Did we get a new trailer for The boys Season 3 at this year’s New York Comic-Con? Did we get a preview of the clip? How about the premiere date for Amazon’s crass drama third release? Any news on the upcoming spin-off with Lizzie Broadway? That’s a fucking big no on all counts.

But hey, at least we had an in-person panel with the cast at the annual pop culture event, including Antony Starr (Homelander), Chase Crawford (The Deep), Erin Moriarty (Starlight), Karen Fukuhara ( Kimiko) and Jack Quaid (Hughie). And we’ve had a lot of hilarious behind-the-scenes stories from the last two (very successful) seasons of The Boys that demonstrate one thing: it’s probably the funniest (and funniest) set on television.

In all of their interactions, the camaraderie between the group shines through and the friendly cast clearly enjoyed sharing many very embarrassing stories about each other.

We would not have expected less.

Think of these tidbits as a background discomfort / hilarity needed to further savor the scenes that have already made you tremble.

The Boys: You’ll Never Guess The Original Inspiration For These Spooky Gills

Patton Oswalt seemed so perfect at expressing the gills of The Deep, as part of his acceptance process. The two singing “You are so beautiful” is something I can never ignore.

But thanks to showrunner Eric Kripke’s original casting choice to voice those gills, I’ll always be horrified: he wanted Helen Mirren! I don’t know how serious Kripke was, but he said he tried to get the actress esteemed for the gills, but had to “settle” on Oswalt. Too bad. (thanks, now I only imagine Helen Mirren’s voice in these scenes and I’m even weirder!)

The gills were so (infamous) memorable and were an awkward topic gleefully revisited by the cast during the panel. Crawford even remembered a TSA agent at the airport pulling him aside to admit, “Dude, when you got your gills fingered, I felt that.” Uh, cool!

Not one to drop, Erin Moriarty (Annie / Starlight) joked, “I wouldn’t be surprised if there would be a gills category on PornHub after that,” labeling it as a third point G. Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell) continued the joke, calling them “Gill spot”.

The Boys: we had a little streak

We may not have seen any clips from the upcoming season, but Moriarty shared a behind-the-scenes movie that showed Nathan Mitchell (Black Noir) grabbing z’s between takes, which of course was easy to cover up with his costume. .

(Also hopefully we’ll see more of the actor this season, without the mask!)

The Boys: Starr is a ham and we love him for it

If there was one member of The Seven who is probably the furthest removed from his character, it’s Antony Starr, who plays the anti-Superman Homelander homicide on The boys.

The hilarious and likable actor was extremely lively during the panel, starting with a raucous “How good is it to be back doing that shit ** ?!” Starr was all charming and gave a very enthusiastic re-enactment of the sex scene between him and Aya Rachel Cash (Stormfront) when they were hung up by harnesses.

Much like the show, there was so much to love about this outrageous, likable, and fun cast and their antics. It was a real pleasure to see them remember the previous seasons. You can read more of the highlights here.

The third season of The boys, based on the Garth Ennis comic book series, just ended last month and is slated for release in 2022 (no date specified yet). I’m especially excited to see how Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) affects the rest of The Seven, as the Soldier Boy superhero, a new addition to S3.