‘The Boys’ Is Point-and-Laugh Political Satire at Its Worst

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( not deep enough [The Boys Is Point-and-Laugh Political Satire at Its Worst]( Even an assassination-themed finale offers toothless commentary for our fanged-up times. Photo: Prime Something predictable happens in “[Assassination Run](,” the fourth-season finale of [The Boys](: The megalomaniacal superhero [Homelander]( takes over the U.S. government. The details of how he does this — through a coup on January 6, with “patriots” supporting him and a televised speech in which he promises that under his leadership, “America will be safe again” — are representative of the kind of dull-blade political satire to which this series has increasingly turned. Over time, its progressive partisanship curled into smugness, and its ripped-from-the-real-world mimicry doomed the series to anti-climax. Wherever The Boys ends up in its upcoming fifth and final season, Homelander’s new role as a god-emperor version of our 45th president is certain to play a significant part. That’s a guarantee, and it’s a narratively unfulfilling one. [read more]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now]( to save over 40% on unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Mayor of Kingstown: [Wars Going Down in the Middle West]( • House of the Dragon: [How to Train Your Dragon]( • Snowpiercer: [A Cold New World]( • The Real Housewives of New Jersey: [Autopilot-ing and Altercating]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Nick Jonas to Cheat on Adrienne Warren on Broadway In The Last Five Years, a show in which he will play a Jewish man.]( By Jason P. Frank [RaMell Ross’s Nickel Boys to Open New York Film Festival The director and visual artist’s fiction debut is an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.]( By Zoe Guy [No Kiss at the End of Twisters? Show us the kiss. We know it was filmed!]( By Fran Hoepfner [Is The Bear a Comedy? And Should I Care? We can only answer one of those questions.]( By Kathryn VanArendonk [Nelly Furtado on the Music That Terrified and Changed Her Plus, her favorite bird: “Thank you for asking.”]( By Emma Madden [Homicide: Life on the Street Is Finally Coming to Streaming Peacock’s new remaster of the series lands next month.]( By Eric Vilas-Boas [Twisters Twists Into a Box-Office Breakout Audiences are being sucked into Glen Powell’s charm.]( By Jason P. Frank [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Games [Today’s Crossword]( 22-Down, Three Letters: Dessert on Broadway posters for “Waitress” Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Walt Disney Co./Everett Collection, Amy Sussman/Getty Images, Jamie McCarthy/WireImage [Today’s Cinematrix]( Can you name an Oscar-nominated movie starring Chris Hemsworth? Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Samir Hussein/WireImage, JB Lacroix/FilmMagic, Tristan Fewings/Getty Images A newsletter about the perpetual Hollywood awards race, for subscribers only. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1701 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved