Amazon's "The Boys" has been picking up tremendous steam in the lead-up to its premiere. With a giant promotional visit to San Diego Comic Con, news also broke that the show had already been renewed for a second season. In a market some would describe as over-saturated with superhero content, what's most refreshingly subversive about "The Boys" is that it takes a deconstructed approach to telling stories about superheroes.

Show-runner Eric Kripke is positive in his sentiments towards Amazon's support of the show. "They were the perfect choice because they bought the pitch. They have [given] an incredible amount of creative freedom, the streaming format allows you to really open up the world and explore the characters and get as outrageous as the show wants and needs to be. They have the budgets, it has to have the quality of the superhero stuff that's happening in the movies. It cannot eel like a parody. They have the resources to give us that and they've been amazing in giving us the chance to make this show."

The cast is full of familiar faces from fans of film and television media. Karl Urban is no stranger to major franchises, and other stars include Antony Starr ("Banshee"), Simon Pegg is guest-starring as Hughie's father (a fact made all the more amusing due to the fact that Hughie in the comics was a character based on Pegg himself), Chace Crawford ("Gossip Girl"), and Karen Fukuhara ("Suicide Squad"). It's especially important for Fukuhara to be taking on this role, as Japanese talents are very rarely included on big projects like these, and Fukuhara has previously shared on the show's press tour that her character "the Female" was gifted a name. This was a much needed update to the source material.

Fukuhara's previous forray into action was in the Academy-Award winning, hit blockbuster "Suicide Squad". The Female will be something entirely new for Fukuhara to play. "The main thing is that I'm not wielding a sword, but I had a conversation with Eric at the beginning of shooting last year. He wanted something more animalistic, something that's not refined. Katana was more martial arts and very deliberate action. I love playing the Female because you just never know what's going to come because the way she fights is out of the ordinary."

Jack Quaid was elated upon learning that Simon Pegg would be playing his father. "Simon's my hero. I absolutely love all of his work and when I first read the script, I didn't realise immediately that it was based on a comic book. I just thought somebody took the world that we live in today and put superheroes in it. After I got the role, I devoured all the comics and I realised, 'Okay, that guy looks familiar.' It's not necessarily like he's played the role but I did feel like I was stepping into some pretty big shoes. But just the fact that I got to work with him as my dad, that was a dream come true. He's the greatest."

Despite his many appearances in big franchises, Karl Urban is moved by the experience of working on this show. "I've just had such a fantastic time working on the show with this incredibly talented cast. I love working in the world of The Boys. What appealed to me about this show was these blue-collar young men and women who decide to take on The Man, the most super powerful. I was very intrigued as to how you sustain that conflict when you have people of supreme power. How do you take them down? For me personally, it seems like every time I turn on the television these days, I get to see it in current events. I think our show is quite timely and I can't wait for it to get out there."

"The Boys" will premiere on Amazon Prime on July 26.

Watch the press conference for "The Boys" from SDCC here:

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Amazon Original The Boys Will Be Available to Binge in More Than 200 Countries and Territories on July 26 on Amazon Prime Video

Watch the new trailer here: The Boys, launching July 26 on Amazon Prime Video and in production on season 2, is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes – who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as Gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super powerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven, and Vought – the multi-billion dollar conglomerate that manages these superheroes and covers up all of their dirty secrets. The Boys are Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, “Star Trek”), Hughie (Jack Quaid, “The Hunger Games”), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso, “Detroit”), Frenchie (Tomer Capon, “Hostages”), and The Female (Karen Fukuhara, “Suicide Squad”). Simon Pegg (“Mission: Impossible – Fallout”) guest stars as Hughie’s father. The Supes of The Seven are led by Homelander (Antony Starr, “Banshee”) who is joined by Starlight (Erin Moriarty, “Captain Fantastic”), Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott, “House of Cards”), A-Train (Jessie T. Usher, “Independence Day: Resurgence”), The Deep (Chace Crawford, “Gossip Girl”) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell, “Supernatural”).  Academy Award® nominee Elisabeth Shue (“Leaving Las Vegas”) stars as Madelyn Stillwell, Vought’s Senior VP of Hero Management.  Based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, “The Boys” was developed by showrunner Eric Kripke (“Supernatural”), who also serves as writer, executive producer and directed the season finale. Joining Kripke as executive producers are Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen (“Preacher”), Evan Goldberg (“Preacher”), and James Weaver (“Preacher”), Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz (“Prison Break”), Pavun Shetty (“New Girl”) and Ori Marmur (“Preacher”), as well as Ken Levin and Jason Netter. Ennis and Robertson also co-executive produce. The pilot episode was directed by Dan Trachtenberg (“10 Cloverfield Lane”). The eight-episode Amazon Prime Video original series is co-produced by Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television Studios with Point Grey Pictures, Kripke Enterprises and Original Film. SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES: Instagram: @TheBoysTV Twitter: @TheBoysTV Facebook: /TheBoysTV Hashtag: #TheBoysTV

