Gen V’s second season confronts the real-world loss of one of its rising stars, reshaping the show to mourn and honor Chance Perdomo while advancing the series’ plot. The Prime Video spinoff returned Sept. 17, and the absence of Perdomo — who died in March 2024 at age 27 — is depicted as a central element of the new episodes rather than being obscured.
The series explains that Andre Anderson, Perdomo’s character, suffered a fatal stroke after attempting to use his metal-bending ability to break out of the Elmira Adult Rehabilitation Center, where he, Marie and others had been imprisoned. The stroke was linked to the hereditary condition shared with his father, Polarity, a vulnerability that worsens with the use of their powers. The decision to show Andre’s death on-screen followed production delays as writers rewrote Season 2 to "honor Chance and his legacy" instead of recasting the role.
Cast members said the grief permeates the season. Jaz Sinclair, who plays Marie, told Decider that the creative team "did a fantastic job of honoring Chance and Andre, and you can really feel him throughout the entire show for sure." Sean Patrick Thomas, who portrays Andre’s father Polarity, said the series "handled Chance’s absence beautifully," adding that the cast and crew felt a responsibility to give Perdomo "the best sendoff we possibly could because he deserved it."
On-screen, Andre’s death leaves Polarity adrift, turning to alcohol as he struggles with grief. Lizze Broadway’s Emma intervenes, urging Polarity to join the resistance against a growing fascistic hold at Godolkin University and telling him that stepping up is what Andre would have wanted. Their unlikely alliance provides both narrative momentum and a means for the characters — and actors — to process loss, producing scenes that the cast described as cathartic.
Broadway, who wrote a public tribute after Perdomo’s death, said the loss left "a profound void" and called him "my hero." Cast members and producers chose to address the absence directly rather than minimize it, expanding the emotional scope of the season and altering storylines that had been planned for Andre.
Gen V, a spinoff of Prime Video’s The Boys, returned nearly two-and-a-half years after its debut. The first three episodes of Season 2 are available to stream now, with new episodes arriving on Wednesdays. The series’ creative choices have prompted discussion about how television productions respond to the sudden loss of an actor, balancing ongoing story needs with respect for the departed and their colleagues.
Producers delayed and rewrote material to center Perdomo’s legacy, and the result is a season in which his character’s absence is integral to both plot and tone. Cast interviews indicate that the show’s on-screen mourning reflects a similar process off-screen, as those involved sought to memorialize Perdomo through the narrative choices and performances featured in the new episodes.