Erie recently received recognition as part of a location scene in a popular Amazon Prime television series. Although the shoutout came with a slight toward the city.
Erie becomes part of the setting in season five, episode two of “The Boys,” an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes, who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and revered as Gods, abuse their powers rather than use them for good.
One of the series’ main characters, Billy Butcher, played by actor Karl Urban, has found a new lair on the show that he referred to as on the “outskirts of Erie, Pennsylvania.” The abandoned building has a sign out front that bears the name “Erie County Public Elementary School.”
“Welcome to the outskirts of Erie, Pennsylvania,” Urban, portraying Butcher, says. “A charming little burg, best known for its staggering amount of fentanyl overdoses.”
Amazon Prime officials did not respond to inquiries on Erie’s mention in “The Boys.” The show, according to IMDB, was created by Eric Kripke and is based on the best-selling comics by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson.
A negative impact on viewing Erie
When Erie gets mentioned as a place for “staggering amounts of fentanyl overdoses,” tourism representatives see it as shedding a negative light on the Gem City.
“Obviously, that’s not the perception that we want anyone to see Erie as,” said Christine Temple, director of communications for VisitErie. “We want to be seen as a destination on a Great Lake with lots of options for families. As a life-long resident of Erie, I’m sad because that’s so far on the other end of the spectrum of what our area is. To pigeonhole us into that one little sentence is so unfair.”
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Temple said though that she sees this mention as having only a minimal negative impact on Erie.
“I wouldn’t form any opinion of the destination because… Erie shouldn’t be called out for something that is untrue,” Temple said. “It’s a television show, it’s for entertainment purposes. I hope people don’t take it seriously.”
Butcher (Karl Urban, far left), Frenchie (Tomer Capone, center) and M.M. (Laz Alonso) hit up a convention for right-wing conspiracy theorists in an episode from season four of “The Boys.”
Erie overdoses down in 2025
Recent data reveals that overdoses in Erie were significantly down in this past year compared to previous years.
In an annual report on drug statistics in Erie at the end of December, former police chief Dan Spizarny reported 27 fatal overdoses in 2025, while the Erie County Coroner’s Office investigated 44 drug-related deaths. That’s down from 73 drug-related deaths (more than 40%) in 2024 and from the triple-digit deaths in 2021, 2022 and 2023. On March 9, the Times-News reported that Erie County ended 2025 with 45 drug-related deaths for the year, one more than when county Coroner Lyell Cook reported his numbers to the Times-News on Dec. 30.
The 45 deaths represent the lowest number of drug deaths as charted by the Erie County Coroner’s Office since 2011, when there were 39.
Unfortunately, as per the 2025 report, fentanyl remains the drug most prevalent in deaths followed by cocaine and methamphetamine.
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Oakley Marini, 17, dressed as virtual singer Hatsune Miku, visits Comicon Erie 2022 inside the Bayfront Convention Center on Sept. 17, 2022. Comicon also added a partner event, Brick Erie 2022, showcasing detailed custom Lego creations inside the Great Hall.
How to watch ‘The Boys’
“The Boys” is rated TV-MA for its mature content as a dark action comedy. It streams on Amazon Prime Video with new episodes available every Wednesday. Season five made its debut on April 8 and the series ends with episode eight on May 20.
Contact Nicholas Sorensen at Nsorensen@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie earns mention in episode of Amazon Prime series ‘The Boys’