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"The Boys" is an exciting new television series set to premiere on Amazon Prime in 2019. Based on the comic series of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, the show boasts a cast full of quality talents including Karl Urban ("Star Trek"), Simon Pegg ("Shaun of the Dead"), Antony Starr ("Banshee"), and Karen Fukuhara ("Suicide Squad"). Series leads and producers visited New York Comic Con to offer up a first look at this subversive addition to the superhero genre.

With an upspike in superhero content in both films and television series, the task becomes all the more necessary to set oneself apart when creating and adapting new properties in the genre to bring something new and fresh to both casual viewers and fans alike. The premise is interesting and highly relevant to today's world, as the superheroes in the story are not upstanding beacons of morality. Instead, they embrace the unethical privileges take come with fame and celebrity. The group known as "the boys" are a group of vigilantes that work together to take down these corrupt superheroes. These 'boys' come from a more blue collar background and offer a dynamic contrast to the privileged elites.

Karen Fukuhara was the first thing that drew me to the project, as it's rare to find other Japanese women finding success in Hollywood without having to portray stereotypes. It was at first disheartening to find out her character was known as "The Female" and that she doesn't speak in the role. At first glance it's hardly an advancement for us as a whole. But upon being asked about these matters, she is more than happy to clarify that her character will have more depth than the original source material would've allowed.

"What drew me to the character was that, when I spoke with Eric on the phone before we started filming, I found out that we were going to stray away from the Female's back story that was in the original comics and create a new one. That had a lot to do with how she joins the Boys and the direction the Boys go in during season one. I think she's an essential part of the Boys, which drew me to the character, and, exciting news, she gets a name. I am named!" shares Fukuhara.

Producers elaborate that this development of her character was very important in bringing her to the screen. An additional surprise revelation at the show's panel is that the character of Hughie, who was artistically rendered in the comics to resemble Simon Pegg, will have a father in the show portrayed by Pegg himself. The audience erupts into cheers when Pegg is called to the stage as a surprise addition to the panel. Actor Jack Quaid will be portraying Hughie and the banter between him and Pegg bodes well for the chemistry to be portrayed in the show itself.

"I've never been more insecure in my life that I wasn't Simon Pegg," says Quaid. "Especially since Simon Pegg is my literal hero, genuinely. I've got a British dad now. He is literally in my phone as 'British dad', I'm not joking."

Pegg also shares about the journey from getting the call that he was 'in' the comics through character design to now being in the show. "I'm thrilled and I always anticipated this moment would happen. When it was announced, I knew I wasn't gonna play Hughie. I knew it would go to a brilliant young actor. I didn't realise quite how brilliant, I'm so proud of my son!"

"Best moment of my young life," Quaid chimes in.

"It was a very weird thing," says Pegg. "I think Darick Robertson who drew the comic book was a bit of a fan of obscure British comedy. Back in 2004 when he was drawing it, he'd seen 'Space' which was a show I'd done in the UK. It was a little sitcom in the UK in the late 90's and I think Darick saw me in that and thought, 'Oh he'll never amount to anything, I'll draw him.' Then suddenly around the time 'Shaun of the Dead' came out I heard from Darick and I found out that my face was being used in this comic book and I was extremely flattered and thrilled and I was very much in favour of it. DC, who published it at the time wrote me a frightened letter just saying 'Please don't sue us!' I said, well of course I'm not gonna do that. I'm absolutely flattered beyond belief. So I spent that time as Hughie and it was always going to become something visual cause it's such an amazing story. It really lends itself to an adaptation. I'm so happy that when this happened and then I got a call about maybe being in the show. We discussed how and it seems so perfect to be Jack's father.

