues to point upward for long enough that the powers that be at Prime Video have to reconsider their decision and let Racioppa give it another shot before it’s all said and done.

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