{"id":6212,"date":"2026-07-09T11:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T10:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=6212"},"modified":"2026-07-09T11:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T10:36:40","slug":"antony-starr-emmys-2026-snub-depressing-bias-the-boys-homelander","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/09\/antony-starr-emmys-2026-snub-depressing-bias-the-boys-homelander\/","title":{"rendered":"Antony Starr\u2019s 2026 Emmys snub highlights a depressing bias and I\u2019m actually over it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, that\u2019s it folks: Antony Starr didn\u2019t receive one single Emmy nomination for his career-defining portrayal as Homelander<\/a>, and at this point, it\u2019s more than frustrating.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every year since The Boys<\/a> first premiered on Prime Video<\/a>, we\u2019ve eagerly awaited the Emmy nominations expecting to see his name on the list, and every year these hopes have been shut down.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Given season five was also the final chapter, that means there\u2019s no hope of him making the cut for Homelander<\/a>. None. Nada.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For all of the fifth season\u2019s faults, Starr never let us down. I\u2019d go as far as to say he\u2019s among the best TV villains of all time, and that\u2019s all thanks to the actor\u2019s nuanced, bone-chilling performance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And Homelander isn\u2019t an easy villain to get right. Despite being an excellent character in the original The Boys comics<\/a>, translating that to the small screen could easily have tipped over to the cartoonish side.<\/span><\/p>\n

But Starr made it look easy, perfectly balancing Homelander\u2019s all-American hero persona with the narcissistic, deeply insecure monster lurking beneath. His micro-expressions and facial work are unmatched.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He delivered humour and horror in equal measure – hell, he deserves an award just for the sheer amount of milk he had to drink throughout his time on the show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Homelander
Credit: Prime Video<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So why, Emmys, is he still not getting recognition? To me, it highlights an ongoing issue when it comes to the awards season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Antony Starr\u2019s Emmys snubs highlight the issue with genre bias<\/h2>\n

The Emmys have never seemed entirely sure what to do with genre television. Hell, they’re still insisting The Bear is a comedy despite the fact that none of us were laughing (we were sobbing).<\/span><\/p>\n

Starr\u2019s snub might be the most glaring example, but genre bias isn\u2019t just a problem exclusive to the Emmys. Sci-fi, fantasy, horror<\/a> and, in this case, superhero content are often overlooked at awards ceremonies in favour of prestige titles.<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s not as though the Academy refuses to recognise genre TV altogether. Performances in shows like The Penguin, The Last of Us<\/a> and Severance have broken through in recent years. But they’re often titles that fit the mould of what awards bodies consider to be prestige TV.<\/span><\/p>\n

Performances like Starr\u2019s are still dismissed as comic book roles, despite demanding the same (often more) emotional range and complexity as any awards darling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If Homelander was in a gritty HBO drama instead of a satirical superhero series, I find it hard to believe we’d still be having this conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n