Many people will tell you that The Bear is one of the most stressful shows they’ve ever seen. Chefs have said the show can be triggering to watch, due to its painfully realistic depictions of their industry. Some of the main plotlines of the show revolve around tragedy. All of this is true. But yes, The Bear really is a comedy.
One of the most popular episodes of The Bear is “Review,” Episode 7 of Season 1. The episode depends on tension. As the ticket machine rattles on and on, the cast are thrown into an wild and unthinkable situation: being forced to make an impossible number of to go orders in a ridiculously short amount of time. As Sydney’s knife stabs Richie, or Carmy yells yet another expletive, the situation feels like a comedy of errors—one with a fast pace, high energy, and tight comedic timing.
An episode like “Fishes” in Season 2 or “Doors” in Season 3 tells a similar story—one of exaggerated arguments, over-the-top stakes, and tense energy, meant to act as a parody of the restaurant industry, of family difficulties, and of life. In “Fishes,” this might be the shock of Carmy’s mother driving the car through the house, or the time when Mikey finally does throw the final fork. In “Doors,” it might be the montage of shattered plates, dropped dishes, and frustrated oubursts.
Some of the best episodes of The Bear will have you on the edge of your seat, holding your breath. But the tension is adrenaline-inducing, not heavy and depressing. These episodes are also often insightful, functioning as satire. (In Season 3, Episode 1, “Tomorrow,” everyone had something to say about Carmy’s non-negotiables. The whole moment feels like a commentary on the stereotypical impossible-to-please boss.)
But The Bear isn’t just full of friction and snark. In fact, it also becomes a comedy through its discussions of trauma. One of my personal favorite moments in The Bear is an exchange in “Dogs” (Season 1, Episode 4) where a man asks Carmy, “Carmen, is that you? I thought you’d killed yourself.” Carmy then calmly replies, “No sir, that was my brother.” It is these types of awkward, clunky, uncomfortable interactions that make up a large part of the grieving process, in real life.
In Season 2, Episode 9, “Omelette,” Sydney explains that she doesn’t know her late mom very well because “of the whole dead thing.” In Season 3, Episode 5, “Children,” she welcomes Marcus to the Dead Moms Club, in a bit where she mentions membership fees and monthly meetings in basements. It’s a refreshing, comedic take on the real ways people talk about grief.
The Bear consistently finds humor in horrible events. It explores serious themes, but in a surprising and open-minded way. More comedies should embrace the fact that humor can still be found in times of real strife. Depictions of trauma that allow for the messiness and humor to poke through are essential, because they reflect the real-world experience of grief more accurately. The absurdity of trauma, the irregularity of it, and the shock of it are sometimes best described through a laugh or a joke.
Last award season, The Bear won award after award: the Emmy for Best Comedy, the Golden Globe for Best Comedy, the SAG for Best Comedy, you get the point. Ayo Edebiri and Jeremy Allen White picked up multiple major wins for their acting in comedy, as well. But during that time—in addition to being praised for its strong writing, intimate exploration of found family, and sharp depictions of workplace toxicity—The Bear also received criticism for its category placement as a comedy. Some said the show was too dark in tone to truly be a comedy. Others still said that the show’s sitcom elements justified the category placement, or suggested that as long as the producers say The Bear is a comedy, then The Bear is a comedy.
The debate over what defines a drama or a comedy has been a long one. Prior to 2022, the TV Academy followed a simple formula for awards. A half-hour show is comedy, and an hour-long show is a drama. For obvious reasons, it was unpopular. Runtime tells us very little about a show’s content, and shows constantly deviated from that format—like Orange Is The New Black, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, or The White Lotus. But more than that, great art often blurs the lines between genres, like what is and isn’t comedy.
In truth, part of the reason The Bear shines is because it is willing to find the humor in the absurdity of being human, challenging limiting ideas about what can and can’t be comedy.
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