The Bear swept the comedy categories at Monday night’s 75th Primetime Emmy Awards with six wins, including Best Comedy Series.
But while the show has its fair share of laughs, is it actually a comedy? Online chatter this awards season argues otherwise, suggesting it should have competed in the drama category given its often dramatic and anxiety-inducing tone. However, the cast and crew would beg to differ.
When asked by reporters if they would consider the show a comedy backstage after the show’s final win of the night, star Jeremy Allen White exclaimed: “Yes!”
Added executive producer Josh Senior: “I think the show is true to life. Sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes it’s real. What we try to do is tell a real story.”
Senior explained that, because episodes of The Bear are roughly a half-hour long, the series was eligible for the category. But that is not the only reason they feel the show should be competing as a comedy.
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“What we want to do is tell the truth and make people feel things. If they’re laughing or crying…we can’t control what happens after that,” he said.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who won Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series earlier in the night for his performance, argued that “these ideas about comedy and drama are a little bit outdated.”
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“We’re all just trying to reflect the mess of being human, which is deeply hilarious and we’re all suffering,” he suggested.
Asked to discuss some of their favorite comedic moments from the series, Moss-Bachrach and co-star Ayo Edebiri pointed to a Season 1 episode when The Beef receives a C grade from the Chicago health department as an example of a moment that can toe the line between funny and dramatic.
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“Those are serious circumstances. That’s full drama,” Moss-Bachrach mused. “But I think when you play things for keeps and the circumstances are kind of wild about getting a C…nobody wants to take ownership of that C…it becomes pretty funny.”
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