A cult movie spinoff, a comic book adaptation, and a classic anti-superhero project.

The fourth season of The Boys has already begun, but many fans of Eric Kripke’s project are not satisfied. And we can understand them — a mix of bloody violence and harsh parody has been replaced by a kind of soap opera.

If you are one of the disappointed viewers, then these nine projects can serve as a perfect replacement for The Boys.

1. Doom Patrol, 2019-2023

Doom Patrol could be just another superhero show if it weren’t for the characters who have no idea how to control their abilities. Former race car driver Cliff has to learn to live in a robot body, pilot Larry has to harness a being made of pure energy, movie star Rita has to struggle with maintaining a solid form of her body, and Jane has to deal with her 64 personalities.

They learn to be heroes and try to channel their powers to fight evil. The team is led by a mad scientist in a wheelchair, and the gang of misfits lives within the walls of a mysterious mansion. In short, this is a dark and strange DC version of Marvel’s X-Men.

2. Happy!, 2017-2019

Nick Sax has flushed his life and career down the drain: once an excellent detective, he has become a perpetually drunk mercenary who dreams of suicide. When another mission goes wrong, Nick ends up in an ambulance with a heart attack. There he begins to see a blue unicorn named Happy.

The optimistic horse with wings turns out to be a figment of imagination, but not Nick’s, but a little girl named Hailey who has gotten into trouble. After Happy manages to convince Nick of its existence, they set out together to find the missing children.

Gallons of blood, dark humor and good old-fashioned ultra-violence — not exactly what you would expect from a series with such a cute synopsis and title. Happy is a dark story about crazy kidnappers, psychopathic killers, bloodthirsty mafiosi and indifferent cops.

3. Preacher, 2016-2019

The plot of the show revolves around Jesse Custer, who is possessed by an entity from the afterlife. The preacher is not a role model: he drinks, fights and swears.

When Jesse discovers the great power in himself, which allows him to bend people to his will, he tries to restore order in the town and lead people to the light. But that idea fails, and the preacher, accompanied by Dublin vampire Cassidy and his ex-girlfriend Tulip, goes in search of God.

The brutal Preacher and the daring The Boys have much more in common than it might seem at first glance. Both series are based on comic books by Garth Ennis. The TV adaptations were also made by the same people: producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Fans of black humor and lots of blood should definitely pay attention to it.

4. Almost Human, 2013-2014

The cyberpunk police procedural Almost Human tells the story of ordinary cops fighting crime in the year 2048. Law enforcement has adopted a new strategy — every cop is partnered with a modern combat android robot.

The main character John, played by Karl Urban, returns to duty after 17 months in a coma. His partner is an outdated android model named Dorian who, unlike other robots, has free will and emotions.

The series was produced by J.J. Abrams, who personally recommended Karl Urban for the lead role. Due to low ratings, the show was canceled after the first season, but if you want to see the actor who played Billy Butcher in a slightly different role after The Boys, then Almost Human is the best choice.

5. Misfits, 2009-2013

Yes, this one is a classic. Misfits was perhaps the first show on TV to reimagine the classic superhero image. The main characters were five misfits doing community service. After being struck by lightning, they were given various superpowers, from mind reading to time travel.

In the early 2010s, the British series was at its peak, but even ten years later, the show is still a blast to watch. Despite the fact that the original cast had almost completely changed by the fourth season, the plots and settings remained at a high level.

6. Diabolical, 2022

The animated spin-off of The Boys is a collection of unrelated shorts set in the Vought universe. Each episode has its own visual style, from old-school Warner Brothers animation to Rick and Morty-styled story. The anthology takes the best of the original series: characters, setting, and the same level of dark humor.

Characters from the original series appear in Diabolical mostly as cameos. Only Homelander and Billy Butcher got full-fledged stories in the first (and only) season.

7. Watchmen, 2019

Zack Snyder’s Watchmen was unlucky — it came out too soon. Viewers were not yet tired of superheroes, so their deconstruction was poorly received. But with time, Watchmen was finally appreciated.

The Watchmen series, created by Lost showrunner Damon Lindelof, does not follow Snyder’s movie, but rather continues the comic book version of events, showing what happens many years after the plot of the original Watchmen.

The project received mixed reviews in the year of its release, but it is actually an amazing series that deserves attention. First, it is short and tells its story very quickly and clearly. Second, Damon Lindelof would not be himself if he did not turn the plot into his favorite mystery box — where one mystery leads to another and the viewer goes crazy with intrigue.

8. Peacemaker, 2022-…

Peacemaker proved that the world lost a great comedian when John Cena became a wrestler. But now he’s making up for lost time. Like The Boys, Peacemaker focuses on black, specific humor, anti-heroes, and absurdity in everything. Only Peacemaker also manages to make fun of Batman, Wonder Woman and other DC Supes.

Since Peacemaker is also an anti-superhero project in a way, its closeness to the vibe of The Boys is undeniable. Both series run on the same fuel, but Peacemaker allows itself a little more silliness and a little less tragedy.

9. Invincible, 2021-…

The animated series about Mark Grayson is probably the only project in the genre that surpasses The Boys in terms of brutality. Homelander from The Boys is just a little boy compared to Omni-Man — both in terms of danger level and even in terms of villainous charisma.

And Invincible has incredibly high stakes and brilliantly written personal tragedies. In fact, it has managed to become the most important adult animated series of the generation.