The Bear Just Broke An Emmys Record... But Fans Have 1 Issue With That
Is the "comedy" in the kitchen with us now?
The Bear cleaned up during the 2023 awards season, and now it looks like it’s coming back for seconds this year. In fact, FX’s culinary hit has an even bigger appetite for trophies this time around, breaking the record for the most Emmy nominations in a single year for a comedy series. With a whopping 23 nominations, The Bear is making history at the 2024 Emmys — but its big moment has reignited a critical discussion about the show’s genre that’s been plaguing it from the very start.
Yes, it’s a question fans have gone back and forth on for two years now: Is The Bear a comedy? Every major awards body certainly thinks so. It’s been nominated in the comedy category at the Emmys, the Golden Globes, and the Critics’ Choice Awards. Presumably, this categorization is a result of its half-hour episodic structure and its first season leaning more comedic than previous ones. But in Seasons 2 and 3, the laughs are notably far and few between, as the series has clearly become more focused on exploring the dark and traumatic inner demons of its main characters.
On July 17, the show’s second season received a record-breaking 23 Emmys nominations, earning it the honor of being the most Emmy-nominated season of any comedy. You’d think such a distinction would mean the show much be a laugh riot, right? Well, actually the episode that received the most recognition was Season 2, Episode 6, “Fishes” — a harrowing flashback that emphasized how Carmy’s volatile mother exasperated his debilitating anxiety issues. Not exactly a giggle-fest.
To make that matter even more glaring, The Bear beat out 30 Rock to claim this new comedy Emmys record. Tina Fey’s joke-a-minute sitcom had previously held the record for most comedy Emmy nominations in a single season since 2009. While The Bear is ambiguously a comedy at best, there’s no arguing what genre 30 Rock fell into at all.
This discourse about The Bear’s comedy categorization has been going on since it premiered, and it looks like it’s going to last for many more awards seasons to come.
