Featured Image Credit: Prime Video. Disney
Topics: The Boys, Amazon Prime, Film and TV
Stewart Perrie
While the Marvel Cinematic Universe is famous for churning out some of the biggest movies and TV shows on the planet, it looks like there's a new head honcho on the small screen.
The Boys has scooped the coveted crown of being the most successful superhero series in 2022.
It was a crowded year for the genre as we got to see the likes of Moon Knight, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Ms. Marvel and What If...? season two from Marvel, as well as Peacemaker on HBO.
But it seems like the lads who are trying to stop a rampaging supervillain from the past managed to attract the most amount of eyeballs last year.
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Neilsen has released its 2022 viewership data to reveal what were the biggest shows that had everyone talking.
Unsurprisingly, the fourth season of Netflix's Stranger Things came out on top with 52 billion minutes watched.
Take a second to absorb how many minutes that is.
Ozark was the second most watched series in 2022 with 31.3 billion minutes, followed by Wednesday (18.6 billion), Cobra Kai (16.7 billion) and Bridgerton (14 billion).
Yes, Netflix had a very good year.
Actually, the streaming service took out 13 of the 15 spots on the most viewed list.
The only two shows that didn't come from Netflix are The Boys, which came in 11th on the list with 10.6 billion minutes, and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power with 9.4 billion minutes.
None of the shows from Marvel managed to crack the top 15 list, even though Ms. Marvel was given a high honour of being the best reviewed superhero show of 2022, according to ComicBook.com.
The Boys' strong performance could have something to do with the third season being arguably the bloodiest and most violent.
Or it could be down to that scene in the opening episode. If you know, you know.
But we could be getting something that is even worse than that penis exploding moment.
The show's visual effects supervisor and associate producer, Stephan Fleet, wrote on Twitter: "I think I just saw the most disgusting thing I have seen working in this business thus far."
Bold claim considering we literally saw a supe climb into another supe's penis, sneeze and then explode out to leave the room covered in blood and guts.
And don't even get us started on the Herogasm episode.
Showrunner Eric Kripke told IGN he has pretty much been given free reign to do what he wants.
"As long as it helps flesh out the world or has a real point in the story, [Amazon] tends to be really cool about it," he explained.