THE BOYS PRESENTS: DIABOLICAL Canceled Due to Low Viewership and Fans Couldn't Care Less
It looks like Prime Video’s wild and bloody superhero universe just got a little smaller. Despite scoring an impressive 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, Eric Kripke’s animated anthology series The Boys Presents: Diabolical has officially been canceled after just one season.
Reports of the show’s quiet end surfaced earlier this month, but fans of The Boys aren’t exactly mourning the loss. While the live-action series and spin-offs like Gen V continue to dominate conversation, Diabolical didn’t quite leave the same impact.
The series premiered in 2022, delivering a collection of bizarre, over-the-top animated shorts inspired by The Boys universe. Each episode was written and animated in a different style, featuring contributions from creators like Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Ilana Glazer, Awkwafina, and Andy Samberg.
The voice cast also included Antony Starr, Dominique McElligott, Colby Minifie, Chace Crawford, Elisabeth Shue, and Giancarlo Esposito.
Speaking with Collider, Kripke confirmed the news saying:
“I don’t think there’s going to be a season 2 of Diabolical, though it’s not for a lack of us pushing. I think ultimately the viewer numbers weren’t there to justify a second season, sadly.
“Although, we love it and Simon [Racioppa], the showrunner, would be game to do it, but we haven’t gotten a go ahead on that.”
While critics praised Diabolical for its creativity and brutal humor, fan reaction has been… muted. Many longtime followers of The Boys universe admitted that the show didn’t leave much of an impression.
“I forgot it even existed until I read this,” one fan wrote on r/TheBoys.
“If a show is streamed in the background while doing chores, was it ever streamed at all,” another joked.
“It doesn’t help it’s mostly an anthology of animation where 50% has nothing to do with the television series it’s marketed as a companion to,” someone else said.
Others compared the series to Star Wars: Visions for its disconnected storytelling and experimental tone.
“Diabolical was great, but it doesn’t really play by the same rules as The Boys or Gen V,” one fan explained. “It’s like Star Wars Visions. Roughly inspired by the lore, the show interprets the source material differently. It’s a bunch of one-off stories, I really liked it, but it’s not for everyone.”
Some viewers admitted they only checked it out after watching Gen V, but didn’t feel compelled to stick around:
“After watching Gen V season 1, I went back and watched Diabolical – I’d already started it but dropped off pretty much immediately. It was OK. Worth watching if you’re in a The Boys mood, but you’ve watched everything else. But it’s certainly the most skippable of everything.”
So while The Boys Presents: Diabolical may have been critically adored, it seems audiences weren’t interested in returning for more animated chaos.
Fortunately, there’s still plenty of The Boys content on the way. The Boys Season 5 doesn’t yet have a release date, but spin-offs The Boys: Mexico and Vought Rising are in development at Prime Video.
What did you think of Diabolical?