Gen V review – the male full-frontal really is gratuitous | Television

Two years after we last joined its troubled teens in their battle against the forces of corporate tyranny, superhero drama Gen V is back for a second series of powerfully bawdy chaos. Release the penis-shaped balloons! Uncork the Château les Norks! But for pity’s sake conduct your celebrations quietly: Godolkin University’s clipboard-clutching new dean is in no mood for frivolity.

“Let’s be real,” he drawls during his inaugural campus address. “The previous human administration was full of shit. We can’t trust humankind. And that is why, as your new dean, I will be preparing you for this brave new world,” he continues, as the assembled superheroes-in-training – or “supes”, as they’re called – variously gulp, whoop and clench their bum cheeks.

So! New God U, new you. Specifically, new Emma (the wonderful Lizze Broadway), whose relief at her sudden release from the Elmira Adult Rehabilitation Center is tempered by the discovery that her lightly tyranny-padded seat of learning has gone full fascist.

A brief recap, then, before we get our Speedos wet. The first series of this wildly irreverent spin-off of the sublime, R-rated superhero satire The Boys ended with Emma and fellow supes Marie, Andre and Jordan being stitched up by Homelander after their discovery of the clandestine, Vought-run medical/torture facility known as the Woods. (Homelander, for those not yet au fait with The Boys, is the psychopathic superhero figurehead of dastardly corporate cabal Vought International. Think, if you can stomach it, Trump in tights.) Got it? Good. And now? Marie (Jaz Sinclair) has escaped from Elmira and is on the run. After a valiant struggle with the powers that be, Andre (Chance Perdomo), alas, was not as fortunate. (Following Perdomo’s death in 2024, the decision was made not to recast the role.)

Back at Godolkin, Emma and fellow releasee Jordan (London Thor/Derek Luh) are greeted by a grinning wall of suits and forced to read to the press a Vought-approved “victory” speech that turns out, perhaps unsurprisingly, to be rubbish. Jordan, understandably, is suspicious. Not least of Dean Cipher (yes, Cipher), whose densely bearded presence Jordan is convinced they spotted “more than once” at Elmira. “He was a doctor or something,” the bi-gender shapeshifter tells a characteristically open-mouthed Emma. “And now he’s the dean? I mean, who the fuck is this guy?” Who indeed. Facts, discovers Emma, are thin on the ground. “I mean, the name ‘Cipher’ is a little on the nose, honestly …”

Extravagant creepiness … Hamish Linklater as Dean Cipher. Photograph: Jasper Savage/Prime

Cipher is played by Hamish Linklater, which is in itself a little on the nose, honestly. Is there anyone as adept at extravagant, nay, luxuriant creepiness as Hamish “Midnight Mass” Linklater? Let us discuss. Actually, let’s not. Let’s just accept that there isn’t. And then allow ourselves a gander at the actor’s spectacularly unnerving MO, albeit from a safe distance (the International Space Station, say; or crouched behind Emma during one of the bits where she suddenly goes big and all her clothes explode off). In addition to his stocks-in-trade (not blinking, being tall, speaking slowly in a sad voice before suddenly blurting out something unconscionable very quickly indeed), this particular Linklater performance comes with a range of Gen V-appropriate accessories. These include a set of ample action-eyebrows and a proclivity for calling those few, brave young supes who disagree with his belief in supe-supremacism “race traitors”. So, y’know, yikes.

Unsurprisingly, campus unrest begins to mount. Humans are subjected to increasing harassment from the loutish, Cipher-emboldened frat-supes, while hopelessly naive activists scamper around daubing the word “Resist” over posters of Homelander’s spray-tanned fizzog.

Elsewhere, as this second series unfurls its cape, it’s a joy and a relief to discover that it is business as usual. There are several outrageous, monocle-fogging set-pieces, including a gratuitous full-frontal male locker room scene complete with prosthetic thunder-dong. (What is it with Gen V and penises? Have 5,000 words on my desk by evensong.) There is an enormous amount of swearing and violence, much sweet-natured navigating of still-unformed teenage belief systems, several mildly confusing references to events in The Boys (the fifth and final season of which arrives next year) and many, many perfect jokes about the endless commodification of mental health and gender identity.

