Is a TV series really a comedy if you cry at the end of almost every episode?
Not the “I laughed so hard, I cried” tears either, but sincere crying at the emotional anguish unfolding before your eyes.
Does the answer even matter?
For Emmy voters who filled out their ballots last year (for a ceremony that, thanks to actors' and writers' strikes, was delayed until January), the answer was a resounding “no.” FX's “The Bear” swept the Emmys in its inaugural season, winning 10 awards, including comedy series, writing and directing, and honors for actors Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bacharach.
This for a show that puts its characters in such stressful situations that one of the most common searches related to it is: “Should I watch 'The Bear' if I have anxiety?” (Short answer: Yes, chef!)
Jeremy Allen White plays Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto in the harrowing film “The Bear.”
(Hulu)
The day after the ceremony, my inbox was flooded with emails from readers asking a variation of the same question: How the hell is “The Bear” a comedy series?
The explanation, according to the Television Academy, can be boiled down to this: “The Bear” is a comedy because its creator, Christopher Storer, says it is.
“It's being marketed as a comedy, it's been recognized by other awards shows as a comedy, so we allowed it into comedy,” Television Academy president and CEO Maury McIntyre tells me. “Now, if it had been a dark murder mystery and someone wanted to call it a comedy, but it was marketed as a dark murder mystery, we would review it. But we stick to this idea of intention on the part of the creator. And Christopher Storer says he's making a comedy.”
This seems strange to many people, especially anyone who remembers the emotionally draining episode from season two in which the family gathers for Thanksgiving dinner, which begins with Mikey, the brother whose suicide set the story in motion. from the show, reminding her sister Natalie not to ask Mom. if she is fine. And then we spend the next hour learning that Mom, played by Jamie Lee Curtis in a role that will likely earn her an Emmy along with that recent Oscar, is decidedly not well and, in fact, is on the verge of a mental breakdown. . The episode ends (spoiler alert) with Mom driving her car through a wall and into the living room.
So, yes, there will once again be a bit of a disconnect if the second season of “The Bear,” which was even more intense and grueling than the first, advances through the Emmy comedy categories.
But then what might be an anxiety-inducing pressure cooker for you might be a laugh-out-loud laugh for someone who views “The Sopranos” essentially as a dark comedy. Come to think of it, as heartbreaking as it often was, “Succession” might have been the funniest series of this decade, although it logically took the drama spot at the Emmys. Speaking of which: Rival awards consultants complain that the only reason “The Bear” became a comedy last year was to avoid having to compete against “Succession” in its final season.
“'The Bear' is a very good show and no one broke any rules,” says one activist, who is not authorized to speak on the record. “But I think they were just looking at the landscape and picking the place where they thought they could win.”
Hiroyuki Sanada has reportedly signed on to continue his role as Yoshii Toranaga.
(Colin Bentley/FX)
Which brings us to the curious case of “Shōgun,” FX’s 10-episode adaptation of James Clavell’s 1975 historical novel about a fictional 17th-century Japanese leader, the cunning and revered Lord Yoshii Toranaga. The show's final episode ended, as Justin Marks, who created the series with Rachel Kondo, told the Direct in February, “exactly where the book ends.” Marks added: “I think we told the full story of the book.”
That full stop at the end of the show made it logical to assume that “Shōgun” would compete as a limited series, as would the 1980 television adaptation of Clavell's book starring Richard Chamberlain. This week, the Gotham Film & Media Institute announced its nominees for the inaugural Gotham TV Awards, placing “Shōgun” in a limited series alongside “Baby Reindeer,” “Ripley,” “The Sympathizer” and “Under the Bridge”.
However, it appears that “Shōgun” will compete at the Emmys in the drama categories, although FX has not yet officially renewed the series for a second season. Deadline reported on Friday that Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Toranaga, had closed a deal to return. That would suggest that, among other things, the show will continue to follow Toranaga as he becomes shogun. But for now, that's all we know. And since the first season of “Shōgun” took about five years to make, we may not have any details anytime soon.
That's not the only mystery related to the show. A week after the Emmy submission deadline, we still have no confirmation on where “Shōgun” will compete at this year's ceremony. Both FX and the Television Academy declined to comment. But outside sources believe it's “very clear” that “Shōgun” is getting dramatic.
From a competitive point of view, the decision makes sense. Thanks to production delays caused by last year's strikes, as well as the end of perennial Emmy nominees like “Succession” and “Better Call Saul,” this year's list of contending drama series is slim, “The Crown” being the only nominee. from last season is still eligible.
Meanwhile, limited series feature the Netflix hit “Baby Reindeer,” the popular new season of “True Detective,” and lavish productions like “Masters of the Air” and “Ripley.” FX also has “Fargo” and “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans” by Ryan Murphy in the category. For the network, moving “Shōgun” would give the shows and their ensembles a break. Murphy's long relationship with FX (“Pose,” “American Crime Story” and “American Horror Story”) could also be a motivating factor.
“He's put a lot of pressure on them to push 'Shōgun' over the edge,” says a source with knowledge of the situation.
But again, we have no official confirmation about the Emmy category. As far as we know, FX presented “Shōgun” as a comedy based on the epic, hilarious and profane speeches of Cosmo Jarvis as John Blackthorne and the raucous performance of Tadanobu Asano's Yabushige. (Probably not.)
The distinctions are increasingly difficult to parse, as anyone who has watched all four seasons of Bill Hader's Emmy-nominated comedy series “Barry” unfold into grim desperation.
“It's a comedy because it's 30 minutes long,” Hader told The Times a couple of years ago, discussing its placement in the “Barry” category. “I always just say I'm making a story. Because I don't find it any darker than the news, you know?
And the way things are going on that front, the Emmys would have to add another category to keep up: horror.
