Prime Video’s Season 3 of the hugely successful series ‘The Boys’ premieres tomorrow, and anticipation is through the roof. It’s been a month of press appearances and red carpet premieres and following the cast on a whirlwind European tour, with The Boys social media wizards rolling out daily content that has kept the fandom more well fed than Supernatural fans would have been in a bloody YEAR! I am not at all used to this, but I could get spoiled pretty quickly.
It’s clear from the sneak peaks and ‘leaked’ Public Service Announcement outtakes and teaser trailers that Season 3 is going to be amazing – but let me tell you, having watched the entire thing, it is BEYOND amazing. I felt like my head was going to explode from the twists and turns and revelations, and from the unexpectedly strong (and mixed) emotions I kept experiencing – and I assure you, Victoria Neuman was nowhere nearby. I loved that Supernatural was always a roller coaster ride for me, and The Boys takes me on the same kind of journey. With even more blood and guts and ALOT more non-G-rated content!
There have also been a slew of interviews with the cast, and yesterday I joined in the fun. I had a lovely chat with Soldier Boy himself yesterday afternoon, aka Jensen Ackles. Mostly I wanted to delve deep into understanding his new character on The Boys for its third season, and that part of the interview will have to wait until it’s not so spoilery, but we also had time to reminisce a little about his last show (and my favorite show of all time), Supernatural, and how working on The Boys was both different and similar.
When you watch a show for 15 years like I did Supernatural, you get pretty familiar with your favorite character (that would be Dean Winchester) and the way in which an actor portrays him (that would be Jensen). I used to play a game where I’d try to figure out what lines were ad-libbed, since that happened a fair amount on Supernatural. They were inevitably some of my favorite lines. According to Ackles, my track record was pretty good. Soldier Boy, on the other hand, is a brand new character. I don’t really “know” him that well, so it’s harder to pick out those improvised moments. I asked Jensen if he could think of any examples off the top of his head.
Jensen: There were some, I’m trying to think – I just watched the whole season through this weekend.
Me too, Jensen. It was a bloody wild ride!
Jensen: There wasn’t a whole lot of room for that though, given the character and given the type of scenes we were filming. I know like all of the stuff that we did, like the PSA that got ‘leaked’, that was just me and Phil (Sgriccia) messing around.
Me: I totally should have called that one.
If you missed the priceless PSA outtakes and Ackles’ perfectly grumpy delivery, I tweeted it when it was released and kept the fandom gif makers very very busy.
Sgriccia has directed on many of Eric Kripke’s shows, including being a long-time director on Supernatural. I once had the great privilege of being on set when he was directing and sitting behind him to watch. (Jensen introduced him as “the man, the myth, the legend” and believe me, I didn’t need to be reminded to be in awe! In fact, I guess I was more or less frozen in silence so as not to interfere with filming, because eventually Phil turned around in his chair and exclaimed, “you are the quietest person I’ve ever met!” Which, I am NOT – but it was Phil Sgriccia!)
That PSA has Ackles ad-lib written all over it. No wonder I love it so much.
At that moment in our chat, Ackles began laughing.
Jensen: You know what’s funny? I’m driving [with a driver] to the airport right now and literally looking up at a billboard and I see my face right there on the Y – and I look over there and there’s another one, literally right across the street, the same one. Like my face is right here in the middle of LA!
Me: OMG that’s so bizarre. Savor it, not many people have that experience, that’s for sure!
(He posted the moment on his Instagram a little while later haha)
I also asked him what it was like being “the new guy” on set after having experienced the Supernatural set for fifteen seasons, with a cast and crew who were essentially family after all that time.
Me: It was a special set.
Jensen: Yeah, it was. And you know, this was fun for me. It wasn’t basically being the co-leader of a set for fifteen years, and it was kinda interesting – almost refreshing – to be the guest on somebody else’s set. Being the guest at the dinner table. And it was nice to kinda sit back and watch somebody else lead and set the tone for that set. I think Karl does an amazing job, Ant does an amazing job, they are all really great – not just at portraying their characters, but also providing a really healthy fun and creative space to make the show. So it was nice to kinda plug myself in.
Me: You can tell that you all got along well. Even the interaction in the press interviews and the way everyone can tease each other. It seems like it worked out really well.
Jensen: It’s great and I had a lot of fun and again, like everybody who I was working with, they just brought it. It’s a different level. I felt like it was the same great energy level that I was so used to on Supernatural, but on a much bigger stage.
He is definitely right about both the energy level and the size of the stage – don’t miss Season 3 of The Boys, premiering tomorrow on Prime Video.
And stay tuned for much more about The Boys and more of my exclusive interview with Jensen coming up!
– Lynn
For more from Jensen Ackles on fandom
and how that’s impacted him, and on
Supernatural, you can read his chapters
in Family Don’t End With Blood and
There’ll Be Peace When You Are Done
I love reading your take on things here & Twitter, but must admit I am very jealous you got to see the entire season. 🥴