The Bear Bringing in Tears of Laughter or Sadness?

“It’s Orwellian”, Carmy says. “Dystopian butter?”, Uncle Jimmy barks back.

 This dialogue may not hit the audience who hasn’t experienced the third season of The Bear, which is streaming on Hulu. Sure, certain scenes bring out the comic element, quite necessary to filter in the humor in a series to lighten the mood around the characters and the story plot.

Each character has a funny side to themselves. From the character of Richie to stress-ball Carmen, they provide laughter but how is it possible to say that the entire series is a comedy show?

Credits: FX Networks

The rising debate about whether the series is a comedy show came in when the series was nominated for Comedy with 23 nominations, breaking the records.

The first season of The Bear did bag ten Primetime Emmy Awards for comedy series and acting, but how is the third season different from the first and second?

It is quite different from the previous ones because the third season slightly deviates and focuses on issues of other secondary characters along with the re-branding of The Beef, making each character a main character focus for the audience.

So, is The Bear a laughter pill?

Well, if viewed through a larger perspective, The Bear can’t be “just a comedy, family show, that will give you a good time”. It is a show that speaks about death, the trauma behind death and how to deal with a toxic environment, which is not a show that gives you a good time.

But for sure, there is comedy. The characters of The Faks, working in The Bear can be considered the main element that brings out laughter among the audience even though they annoy their colleagues, but the show isn’t doing it for the laughter purpose, the comic timing is present to define the character more.

Sydney uses humor to twist out her struggles and anxiety, same goes for the character of Richie. The Bear is a drama that portrays the fictional burnt-out restaurant trying to build itself from the shambles.

 It does comedy well, with perfect execution of witty, childish dialogues, Carmy’s cluelessness and the acting, it flutters laughs here and there, however, the underlying synopsis of the plot will always be of pain, trauma, family, and relationships.

How did the Emmy choose The Bear for a comedy?

Credits: Chrovies News

In the first season, it was Carmy who was always (still) on the verge of combusting with stress and trauma, whereas the other characters (Richie, The Faks and more) had a funnier side to the story plot, then in the second season, everyone found their purpose and in the third season, we have Carmy’s obsession over getting a star for the restaurant.

So where is the comedy? Well, according to the Emmys, the comedy series is defined by the distinction between a comedy series and a drama series with the criteria of having comedy elements for a comedy series or being dramatic for a drama series.

The Academy also points out that a series with half-hour episodes would be considered a comedy. Therefore, it can be ruled out that The Bear is considered a comedy because the episodes are around 30 minutes long.

Regarded as a “post-comedy”, The Bear is getting surfaced into the nomination of comedy, despite its potential for being a drama series. Either, the producers of the show can pull an Orange Is The New Black and resubmit for the drama for the third season or accept the nomination for comedy and celebrate.

Either way, the show has given its audience what they asked for.