Why The Boys season 3 isn't eligible for Emmy nominations this year
Many of the blockbuster genre shows that came out this summer won't receive a lot of Emmys love. That includes The Boys.
Despite high ratings and critical reception, the R-rated superhero satire, which garnered a surprise Best Drama Series nod last year for season 2, isn't eligible this year for the Emmys.
Networks and streamers had from June 1, 2021-May 31, 2022 to premiere any of the shows it would want the Television Academy to consider for the 2022 Emmys. Season 3 of The Boys premiered on Amazon's Prime Video platform June 3, three days after the window cut-off; the show, however, can submit for the 2023 Emmys. (The animated series The Boys Presents: Diabolical — which debuted in March — is eligible in that category this year.)
Even if The Boys had debuted a week earlier, the streamer would've had to provide every season 3 episode to Academy members because of the Hanging Episode Rule; it states that a series with episodes that premiered before the start of nomination voting but still had episodes left in the season after the May 31 deadline could still be considered for Emmys as long as the network or streamer makes those episodes accessible to Academy voters by May 31. But that won't even be an issue in the future because the Hanging Episode Rule will be discontinued starting with the 2023 Emmys.
Amazon Studios 'The Boys' star Antony Starr doing what he does best as Homelander.
The COVID-19 pandemic didn't do The Boys any favors in its attempt to meet this year's eligibility window. The Toronto-based production was forced to adopt various (and pricey) safety protocols that extended its season 3 filming time in 2021. The shoot ran from the end of February that year through September. That's seven months compared to the season 2 shoot, which lasted from mid-July 2019 to the end of October.
The Boys isn't the only series that faced that strict premiere-date deadline for Emmy consideration: Westworld season 4 premiered June 26 on HBO; Stranger Things 4 split up the season and premiered Volume 2 on Netflix July 1; and Obi-Wan Kenobi ran on Disney+ from May 27-June 22.
The Boys, with its provocative stunts and poignant social commentary, received five Emmy nominations in 2021 for its second season which premiered Sept. 4, 2020 on Prime Video. Amazon went all out for that awards campaign, including wild billboards, like the one of Homelander (Antony Starr) blasting another billboard of Butcher (Karl Urban) with his laser vision; a Planet Vought event at the Hollywood Palladium; and an ice cream truck that drove on a route that looked like a middle finger when viewed on Google Maps.
When he found out about the Outstanding Drama Series nod, showrunner Eric Kripke told EW, "They voted for exploding whales and 10-foot penises and exploding heads. Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful. But what are the Emmy voters thinking?"
The show has since been renewed for season 4 and will start filming again this August.
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