Karl Urban responds with some banter of his own. "That's a great answer but the real reason that Simon is in 'The Boys' is because we have a competition between us about who can be in the most franchises. He kind of edged ahead after being in Star Wars after we were together in Star Trek. I'm like, 'Hey I'm gonna be in The Boys' and he was like, 'Me too!'"

"What are you gonna do? We're a couple of franchise-whores!" jokes Pegg.

Watch the New York Comic Con panel for "The Boys" here:

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HBO RENEWS VINYL FOR SECOND SEASON

            LOS ANGELES, Feb. 18, 2016 – Following the critically acclaimed launch of the show’s first season, HBO has renewed the drama series VINYL for a second season, it was announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming. Created by Mick Jagger & Martin Scorsese & Rich Cohen and Terence Winter, the show is a ride through the sex- and drug-addled music business of the early 1970s at the dawn of punk, disco and hip-hop.

            VINYL kicked off its ten-episode first season Sunday, Feb. 14  with a two-hour pilot directed by Scorsese, from a teleplay by Terence Winter and George Mastras, and story by Rich Cohen & Mick Jagger & Martin Scorsese and Terence Winter, with other hour-long episodes debuting subsequent Sundays.

            Starring Bobby Cannavale as Richie Finestra, a record label president who is trying to save his company and his soul without destroying everyone in his path, the first season of VINYL also stars Olivia Wilde, Ray Romano, Ato Essandoh, Max Casella, P.J. Byrne, J.C. MacKenzie, Birgitte Hjort Sørensen, Juno Temple, Jack Quaid, James Jagger and Paul Ben-Victor.

            Among the early critical raves, the Hollywood Reporter called VINYL “rich, brilliant & addictive,” adding, “There’s nothing like it,” while New York magazine hailed it as “the first new must-see series of 2016,” noting, “Cannavale is so perfect.” Rolling Stone described the show as “excellent,” and the Washington Post said it was “flawless,” with TV Guide concluding that VINYL was “explosively entertaining.”

            Season one credits: VINYL was created by Mick Jagger & Martin Scorsese & Rich Cohen and Terence Winter; executive producers, Martin Scorsese, Mick Jagger, Terence Winter, Victoria Pearman, Rick Yorn, Emma Tillinger Koskoff, John Melfi, Allen Coulter and George Mastras; executive music producer, Mick Jagger; showrunner, Terence Winter.

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CELEBRATE THE HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASE OF THE FILM THAT SET THE WORLD ON FIRE
AT SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2012

Fans To Have Chance To Receive Select Hunger Games Cast Signatures On Comic-Con Exclusive Blu-ray Disc Box Art Cover Saturday, July 14

WHAT: In advance of the hugely anticipated home entertainment release of The Hunger Games juggernaut on 12:01 am Saturday, August 18, select cast members will participate in signing events at San Diego Comic-Con International 2012. Occurring at the Lionsgate Booth (#4035) on Saturday, July 14 at 11:00 am and 5:00 pm, fans will have the chance to meet the actors behind Cato, Rue, Thresh, Clove, Marvel and Primrose Everdeen, plus have an exclusive Blu-ray Disc box art cover signed by the cast. An exclusive Comic-Con Hunger Games poster will also be distributed at the Lionsgate booth throughout the duration of the convention.

The first film in Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games franchise arrives on 2-disc Blu-Ray (plus digital copy), 2-disc DVD (plus digital copy), On Demand and Digital Download, complete with three hours of never-before-seen special features. Attending media may also participate in an invitation-only press junket with the attending cast at San Diego’s Hard Rock Hotel.

WHO: Alexander Ludwig (Cato), Amanda Stenberg (Rue), Dayo Okeniyi (Thresh), Isabelle Fuhrman (Clove), Jack Quaid (Marvel) and Willow Shields (Primrose Everdeen).

FAN SIGNING TIMES: Saturday, July 14 at 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Location: Lionsgate Booth (#4035)

WHERE: San Diego Convention Center, 111 West Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101.

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