EDGE OF GLORY

FANS OF THE BOYS SHOULD BE CAREFUL WHAT THEY WISH FOR... SHOWRUNNER ERIC KRIPKE PREPARES TO UNLEASH SEASON THREE

- BRYAN CAIRNS

NEVER DARE, double-dare or triple-dare Eric Kripke. Ever since the Supernatural creator landed the gig as showrunner of The Boys - the TV series about corrupt superheroes and the covert vigilante group intent on exposing their dirty little secrets - comic book fans have "stone-cold dared" him to adapt the notorious Herogasm arc for the small screen.

The depraved annual event follows the Supes blowing off steam with a weekend orgy of sex, drugs and violence. Well, fans experienced their own happy endings when Kripke announced that Herogasm would indeed finally be, uh, coming in The Boys' third season.

"I am never one to shy away from a challenge," Kripke tells SFX. "Honestly, the truth is I didn't think we were on stable enough ground as a definitive hit yet, because we hadn't really aired, to be able to say to Sony and Amazon, 'I want an episode set at the most extreme orgy you have ever seen'. But we wrote season two, and season one aired and was a hit, and season two was an even bigger hit. So, as we were gearing up for season three, I distinctly remember the day I turned to my writers and said, 'We are doing it. This is it. This is the season we are doing Herogasm'.

"Does it encapsulate the tone of the show this season?" he continues. "I don't know if it does. It's a massive orgy and a hilarious, weird setting for the show. It's infamous among fans of The Boys. One thing we managed is to get several genuinely emotional, heartbreaking scenes in that orgy. If there is anything that The Boys does well, we can break your heart in the middle of an orgy!"

POWER THEMES