‘The Bear’ Took Home Comedy Awards at the 2024 Emmys, but Is It Even a Comedy?

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Despite being one of the most Emmy Award–winning shows in history, The Bear can’t escape a bit of controversy. Since the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards in January, when the lauded FX restaurant series swept the night with 10 wins, there has been loud internet chatter about whether or not The Bear is properly categorized as a comedy series.

In comparison to the other series it’s often nominated alongside—including Hacks, Abbott Elementary, and Only Murders in the Building—The Bear does often come off as the more understated and more serious outlier. And at the 76th Primetime Emmys this week, the show continued to rack up wins, including Jeremy Allen White’s second for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s second for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, and Liza Colón-Zayas’s history-making win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. If you were to ask us, we’d firmly call the series a “dramedy,” but we don’t think the Television Academy is quite ready to branch out in that direction just yet.

Ebon and costar Ayo Edebiri (who was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, a category she won last year) considered the “is it or isn’t it” question during an interview after arriving at the Emmys.

“I mean, I think, I don’t really say anything [in regards to the discourse],” Ayo told Variety on the red carpet. “I think those are conversations for other people to have, and our conversation is in the work.…I think people laugh!…I think it is an important conversation to have, but I think [the show is funny and the work is good] and we’re celebrating a lot of really amazing shows, so I’m not really interested in discourse that’s insulting to anyone, really.”

Ebon also weighed in, saying, “Comedy, drama—who cares, man?” Well, TV-obsessed aficionados on X (formerly known as Twitter) seem to. Take a look at some of the more passionate responses to the categorization drama below.

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