As expected, The Bear absolutely dominated the Emmy nominations. Actually, it dominated so hard that it broke a record for most nominations for a comedy. Obviously, it’s also probably going to win a lot of those awards too. While I love this FX dramedy as much as the next person, I think it’s a major issue that it’s probably going to win everything.
The Bear Received A Record-Breaking Number Of Nominations For The 2024 Emmys
Coming off the heels of a successful Season 3 premiere on the 2024 TV schedule, Season 2 of The Bear received a record 23 nominations for the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards. Here are a few of the show’s notable nominations:
- Best Comedy Series
- Lead Actor In A Comedy Series for Jeremy Allen White
- Lead Actress In A Comedy Series for Ayo Edebiri
- Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Liza Colón-Zayas
- Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Lionel Boyce and Ebon Moss-Bacrach
It also received nods for its production design, casting, cinematography, costumes, directing and guest stars (who include Olivia Colman, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jon Bernthal, Bob Odenkirk and Will Poulter).
I’m sure many remember that The Bear absolutely devoured awards season last year. Jeremy Allen White took home award after award for playing Carmy, and his co-stars, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, both won Emmys, and numerous other trophies for their performances. Along with that, the show as a whole won over and over again.
Now, even more of The Bear cast and creatives are nominated, and it’s looking like it could completely sweep the comedy categories this year.
I Desperately Do Not Want The Bear To Win Everything
Let me start by saying this: This problem is not The Bear’s fault and I’m not mad about it because I don’t like the show. In fact, I love the show. However, I think the Emmys have an issue of always awarding the same series over and over and over again. We’ve seen it happen in the drama category recently as Succession made it so it felt like no other shows got a spotlight on them. And I fear this is going to happen to the comedy categories now.
→ The Bear, Abbott Elementary, Only Murder In The Building and Reservation Dogs are all available with a Hulu subscription.
→ To stream Hacks, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Succession all you need is a Max subscription.
→ Palm Royale is available with an Apple TV+ subscription.
The Bear is great and award-worthy. However, the shows it's nominated with – Abbott Elementary, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Hacks, Only Murders in the Building, Palm Royale and Reservation Dogs in the overall comedy category, among others in various acting and other categories – are also fantastic!
The Emmys really need to share the wealth here, and it can’t do that by giving The Bear everything.
When I look back on my favorite performances of the year, I’m more inclined to note Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder’s dynamic, emotional and funny performances in Hacks or the cast of Abbott Elementary’s brilliant work over some of the nominated performances in The Bear. Both shows were firing on all cylinders this season, and their ensembles hit a new level of fantastic. Plus, shows that have never won Emmys in the big tentpole categories, like Only Murders in the Building and Reservation Dogs, served up excellent new seasons that were incredibly smart and award-worthy.
I’m a big believer that talents like Einbinder, Quinta Brunson, Tyler James Williams, Selena Gomez, Steven Martin, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and more deserve just as much love as The Bear.
It’s no fun to give one show all the awards. As a viewer, it gets repetitive and boring, and I find that it also makes it so fewer series get the attention they deserve.
Obviously, I’d love to see the FX/Hulu dramedy take home a few trophies. However, I think it’s important that more brilliant shows get recognized than just the one. So, Emmy voters, if you are reading this, when you are filling out your ballots consider all the nominees, and maybe show multiple love rather than just one, because they are all brilliant.
