TV Show review
Review basis: 2 seasons · through October 22, 2025
September 28, 2023 · TV-MA · Canceled
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Gen V is a satirical superhero drama and spin-off of The Boys. It follows young supes at Godolkin University, a Vought-run college where students compete for spots on elite teams while uncovering the corporation's secret experiments on powered people in a facility called The Woods. The show mixes gore, sex, and college drama with critiques of corporate power and features a major bigender shape-shifting character whose gender identity and family rejection form a recurring storyline, plus diverse casting and themes of personal identity and institutional control that draw both praise for representation and complaints about progressive messaging.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Gen V.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent bigender/non-binary central character Jordan Li played by two actors across gender forms with explicit identity arc and family conflict; visibly diverse ethnic casting with Black female lead and Asian leads in key roles; identity signaling is audience-visible and central rather than background.
Woke political dialogue
Satirical attacks on corrupt corporations and authoritarian figures carry over from The Boys; Season 2 engages identity politics and "good vs. bad categories" of people more directly through student attitudes and supe-human conflict.
Identity-driven story themes
Jordan Li's gender-shifting powers and bigender identity drive major character development and emotional arcs; eating disorders and mental health struggles are tied to powers and self-image; queer and identity exploration is front-and-center with creator emphasis.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Vought portrayed as exploitative corporation that weaponizes identity for profit while running abusive experiments; critiques of power structures, supe supremacy, and control mirror real-world debates on institutions and categories of people in a left-leaning satirical frame.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Online and user reviews label it woke for non-binary character focus, diverse casting emphasis, gender identity themes, and political satire seen as targeting conservative elements; Kripke has directly addressed and dismissed such complaints; pushback exists but is not dominant mainstream controversy.
Creator track record context
Eric Kripke's established satirical style with social commentary; Michele Fazekas's explicit support for trans/gender representation and personal queer identity; Karen Gaviola's guild diversity committee roles; overall team shows pattern of inclusive storytelling and progressive-leaning satire without extreme activist centering.
Production