But isn’t all this zippiness, this pinging between tones and genres a bit, well … throwaway? Ultimately, yes! But then, aren’t most things these days, when you think about it? Gen V is aware of its own limited relevance in the grand scheme of things but has embraced its small role with pluck and charm. It’s all part of its pinball patchwork of superhero tropes, romance, comic book baddies, thumpingly broad political satire and penises. Oh, so many penises. Enjoy!

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Red Sox vs. Athletics lineups and preview for September 16

The Athletics will again counter with Jeffrey Springs, who allowed five runs on eight hits en route to taking the loss last week to Early and the Sox.

Here is a preview.

ATHLETICS (70-80): Langeliers C, Wilson SS, Kurtz 1B, Rooker DH, Thomas RF, Hernaiz 2B, Harris 3B, Butler CF, Schuemann LF

Pitching: LHP Jeffrey Springs (10-11, 4.28 ERA)

RED SOX (82-68): Gonzalez 1B, Bregman 3B, Story SS, Refsnyder DH, Narváez C, Eaton RF, Sogard 2B, Duran LF, Rafaela CF

Pitching: LHP Connelly Early (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Time: 6:45 p.m.

TV, radio: NESN, WEEI-FM 93.7

Athletics vs. Early: Lawrence Butler 0-2, Zack Gelof 1-1, Darell Hernaiz 0-2, Nick Kurtz 1-3, Shea Langeliers 1-3, Brent Rooker 0-3, Tyler Soderstrom 1-2, Colby Thomas 0-2, Jacob Wilson 1-2

Red Sox vs. Springs: Alex Bregman 1-4, Jarren Duran 1-5, Nate Eaton 0-2, Romy González 2-2, Nathaniel Lowe 2-9, Carlos Narváez 0-2, Ceddanne Rafaela 0-2, Rob Refsnyder 3-8, Nick Sogard 1-2, Trevor Story 3-8, Connor Wong 0-2

Stat of the day: Romy Gonzalez’s 14 consecutive games with a hit is the longest active streak in the majors.

Notes: The 82 wins are the most the Red Sox have won since 2021 (92-70). … The A’s won’t be headed to the postseason, but a 28-18 mark since July 24 is the third best in MLB. … They have won four in a row, following up last Wednesday’s 5-4 win in the series finale against the Sox with a three-game sweep of the Reds. … Early recorded 11 strikeouts in last week’s win, matching the franchise mark for most strikeouts in a debut, set by Don Aase in 1977. … Springs is s 0-3 with a 4.55 ERA in 14 appearances (six starts) against the Red Sox. … A’s relievers have posted MLB’s second-best ERA (2.76) since July 31. … Lucas Giolito (10-4, 3.31 ERA) and Brayan Bello (11-7, 3.25 ERA) will get the starts on Wednesday and Thursday to close out the series for the Sox.

Follow Andrew Mahoney @GlobeMahoney.

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Death on the Riviera: The White Lotus is coming to France | The White Lotus

The White Lotus didn’t have the Emmys it expected this year, but a little thing like critical disappointment isn’t going to slow it down. In other words: forget season three, because we already know where season four is headed.

In a post-Emmys conversation with Deadline, HBO’s Casey Bloys confirmed the rumour that The White Lotus season four will take place in France. Were there any other details? No. Did he offer even the slightest indication of even a sliver of what’s to come? Again, no. But this is the internet, so let’s speculate wildly nonetheless.

Where in France exactly?

Famously, every season of The White Lotus so far has been filmed at a Four Seasons hotel. This narrows things down somewhat. The Four Seasons operates three hotels in France: one in Paris, one in Megève and one on the Côte d’Azur.

Obviously each of these locations would make for a profoundly different season of The White Lotus. You’d have to expect that the French Riviera is automatically out, since its mixture of Mediterranean climate and wealthy Eurotrash clientele put it too close to Taormina, the location of the second season.

This leaves Paris and the Alps. Now, remembering the almighty fuss that everyone made about enduring the uncomfortable weather of Thailand during the filming of season three, it would make sense that Mike White would steer clear of Megève, because that just seems like a nightmare. Not only would it be relentlessly cold, but it is also potentially dangerous. It would just take one bored actor to shatter their pelvis in a freak snowboarding accident to drag the entire production to a standstill. So Paris it is.

