The Boys Season 5 Viewership Numbers Reveal Just How Popular The Prime Video Show Is

Viewers no doubt have varying opinions on how "The Boys" Season 5 has played out as we head into the series finale. One thing that we can say for certain, though, is that the show is more popular than ever. At least in terms of raw viewership, the bloody, dark, comic book-based Prime Video superhero series has literally never had a bigger audience than it does at the moment, even as its ending rapidly approaches.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Season 5 has averaged 57 million viewers per episode globally. That figure represents the highest mark for the show, which is based on the comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson (a story that was, itself, originally supposed to be about the Justice League in the world of DC Comics). What's more, this comes from only five weeks' worth of data.

Things get even more impressive when we consider the fact that "The Boys" Season 5 ranks among the 10 most-watched seasons of any Prime Video original series ever. This particular run of episodes has also led to the largest three week ratings surge of any show or movie for Amazon's streaming service to date. For context, people need to watch at least a few minutes of each episode for them to count per Amazon's metrics.

This is undoubtedly welcome news for the brass at Amazon. It doesn't always work out this way. Indeed, "Daredevil: Born Again" Season 2 suffered a massive viewership drop on Disney+ recently. But as the saga of Homelander and Billy Butcher draws to a close, audiences are clearly invested in how it's all going to wrap up, even if they're not thrilled with how it's wrapping up. Just because people are watching something doesn't mean they roundly love it, to put it another way.

Without getting into the weeds, fans have had thoughts and opinions on the show's final season. For example, the fourth episode of "The Boys" Season 5 was dismissed as "filler" by many fans, and that's just one of several complaints that have been levied at the series lately (without getting heavily into spoiler territory). Of course, much of the show's legacy will rely on how the series finale is received.

Will this be a "Game of Thrones" situation? Time will tell. For now, though, the numbers are good. Speaking to THR, showrunner Erik Kripke was greatly comforted by the viewership data, as he isn't immune to the online chatter:

"I've gone through a journey when I first started to read everything — like on social media or online — and it starts to feel like that's the whole universe, and it feels scary, and you have a pit in your stomach. So, then [you see the ratings and] you're like, 'Oh, obviously, how many times do I have to relearn the lesson that the online world is not the actual world?' [The online reaction is] a fraction of very loud, opinionated people, and God love them. They're welcome to have that opinion. But it's actually not reflecting what's happening out in the world. And once I saw [the numbers], I calmed right down."

Mind you, the greater "Boys" shared universe will continue beyond its flagship show. Up next on the docket is the prequel/spin-off series "Vought Rising," which has Aya Cash and Jensen Ackles reprising their respective "The Boys" roles as Stormfront and Soldier Boy. Unfortunately, the newly-canceled "Gen V" will not be returning for a third season as Kripke intended.

"The Boys" is streaming now on Prime Video.