The Bear is stressful. Anyone who's watched the series can attest to this.
Though as it's gone on we've seen the emotional character development of Carmy, Tina, Sydney and the rest of the gang in great detail, with the show often making for challenging watching because of the deeply uncomfortable and psychologically intense themes it grapples with.
At the Emmys 2024 The Bear picked up a cool 11 awards, with the FX show setting a new record for the most nominations in a single year in the comedy category with an eye-watering 23 nominations. The record was previously held by 30 Rock with 22 nominations back in 2009.
Following the story of Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), the series explores the many struggles and difficult dynamics that come with trying to take over and reimagine his family's restaurant.
So if you, like many, were wondering why The Bear is in the comedy category at the Emmys when it can feel incredibly tense and drama-like at times, then you're not alone. And technically, the show is typically thought of as a comedy-drama, so no, you're not going crazy.
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Through their opening monologue, Emmys hosts Dan and Eugene Levy bantered about the longstanding debate over whether the series is a comedy or not.
“I love the show and I know some of us might be expecting us to make a joke about whether The Bear is really a comedy but in the true spirit of The Bear, we will not be making any jokes,” Eugene Levy said as Ayo Edebiri laughed along.
Why is The Bear a comedy at the Emmys 2024?
In short, The Bear is deemed a comedy because that's what the show's producers define it as, with The Television Academy of Arts and Sciences not actually responsible for setting definitions for what constitutes as a comedy in the category.
Often thought of as a comedy-drama, ultimately what makes a show a comedy is entirely subjective and clearly there's no rule that defines what is and isn't based on how many jokes there are in a series.
The Bear definitely isn't the first show to deviate from the well worn path of what constitutes a quintessential comedy, and it won't be the last. That's what makes us love it all the more.