Les Hôtels Four Seasons-George V et Prince de Galle à Paris. Photograph: Bruno de Hogues/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

This in itself would be no cakewalk, though. Paris is one of those cities that risks being filmed to death, with every possible angle of every possible landmark covered in any number of existing productions. You can’t imagine that anyone would be particularly happy if an integral scene was ignored because all the viewers had decided to Google which episode of Call My Agent! was also shot there.

Plus the Four Seasons in Paris is easily one of the least visually interesting Four Seasons on Earth. Plus every single external shot will be papped to kingdom come if they go somewhere as obvious as Paris. Plus the weather might be crap. So, Paris. Unless it isn’t. Which it probably isn’t. Fine, Côte d’Azur then.

What will it be about?

So far, each season of The White Lotus has had its own broad theme. Season one was about money and class, season two was about sex and desire, season three was about religion and death. A fourth season will need to have a big, chewy theme of its own to stand up to the others. In a podcast episode towards the end of season three, White hinted that the next season would revolve around fame, suggesting that it might centre on some sort of film festival (another nod to the Côte d’Azur, potentially). However, at this point The White Lotus has been around so long that everyone already knows what the true theme of the season will be: entitled American tourists being awful to each other while having it off in ways that will make you want to bleach your eyeballs and brain.

Who’ll be in it?

Here’s where things might get interesting. Although each season is technically its own story, The White Lotus has enjoyed bleeding through whenever it can. Jennifer Coolidge was in two seasons, as was Natasha Rothwell, while Jon Gries has been in all three. Certainly the Thailand season pointed towards a future where we’d get to see Rothwell’s newly wealthy Belinda junk all her principles for a life of comfort, so maybe that will happen.

Natasha Rothwell in The White Lotus. Photograph: HBO

But don’t forget that Michael Imperioli’s character from season two was a film producer, so there’s a chance that he could make a reappearance at the festival. And Michelle Monaghan played an actress who everyone apparently recognised and loved, so maybe she could join him. Personally speaking I’d like to see White take a bolder step and reintroduce season one’s Armond as a ghost and have him float around pooping everywhere, but I suspect cowardice on the part of HBO will prevent this.

Still, this is The White Lotus, so there are plenty of other roles to fill. There’s bound to be a family with a dark secret, a married couple with a dark secret who will make friends with another married couple who have a similarly dark secret, and the hotel staff. These will need to be French and, if the appearance of Lisa from Blackpink last year is any hint, far too incongruously famous to play such a small part. Perhaps Kylian Mbappé can show up to play the guy who irons the towels.

How likely is any of this?

Not likely at all, since precious few details have been revealed. But since we’re probably not going to see season four of The White Lotus until 2027 at the earliest, you’ll have forgotten about all of this by then anyway. Oh well.

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Silent Hill f Review Embargo Lifts A Few Days Ahead Of Release

Details regarding the review embargo for Konami and NeoBards Entertainment‘s upcoming survival horror game, Silent Hill f, have been revealed.

Fans of the long-running Silent Hill series can look forward to hearing what critics have to say about the first new mainline entry since Silent Hill: Downpour was released in 2012. The game takes place during the 1960s in the fictional town of Ebisugaoka, Japan, where high school student Hinako Shimizu finds herself in a town overcome by fog and grotesque monsters.

Silent hill f review embargo

What Is the Review Embargo Date for Silent Hill f?

The official Twitter/X Metacritic account has reported that the review embargo for Silent Hill f is expected to be lifted in just over a week from today, which would be on September 22, 2025, a day after the early access Deluxe Edition launch and three days before the official release date. The timing is likely at around 7 AM PDT / 10 AM EDT / 3 PM BST / 4 PM CEST.

Additionally, the pre-load for Silent Hill f is expected to go live on the PlayStation Store on September 21, 2025, for those who pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition and on September 23, 2025, for those who pre-ordered the Standard Edition. It will come with the latest update pre-installed. Meanwhile, those who purchased a physical copy of the game will need to download the day one update. The file size of the PS5 version of Silent Hill f (36.637 GB) is notably less than the size of the PS5 version of the Silent Hill 2 remake (50.535 GB).

Recently, Silent Hill f officially received an M18 rating in Singapore by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA),, hinting at the disturbing themes and graphic violence players can expect upon its release. Players will encounter corpses, mutilated bodies, and bloody environments. During combat, enemies are shown being impaled, slashed, and dismembered, with blood staining the walls and floors.

Silent Hill f is set to be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows PC.

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