Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for The Boys season 4, episode 6, “Dirty Business.”

The Boys season 4, episode 6, “Dirty Business,” includes a sequence that breaks new ground for the show, but also highlights an interesting piece of behind-the-scenes trivia. Jessie T Usher’s role as A-Train in The Boys season 4 cast further solidifies the actor’s position as a core member of the show’s team, but one of his “Dirty Business” scenes in particular sheds some light on how Prime Video makes the comic book adaptation.

Of all the superpowers in The Boys, A-Train’s are among the easiest to understand. Simply put, Usher’s character is incredibly fast. He can even run faster than Anthony Starr’s Homelander can fly, putting into context the slim advantage A-Train has over the fearsome leader of the Seven. The speedster’s pace is demonstrated to its fullest extent in “Dirty Business,” and also gives fans a subtle peek behind the show’s curtain.

Season 4, Episode 6 Is The First Time The Boys’ Real-Life Shooting Location Has Been In The Show

Toronto, Canada is The Boys’ primary shooting location

Like so many other live-action superhero movies and TV shows, The Boys is set in New York. However, the show isn’t actually shot there. Instead, the Prime Video project is based in Toronto, Canada. So, when A-Train sprints to Toronto to call Mother’s Milk in “Dirty Business,” this marks the first time in The Boys’ history that the show’s primary shooting location has appeared onscreen without having to be made to pass for New York.

This interesting factoid can be found in Prime’s X-Ray feature during “Dirty Business”. Under the “In Scene” tab, it reads: “For the first time in the history of the series, the production team was able to shoot in Toronto without deliberately trying to make it look like New York.” There’s long been no real reason to break the illusion and set any part of the story in Toronto. However, A-Train’s paranoia about being identified as Vought International’s leak leads him to feel compelled to leave the country, so his conversation with Mother’s Milk can’t be overheard by Homelander’s superpowered hearing.

Why The Boys Shoots In Toronto Instead Of New York

Toronto is often chosen as a shooting location for financial reasons

New York City is one of the biggest media hubs in the United States, so plenty of productions are shot there. However, some choose to shoot elsewhere, despite the story’s setting. This can be done for a variety of reasons, but one of the most common is budget restrictions. There are financial incentives for filming in Toronto that don’t exist if something is being filmed in New York, so it can often make more sense to head north of the border, then a project like The Boys can spend more money on other things like visual effects and actor salaries.

Source: Prime Video