Comedy Writers Conspired to Stop ‘The Bear’ From Winning Another Best Comedy Emmy
It isn’t just sitcom fans at Cracked who shake their fists at the heavens and shout “The Bear isn’t a comedy!” every time the FX show sweeps another round of Golden Globes or Emmy Awards. According to “multiple writers on various comedy series” who spoke to Vulture, the industry’s joke-writing pros decided enough was enough when it came to honoring dramatic shows just because they were nominated in the comedy category.
The breaking point for comedy writers might have been when 30 Rock’s record of 22. “30 Rock is held in such high regard,” one sitcom writer told Vulture. “So much work goes into making jokes, and 30 Rock was a joke machine. So when you see a show that doesn’t even actively try to be funny, it’s a bit insulting.”
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Another Emmy-winning writer agreed: “The feeling of The Bear winning these comedy awards and not really being a comedy is something a lot of people acknowledge and joke about.”
Count the writers of Abbott Elementary among those throwing shade from the sidelines last summer. “Proud of Abbott Elementary for all of its Emmy nominations this year, especially Outstanding Comedy series as we are definitely a program where the majority of the running time of at least 6 episodes are primarily comedic, as defined by the TV Academy,” tweeted Joya McRory, a writer on the series.
The trend of recognizing dramas as Best Comedy Series, primarily because they’re 30 minutes long instead of 60, has been going on for years, according to The Guardian. “Almost a decade ago, Transparent was winning comedy Emmys all over the place, even though you couldn’t locate a single joke in the entire thing if you went searching with some tweezers and a magnifying glass.”
Comedy writers, who’ve seen jobs dwindle as networks produce fewer and fewer sitcoms, used last year’s Emmys to make a statement. “I heard that the showrunner of one of the nominated shows told their writers’ room to vote for Hacks because they wanted a funny comedy to win,” said a writer for a competing series. “They felt that Hacks had a better chance than they did to send a message to the industry and to feel that comedy was still something that mattered.”
“I’m fucking voting for Hacks!” said another 20-year TV veteran. “Is Hacks the perfect show? No. Will Hacks stand the test of time like Veep or some of these other shows you name? Probably not. But in this moment, we want to embrace comedy, and we want comedy to be rewarded.”
While The Bear continued to dominate last year’s comedy acting categories at the Emmys, the whisper campaign among comedy writers paid off. Despite the record number of nominations for The Bear, the Best Comedy Series winner was Hacks, a show that understands something about how hard it is to write jokes for TV these days.
“Comedy is so important to us,” said one of the show's creators, Lucia Aniello, while accepting the Emmy for an actual funny show. “ comedy! your local comedian!”
