Gen V Title Pokes Fun At Its Characters, But Guess What? The Actors Are All Millennials

SUMMARY:

• The Boys is an Amazon Prime Video TV show based on the comic books of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.
• In 2020, a spinoff of the series was announced. While The Boys would remain on the air, focusing on the rivalry between Billy Butcher and Homelander, Gen V would shift to stories about the new generation of superheroes.
• It is believed that the title Gen V is composed of ‘Gen Z’ as a reference to both the characters and a segment of the audience, and ‘Compound V’, which ties the title to the lore.

When The Boys premiered on the big screen, fans immediately went crazy about the show. Not only was it a clever spoof of a superhero genre that had been so glamorized by Marvel and DC over the past few decades that audiences couldn't take a break, but it was also a highly entertaining action piece.

It was only to be expected that people who couldn't get enough of Homelander and Billy Butcher would get excited about The Boys' spin-off, Gen V, which focuses on a whole new generation of superheroes. And while the show has since received very mixed reviews, with some fans unhappy about its "wokeness," it has been a success with the general public.

Perhaps a large part of that has to do with the fact that the show is just as ironic as its predecessor and leaves a lot of room for theorizing. Starting with the title, which seems to be both a witty nod to the large portion of Gen V's audience and a thing that ties it to The Boys by lore.

Why Is The Boys’ Spinoff Called Like That

Anyone who has watched The Boys long enough to be interested in its spin-off knows how important Compound V is to the show's universe. Created by Nazi geneticist Frederick Vought, it is the serum that gives the Supes their superpowers and propels them to fame and fortune.

Though it was created back in the 1940s and was made to ensure Germany's victory in World War II and the installation of the Nazi regime, the serum is also used in the modern day. It is manufactured by Vought International and is mainly given to children as it promises a higher success rate.

Depending on how much of the serum the child ingests and how successfully it works on the human body, the effect can vary. As we know from both shows, some Supes get stronger powers, while others are not only weaker but also experience various unwanted side effects.

While Compound V is definitely responsible for the second part of the spinoff's title, the first has to be the nod to Gen Z. For those who don't know, Gen Z is a generation born between 1997 and 2012 (varies depending on the source) that comes right after the Millennials.

Not only are the characters of the show representatives of Gen Z, but it is likely that a large portion of the audience is part of this generation as well. The funny thing is that pretty much the entire cast of the show doesn't fit the title at all.

How Old Is Gen V’s Jaz Sinclair (And Everybody Else)?

While all of the actors portray very young people in their late teens and early twenties on screen, they are slightly older in real life. Gen V is definitely not to blame for hiring actors in their 30s to portray high schoolers, but there is room for discussion about whether some of the actors could have been younger.

For example, Jaz Sinclair, who plays Marie Moreau, was born in 1994. This makes her part of the millennial generation, even though the actress belongs to the younger part of it. The same goes for Maddie Phillips, who plays Cate Dunlap.

Chance Perdomo, who plays Andre Anderson on the show, is a little younger but still doesn't fit into the Gen Z bracket. The actor was born in 1996 and celebrated his 27th birthday this October.

The only actress who can still be considered a bit of a Gen Z is Lizze Broadway, also known as Gen V's Emma Meyer. Born in 1998, the actress is now 25 years old. However, considering that the younger representatives of Generation Z are still in their early teens, it's hard to say that she's the one to represent them all.

Regardless of their age, all of the actors have given brilliant performances as their characters so far. Gen V is still available on Amazon Prime Video, so be sure to tune in if you need to catch up, or mark your calendars for October 27 and November 3 so you don't miss the final episodes of season one.