Why did ‘The Boys’ add a content warning to the beginning of its season 4 finale?

The Boys season 4 was as strong as the rest of Prime Video series, and we all loved the chance to catch up with favorite characters, however gross or unsettling their shenanigans may be. But while The Boys always maintains a sense of humor, it has many serious plotlines, and the last episode of this season had a content warning.

Since its July 2019 premiere, The Boys has been known as one of the most intense, dark, and political dramas around, and it’s a super surprising show (to say the least). While we wait for season 5 of The Boys, let’s find out more about The Boys’ season 4 finale content warning.

What was the reason for The Boys‘ season 4 finale content warning?

As Culture Crave posted on X, there is a content warning before The Boys season 4 finale because of the assassination attempt on Donald Trump that took place on July 13th, 2024. The episode is called “Season 4 Finale” now but the title used to be “Assassination Run.”

As TV Line reported, there is a plotline about violence against Presidential candidate Robert Singer (Jim Beaver), which now seems inappropriate to air so soon after these real events.

As fans know, The Boys dives into political satire that can be over-the-top (and yet sometimes seems sadly realistic) in every single episode, and there have also been other moments when life has initiated art. As showrunner Eric Kripke told The Hollywood Reporter in June 2024 about the episodes, “we write them sometimes close to two years before they air and again we’ll find that the news is accurately reflecting whatever we’re talking about.” Kripke also told Variety that even if the SAG-AFTRA/WGA strike hadn’t taken place, fans would have watched The Boys season 4 a few months before summer 2024, which would have meant we were still watching it while anticipating (and getting scared for) the November 2024 election.

According to TV Line, when fans watched the episode they saw the message that the finale has “scenes of fictional political violence” and “Any similarities to recent events are completely coincidental and unintentional.” The message noted that “Prime Video, Amazon MGM Studios, Sony Pictures Television and the producers of The Boys oppose, in the strongest terms, real-world violence of any kind.”