Why is 'The Bear' considered a comedy show at the Emmy Awards?
With the 2025 Emmy Awards airing on Sunday, many television shows are being talked about and rewatched as people prepare for the big night.
“The Bear” has been widely discussed recently because, while it has little to no comedic elements, it is in the comedy category at the Emmys.
Why?
Simply put, “The Bear” is labeled as a comedy at the Emmys simply because it can be. The Emmys and Television Academy have no rules about how shows are chosen and placed into each category.
In fact, the Television Academy does not even pick which categories they believe each television show should compete in. Instead, the network picks the category for each show.
In the case of “The Bear,” FX decided they wanted to submit it to the comedy category, and since there are no rules against it, it will be considered a comedy.
FX could have decided to put “The Bear” in a comedy category for a few reasons.
The first reason is that comedy categories are often less competitive than the drama categories when it comes to Emmy Awards. When FX first nominated “The Bear,” if it were in the drama category, it would have been up against “Succession” in its final season. Knowing that “Succession” would potentially sweep, the network gave “The Bear” a better chance in the comedy category.
The second reason pertains to the 2024 Emmy Awards. In 2024, FX also nominated its show, “Shōgun,” for the Emmys' drama category. If “The Bear” was also in the drama category, it would be competing with another FX show. To maximize the network's hopeful wins, FX can put both shows in separate categories.