Both The Boys and Gen V are about the Supes. We all know that. Yet at the end of the day, it’s the folks in PR for Vought who steal the show. And on Gen V, it’s no different. In between wild twist endings, cocksplosions, and Jason Ritter-hosted puppet parodies, it’s Courtenay Fortney who steals the show.
But who is Courtenay Fortney (not Courtney Fortney, but Courtenay Fortney) on Gen V? Here’s what you need to know about the character, and Jackie Tohn, the actress who plays her.
Is It Courtney Fortney, Or Courtenay Fortney?
Again, just for emphasis: it’s not Courtney Fortney on Gen V, it’s Courtenay Fortney. The spelling is part of the joke, just like the fact that her name rhymes. It’s the sort of blink and you’ll miss it type thing that makes you go “Wait, did I just hear that?” So maybe not blinking, but whatever you would call it if your ears could blink.
Courtenay, if you’re wondering, is a real name and not just a city in British Columbia. It means “domain of Curtius,” according to The Bump, and is 12,272 out of all baby names for 2022. It also started to lose popularity around 1981. So for what it’s worth if Courtenay Fortney is in her forties, this first name isn’t quite as weird as it might be today.
Who Is Courtenay Fortney On Gen V?
Courtenay was actually not first introduced on Gen V. The first time we met Courtenay Fortney in The Boys universe was on the mothership show in Season 1, Episode 6 “The Innocents.” In the episode, Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) is filming a promotional shoot, and Courtenay is none other than the Production Assistant on set. When Maeve’s secret girlfriend Elena (Nicola Correia-Damude) shows up on set, Maeve tries to have a moment alone with her… But Courtenay keeps the cameras rolling.
Maeve wasn’t happy, but clearly Vought was. The next time we see Courtenay on Gen V, she’s gotten a promotion. In the season’s second episode, “First Day,” Courtenay shows up at a photo shoot to help Marie (Jaz Sinclair) through her talking points for an interview. She’s now working as an Executive Producer for Vought on One on One with Hailey Miller. The interview show is looking to discuss Marie’s heroic showdown with Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger)… An event that never happened, because it was actually Jordan Li (London Thor/Derek Luh) who stopped Golden Boy.
Courtenay is laugh-out-loud funny from the moment of her introduction, when the school’s social media flack Jeff shouts, “Courtenay, you dirty slut. Sorry, I mean no disrespect.” Courtenay doesn’t even let it phase her, just rolls with it, says, “Oh, none taken,” and immediately introduces herself to Marie.
From there, it’s non-stop sharply delivered lines, like “Do you have clothes?” and “Even when I’m saying it now, it feels like too many syllables,” in reference to branding Marie and Andre (Chance Perdomo) the “Guardians of Godolkin.” Like Ashley Barret (Colby Minifie) before her, Courtenay perfectly encapsulates the vapid intensity of corporate PR and production.
Courtenay shows up again in the next episode, “#THINKBRINK,” at a benefit honoring the memory of Dean Brink (Clancy Brown). There, she tries to sell Emma (Lizze Broadway) on a new reality show featuring her, and her mother. In the episode, the secret of Emma’s powers comes out: she throws up in order to get small. Courtenay wants to take the former Little Cricket star and rebrand her as an inspirational story, focusing on her disorder eating.
The only thing is, Emma doesn’t think she suffers from disordered eating. Instead wants to do something like Queen Maeve. This leads to a fight between Emma and her mom, and Courtenay is loving it. Her hilarious reactions make the scene as she trumpets that they’re going to win so many People’s Choice awards for this series.
We don’t see her again in Episode 4, but fingers crossed she’ll pop up later in the season — or on The Boys Season 4. We need more Courtenay Fortney in our lives.
Who Plays Courtenay Fortney On Gen V? Meet Jackie Tohn:
Actually, you’re probably not meeting Jackie Tohn for the first time. She’s had dozens of roles on TV, created her own series, and even made her mark as a singer.
Tohn is probably best known for her role on Netflix’s GLOW as Melanie Rose, aka Melrose in the ring. She also created Do Re & Mi for Apple TV+, voiced roles alongside Kristen Bell — and wrote 50 of the songs for the first season.
She was the host of Best Leftovers Ever on Netflix, and in the celeb impersonation front played Joan Rivers on Epic Rap Battles of History, and Gilda Radner in A Futile and Stupid Gesture. Speaking of film, she’s appeared in Jem and the Holograms, and CHiPs. She’ll next be seen in Old Dads, starring Bill Burr and Bobby Cannavale, which hits Netflix on October 20.
On the musical bent, she made it to the semi-finals on American Idol Season 8, and has two self-released EPs. You can’t find them on Spotify, but you can check out a few tracks from Do Re & Mi on her Spotify artist page.
You can check out Jackie Tohn’s website for more info on her, or on Instagram where she currently has over 84k followers.
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