The Boys has a woke score of 74/100, which means it is heavily driven by woke themes. The Boys is a long-running series about a ragtag group of vigilantes who fight a team of corrupt, celebrity superheroes controlled by the powerful Vought corporation. Across five seasons the show uses extreme violence, crude humor, and dark satire to attack corporate greed, media manipulation, and unchecked power. Later seasons (especially 3–5) add much stronger political messaging, with Homelander portrayed as an increasingly obvious stand-in for right-wing authoritarianism and explicit critiques of modern culture-war issues, making the ideological layer far more noticeable to viewers than in the 2019 premiere.

Is there DEI in The Boys?

The biggest factors in our score are Political / ideological dialogue, Institutional / cultural critique, Anti-woke backlash / 'too woke' complaints. A group of vigilantes known informally as “The Boys” set out to take down corrupt superheroes with no more than blue-collar grit and a willingness to fight dirty.

TV Show review

The Boys

Woke Score

74/ 100

Lower is better

ActionSci-FiFantasyAdventure

Release Date: July 25, 2019
Age Rating: TV-MA
Runtime: N/A

Availability country

Where to Watch

United States · Last checked 5/12/2026

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Amazon Prime

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8.6 / 10IMDb↗

Breakdown

Factors & Ratings

These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Boys.

Representation / casting choices

Sustained diverse cast across all seasons that fits the modern setting; visible and recurring LGBTQ+ characters (especially Maeve and later additions) receive meaningful storylines and screen time, with some corporate tokenism being satirized while the representation itself remains prominent.

40 / 100

Political / ideological dialogue

Early seasons use broad satire against power and corporations; seasons 3–5 shift to much more explicit and sustained political allegory, including direct Trump/Homelander parallels, critiques of right-wing populism, and media-driven fascism warnings, with the showrunner confirming intentional messaging.

55 / 100

Identity-driven story themes

Queer storylines and character arcs (Maeve, others) are clearly present and grow across seasons; some female characters show strength but are balanced with flaws; identity elements are noticeable but secondary to the larger anti-power and political satire.

35 / 100

Institutional / cultural critique

The Boys

Factors & Ratings

Summary

Main Cast

Director & Crew