The Boys Creator Erik Kripke Explains Why the Finale Split the Fandom

Well, The Boys is over. Five seasons across seven years, a whole lot of exploding heads, and an ending that was never going to make everyone hold hands and sing. Creator Erik Kripke knows that, and he is already braced for the split reaction.

Spoiler warning: major finale spoilers ahead.

Kripke is braced for impact

Speaking at the L.A. finale event this week (in comments to The Hollywood Reporter on May 20, 2026 ), Kripke said he has made peace with the fact that the ending will divide fans. After a season of loud online backlash, he is not chasing universal approval so much as a strong reaction, period.

"I want everyone to love it, it’s not fun to go online and have like a thousand comments in a row saying 'You suck, you suck, you suck, you suck,' but I’ve sort of made peace with it’s going to be polarized like everything else."

He also pushed back a bit on the season-long criticism, reminding everyone that social media is not the whole audience. According to Kripke, the viewership numbers were strong enough to tell him the story was still connecting despite the noise.

About those finale choices

The series wrapped with big swings: major deaths and gut-punch endings for central characters, including Homelander, Billy Butcher, and The Deep. Long-running arcs for key members of the Boys finally landed, while the broader world stays open enough for more stories. Translation: the main book is closed, but there are plenty of side chapters left to write.

So what is next for this universe?

• Vought Rising is moving forward, with Jensen Ackles leading that spinoff.
• The Boys: Mexico remains in development.
• Kripke wants to bring back characters from Gen V, even though that show ended after two seasons; he still sees story to tell with some of its younger heroes.

Kripke says the core Boys saga feels complete after five seasons of escalating chaos and emotional payoffs. Whether you loved the landing or hated it, he fully expected the strong opinions. Honestly, hard to argue with that on a show this loud and this loved.