As The Boys heads into its final two episodes, Eric Kripke is stressing the importance of concluding every character’s story.

The creator of the Prime Video series recently responded to social media complaints about “filler episodes” in the fifth and final season of the comic book adaptation, which releases its penultimate episode next Wednesday on the streaming platform before the series finale premieres May 19 at 9:30pm in 4DX theaters and its Prime debut the next day.

“None of the things that happen in the last few episodes will matter if you don’t flesh out the characters. I’m getting a lot of online dissatisfaction, to put it politely,” he told TV Guide. “And I’m like, ‘What are you expecting? Are you expecting a huge battle scene every episode?’”

Explaining there was not enough budget for constant fight scenes in the final season, Kripke argued that direction “would be so empty and dull, and it would just be about shapes moving without having any import.”

Kripke added, “At no point during the writing of it was I like, ‘Oh yeah, we’re making filler episodes. So who cares?’ We all thought at the time we’re really getting these important character details. We have something like 14 characters, maybe 15. And I owe it to all of them — in that television is the character business — I owe it to all of them to flesh them out and humanize them and their stories.”

The 2x Emmy nominee and his writers felt they provided some “crazy, big things” for the final season. “It’s just sometimes it’s a giant character movement,” said Kripke.

“But apparently, just because it’s not plot, you’re like, ‘Nothing happened!’ I’m like, ‘Nothing happened, what?’” added Kripke. “The craziest, biggest moves happened. It just wasn’t someone shooting someone else and going, pew, pew, pew. And if that’s what you want, you’re just watching the wrong show.”

Although The Boys is coming to an end, the prequel series Vought Rising premieres on Prime Video in 2027, and Kripke previously told Deadline that The Boys: Mexico is “heading in the right direction” as executive producers Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal develop the spin-off writer Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer.

Meanwhile, college offshoot Gen V was cancelled after two seasons last month, and the animated series The Boys Presents: Diabolical is unlikely to get a Season 2 renewal.

The latest edition of Deadline’s Sound & Screen Television event is underway Wednesday evening, bringing into focus one of the most vital and yet often unseen elements of storytelling: music. From sweeping, orchestral themes to more intimate, character-driven pieces, a project’s score and songs are integral parts of the puzzle when it comes to shaping how audiences connect with what they see on screen. 

Sound & Screen, which has quickly become one of Deadline’s most popular events, is back at UCLA’s Royce Hall for the 2026 edition, featuring another fantastic lineup of musicians and their scores from this year’s most striking television offerings, with the music performed live with the backing of a full orchestra. 

This year’s roster is an excellent one. We’ve got Jeff Russo, a founder of Tonic and previous member of Low Stars, who is the composer behind FX’s Alien: Earth; as well as Emmy-winning composer and musician Amanda Jones, who is behind the sound of Apple TV’s Murderbot. Siddhartha Khosla will also join us onstage to showcase his score for Imperfect Women starring Elisabeth Moss, Kerry Washington and Kate Mara.

Netflix is in the house tonight with two shows: Beef and Wednesday. Finneas O’Connell, who has already won two Oscars, two Golden Globes and 11 Grammys, is the mastermind behind the score for the much anticipated second season of Beef, and he’ll outline his approach for us this evening in front of the packed house of awards-season voters. Meanwhile, two-time Emmy nominee Chris Bacon, whose credits include Source Code, Heretic and Alpha and Omega, will talk how he’s built on Wednesday‘s gothic score for the show’s latest season.

Renowned composer Jeff Beal, whose credits include House of Cards and The Newsroom, is also in the building, where he’ll walk us through the process of writing the music for Peacock’s hit All Her Fault that stars Sarah Snook and Dakota Fanning. 

Meanwhile, Christopher Lennertz and Matt Bowen are returning this year to talk about their approach to composing the score for Prime Video’s wild superhero series The Boys, while Tyler Strickland will walk us through the emotional journey of scoring John Candy: I Like Me, which explores the life and legacy of the iconic Canadian funnyman. 

Breton Vivian, who earned an Emmy nomination for his prominent work on Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone, also returns this year to talk composing Sheridan’s follow-up Paramount+ series The Madison. 

HBO Max series The Pitt is coming off the back of winning the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series, and composers Gavin Brivik and Andrew Bird are on hand to break down crafting the show’s original song “Need Someone.” 

And last, but certainly not least, David Archuleta, Sophie Rose and Michael Blum are here to talk about their original song “Wish That You Were Me” for Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. 

Check back Thursday for our Sound & Screen coverage, and on Monday when Deadline launches the event’s streaming site featuring all the panel videos. In the meantime, here’s the full lineup of who’s hitting the stage.

Sound & Screen Television 2026

PRIME VIDEO

The Boys

Christopher Lennertz (Composer)
Matt Bowen (Composer)

PARAMOUNT+

The Madison

Breton Vivian (Composer)

APPLE TV

Murderbot

Amanda Jones (Composer)

HBO MAX

The Pitt

Gavin Brivik (Composer/Songwriter)
Andrew Bird (Songwriter)

PEACOCK

All Her Fault

Jeff Beal (Composer)

FX

Alien: Earth

Jeff Russo (Composer)

APPLE TV

Imperfect Women

Siddhartha Khosla (Composer)

HULU

Only Murders in the Building

David Archuleta (Co-Writer)
Sophie Rose (Co-Writer/Singer)
Michael Blum (Co-Writer/Producer)

PRIME VIDEO

John Candy: I Like Me

Tyler Strickland (Composer)

NETFLIX

Wednesday

Chris Bacon (Composer)

Beef

Finneas O’Connell (Composer)