Having been a fan of “The Boys” for years, actress/comedian Aisha Tyler was thrilled when the team approached her to write and voice an episode of “The Boys Presents: Diabolical,” an animated anthology series that exposes the untold stories of Vaught’s cinematic universe. “It was an opportunity to create something from scratch,” Tyler told WrapWomen in a recent Zoom interview. “They were like, look, you can literally do any kind of story you want.”
In creating the episode, Tyler and the producers went through the entire Boys universe and looked at all the different characters. Besides the ones who already had big plans lined up for “The Boys” season 3 which premieres June 3, Tyler had free range. “There were a lot [of characters] to choose from, because the boys universe section is pretty well populated with superheroes and anti-heroes and super villains. So, I pitched them a bunch of ideas, and they responded to one and then we developed that together.”
What excited Tyler most about the opportunity was getting to shine a light on what flawed humans would do with extreme power, and on the flip side how a super person would approach normal human things, like relationship problems. Tyler used this as an outlet to explore her parents’ divorce.
The episode “Nubian vs. Nubian” follows the deteriorating marriage of Nubian (Tyler) and Nubian (Don Cheadle). It’s told through the perspective of their daughter Maya (Somali Rose), who goes on a “parent-trap” like mission to get her parents back together.
Although Tyler told WrapWomen it isn’t an autobiographical story, there are various parts of Maya that remind the actress of a younger version of herself. On the surface, it’s Maya’s obsession with superheroes and comics. But on a deeper level, it’s when Maya realizes that her parents are just normal flawed everyday people, not the superheroes or giants she’s always made them out to be – a realization audiences around the world can relate to.
“You know that moment when your parents – who I think we all hold up as superheroes – become just normal, regular, everyday human beings to you… that was really the origin.”
It is often said, “write what you know,” a concept that definitely paid off for Tyler’s humorous yet heart-felt episode.
Tune in to “The Boys Presents: Diabolical” on Amazon Prime Video.
Watch Tyler’s full interview with WrapWomen at the top of the page.
About WrapWomen
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