The Boys is a popular Amazon Prime series that offers a dark and twisted take on superheroes. The show is set in New York City, but was actually filmed in various locations throughout Ontario, mainly in and around Toronto as well as Hamilton and Brantford. Season 4 of The Boys wrapped in April and there is a props, costumes and furniture sale taking place until August 20th at St. Anne’s Parish Hall on Dufferin Street. You can see what’s for sale here, and there are sales from other shows going on as well.
I worked on the third season for a couple of scenes including one shot in the downtown core of Toronto, along Yonge Street near Richmond Street. It was used as a backdrop for the search for Soldier Boy, and there was a lot of artwork and special effects.
The production team has used many landmarks and hidden gems of the city to create the urban setting of the show. Here are some examples of how Toronto has doubled as New York in The Boys:
- Vought International, the corporation controlling superheroes, has its headquarters at Roy Thomson Hall, a concert venue in Toronto’s entertainment district. The building was digitally altered and extended to become the Seven Tower.
- The Boys take Translucent to a fake Tony Cicero’s restaurant in the second episode, located at 1045 The Queensway in Etobicoke.
- In the third episode, the scene where Homelander and Queen Maeve intervene to stop a sniper was shot at Royal Bank Plaza on Wellington Street West, a skyscraper complex in downtown Toronto.
- The Boys find Kimiko in the fourth episode at the Kai Wei Supermarket, located at 253 Spadina Avenue in Toronto’s Chinatown.
- Rally and protest scenes in the show were filmed at David Pecaut Square, a plaza and park located near Roy Thomson Hall.
- The abandoned Lower Bay Station, a subway station closed since 1966, served as a substitute for Penn Station in New York. Lower Bay is used often for shoots.
- Wet ‘n’ Wild park in Brampton, a city near Toronto, was used for a water park scene in the second season.
The Boys props sale is running now until August 20th at St. Anne’s Parish Hall, 651 Dufferin Street, Toronto.
