The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards were last week and many fantastic shows brought home awards for excellence in show making. ShĹŤgun swept the drama category, winning a record 18 Emmy Awards in its first season. British Netflix hit Baby Reindeer also had an incredible awards season, winning four Emmys in the limited series category.
What do each of these shows have in common? They won in their rightful categories. Unlike the prior, one series has recently been causing controversy at award shows for being in the wrong category and unfairly bringing home awards.
Hulu and FX’s The Bear was a smash hit with the premiere of its first season in 2022, not just with fans but with award shows. The show’s first Emmy Awards appearance was at the 2023 Emmy Awards for its second season, taking home 10 Emmy Awards in the comedy category. Some of these included Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor, Outstanding Supporting Actress, Outstanding Supporting Actor, and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.Â
The Bear’s 2024 Emmy Awards saw the show break the record for most nominations for a comedy series with 23 nominations, a standard previously set by 30 Rock in 2009 with 22 nominations. The series took home 11 Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, adding its total to 36 nominations and 21 wins.
There is no question that The Bear has dominated the comedy section for the last few years, but many believe that’s because it’s a drama series rather than a true comedy, and I agree with them.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I think that The Bear is fantastic and deserves to win awards because the writing, directing, and acting are incredible, but it really shouldn’t be bringing home awards from the comedy section. Each episode of the show is fast-paced and includes lots of intense scenes and dark themes that leave my heart beating throughout the entire runtime. There is a comedic element, but it’s carried by just a couple of characters either yelling or poking fun at each other.
A comedy series should be comedic and less serious, and while darker themes can certainly be included, they should not be the main plotline. A great example of this is Apple TV’s Ted Lasso. The series focuses on a goofy American football coach who gets selected to coach a Premiere League soccer team in England, who is inevitably making constant comedic mistakes and errors due to his lack of knowledge about the sport. The show does deal with heavy themes, though, such as mental health, divorce, and failure, but in no way does it overshadow the comedy of the series. I will also die on the hill that The Bear totally robbed Ted Lasso at the 2023 Emmys for its last season!
The Bear doesn’t accomplish this balance, however, with the characters in this overly dysfunctional restaurant in Chicago having their issues with grief, performance anxiety, and relationships up front and center. The characters Richie and Fak carry the comedy, often walking into tense scenes and cracking a joke, but it often feels out of place with the main plot. Comedian John Mulaney makes an appearance as a guest star in a few episodes, and comedic actor John Cena appears in an episode of the third season, but both fail to create a comedic element that can see past the drama in the rest of the episodes.
The process of being nominated for an Emmy Award is long and complicated, but it starts with the producers of a show submitting a nomination request for the series in a category. This means that the producers of a show are choosing what category they want the show to appear in, which is why television fans are arguing that The Bear is in the wrong category and unfairly taking awards from true comedy series.
Many believe that the producers are purposefully submitting the show to comedy categories because it is more likely to win awards there than in the drama category. The Bear stands out in the comedy section with its exploration of dark themes, and especially with the intense performances.
Aside from winning awards for the series, its lead actor, Jeremy Allen White, and supporting actor, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, have both won two Emmy Awards for their performances. Additionally, supporting actresses Ayo Edebiri and Liza ColĂłn-Zayas have each won one Emmy Award for theirs. While these performances are fantastic, they are very different and intense compared to most comedy performances, giving them what many believe to be an unfair advantage to their fellow nominees.
What I don’t understand is why the show isn’t just placed in the drama category because plenty of drama shows have comedic elements to them while staying true to the purpose of the plot. Emmy Award-winning drama series such as Succession and Lost take moments to tell jokes and have a comedic sequence or two, just like the way The Bear is written, so why can’t this series follow the same format?
I’ll be completely honest: I didn’t even finish season three of The Bear because I found it so negative and stressful. Like, if I don’t laugh at all during an episode of a comedy, is it really a comedy? I’m a college student, I have enough stress in my day-to-day life, and I don’t need it from the TV show I’m watching, especially one that is trying to call itself a comedy.
For now, I’ll stick to true comedies like New Girl and Only Murders in the Building and hope that the Emmy Awards can check their categories for the 2025 awards when The Bear inevitably comes back with a fourth season.
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