Get the latest gossip

‘The Bear’ Tackles Serious Themes About Alcoholism, Anxiety and Suicide — And It’s a Comedy?


Is "The Bear" really a comedy? It's still the Emmy frontrunner for comedy series and could break the record.

However, at the dawn of the streaming era, the multi-pronged so-called dramedy began creeping up in the awards circle with titles such as Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black” — which famously changed from comedy to drama — and Amazon Prime Video’s “Transparent.” As of late, the category has taken a more serious turn. When you look at the guest acting lineup, one that’s sure to be inundated with multiple actors from “The Bear” — Bernthal, Jamie Lee Curtis, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson and Mulaney — standing next to the comedic antics of “Saturday Night Live” hosts Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Ryan Gosling, the list doesn’t necessarily depict the same genre synergy. For example, “Golden Girls” tackled grief, aging, homelessness, antisemitism and more; “Taxi” covered drug addiction, nuclear war and animal abuse; “Designing Women” had an episode about AIDS that was nominated for an Emmy for outstanding writing in a comedy series.

Get the Android app

Or read this on Variety