Is The Bear REALLY A Comedy? | Emmy Reactions & Broadway Successes

[@hwood8001]

The Producers is a musical that is based on a movie about a musical, that got made into a musical, that became a movie musical about the making of a musical.

[@cuzx1]

Thanks for the show. I like it when you create chapters so I can go to the most interesting part.

[@chrisc_1012]

Nice to see Richard looking more animated this week

[@kevinsoutham]

Yeah I thought the same thing. He obviously a little tired and his guard has come down! For the first time I think we’ve seen the real Richard Osman and not the usual “be kind to everyone because I used to work with them and/or I might need something from them in the future” Richard 😂

[@johnpauldenton]

Just want to say while I love the fact and figures you always roll out… the Lion King has only made 8.2 Billion to date and GTA V has made 8.6 billion, beating it to the spot of highest grossing entertainment/art product of all time. Close but no cigar…

[@Melaisis]

Came to the Comments to post this!!! I think Richard might have been speaking to someone who works on musicals who overlooked GTA V 🤔

[@averyintelligence]

I was thinking surely GTA or COD must be the most financially successful piece of art. It makes logical sense for a game which has passive income to have more financial success than something which is not passive at all.

[@joepiekl]

It reminds me of Ricky Gervais at the Golden Globes: "Next, we're going to see a clip from the hilarious comedy The Martian."

[@kevinsoutham]

The Kominsky Method is my favourite example of a comedy show that isn’t laugh-a minute but by the end of each episode you give a little chortle of appreciation. Brilliant TV.

[@AllInTheGame01]

Just glad Slow Horses won something with Will Smith (no not that one) winning Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series as the show (much funnier than The Bear) seriously needs more love!

[@Ryanneey]

I immediately thought it couldn't be the same one because they're speaking so highly of him. 😅

[@macsmiffy2197]

I prefer watching plays to musicals, but as I don’t live anywhere near a theatre, thank goodness for The National Theatre’s plays filmed for cinema.

[@garethgriffiths1674]

They used to broadcast those worldwide.... But for some reason stopped doing it.

[@RussandLoz]

The public have long past caring about award results

[@thescowlingschnauzer]

Patiently waits for acknowledgment that Clueless is a reimagining of Emma by Jane Austen...

[@bobchr0]

This podcast is the one that I get most excited about.

[@andrew66862]

The craziest thing about The Bear is that Succession has a much better case to be made as a comedy. Succession was hilarious it could have beat The Bear in both categories

[@powertrip25]

arguable.

[@bobbyladd]

GTA5:The Musical would be massive 🤪

[@nixpuk75]

A comedy?

[@stevepanozzo3716]

Just listening to you guys talking about dialogue in TV programmes... the first time I seem to recall having a problem understanding what was being said on a British TV show was as soon as Chris Chibnall's version of Doctor Who began broadcasting in 2018. I'm an Australian viewer, very used to regional accents from the UK, but man... that avalanche of Sheffield accents started doing my head in! Add to that the completely inarticulate Tosin Cole, part of a new generation of actors for whom mumbling equates to "realism", whose lines were impenetrable. For the first (and sadly, not the last) time, I had to rewind frequently to try to figure out what was being said. This seems to be a new norm, sadly.

[@whatiwasgoingtosay]

Baby Reindeer had more laughs than The Bear.

[@sianwarwick633]

Gonna have to check this Baby Reindeer out

[@andybrice2711]

Here's my suggested leg-room compromise: Seats with more leg-room should be slightly lower down. Seats with less leg-room should be slightly higher up. That way, tall people are comfortable, and short people can still see.

[@GMitchell2012]

Learn grammar."Seats with less leg-room (ARE) should be slightly higher up".

[@caubecktube]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@GMitchell2012 Learn to place spaces after full stops. (…grammar. “Seats…)

[@andybrice2711]

@@GMitchell2012 Yeah yeah, alright. It was a typo.

[@andybrice2711]

@@Est-os9yc Though I’m not sure how it would work when people of different heights want to sit together.

[@seanfaherty]

Ok , I don’t care about your grammar, everyone makes mistakes. I will point out that lowering the seat height reduces leg room.

[@dannytoeman]

Anyone get the irony that ‘Doleman’, a parody of Soul Man, was co-written by Isaac Hayes, who’s Estate recently prevented use of Hold on I’m Coming

[@sianwarwick633]

'whose' not 'who is/who's'

[@tonkysue207]

Nothing will beat father Ted.💙uk

[@jeremymuir4332]

While I expect this has been going on for years, I do agree that shows like The Bear manipulating their eligibility criteria to gain a more prominent platform is just really sour human behaviour. The Bear is a drama. An absolutely excellent drama (I've not watched s3). It isn't comic and I can't remember laughing a single time. If it can't beat the likes of Succession in its true category.... so what? It will have been nominated which is the real approval stamp.

[@luciafidalgo296]

I loved Abbott Elementary! Great comedy. They should have won. The Bear is a drama.

[@sockwithaticket]

Suspect Marina's wrong about Wicked, it's got a very high budget at $145m and very few film musicals make a lot of money at the box office of late. The Mean Girls musical made a solid amount vs. its budget, $105m world wide box office vs. $17m budget, but that's not really loads of money in the modern film market and the key was keeping the budget so low. The recent West Side Story adap helmed by none other than Spielberg absolutely flopped. It took $76m, but they put $100m into making it. In The Heights took $45m, but cost $55m The Greatest Showman is the last truly big musical success I can think of off the top of my head - $462m take from an $84m budget. It's not dissimilar to horror films - make them cheap and you can turn a tidy if unspectacular profit, but balloon the budget and a loss is likely.

[@ticketyboo2456]

Sounds like Rachel Zegler is the ultimate kiss of death...

[@johansvensson833]

@@ticketyboo2456 move on snow white will make huge money her juliet and romeo on broadway is doing great

[@GMitchell2012]

What happened was Marina said something that they dubbed out with the sound of paper rustling so they have reuploaded it with said word or words covered by the news paper.

[@PaulHaigh072]

I think the only important thing about award shows these days are the red carpet looks: everything else is shallow and unimportant.

[@redmed10]

Cant believe these people think they are so cool posing about on the red carpet being asked the most inane question ever 'what are you wearing? '

[@redmed10]

No wonder broadway shows make a lot of money when they charge 150 dollars a ticket and thats probably the cheapest ticket. Meanwhile, Londoners could take solace from the fact that prices have yet to reach the heights seen on Broadway, where average seat prices are more than 60% more expensive than the West End. Some tickets for the revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along" went for an eye-watering $648 (£510).28 Jun 2024

[@bensalt1185]

The legroom bit is exactly why I don't often do theatre in London...its tiny! I am 6ft5 so always feel crammed in!

[@maureenscott2419]

I saw something rotten in NYC , one of the funniest productions I have ever seen , was desperate to see it in the UK

[@barbarahoad1450]

Please convince Bret and Jermaine to do F.O.T.C. the musical Richard. The songs are brilliant and the comedy sublime. ❤

[@nigeljames5622]

So you discuss the Emmie's and you talk about The Bear and Hacks and Baby Reindeer and completely blank what I think is the best show I have seen all year (so far) and that is Shogun. I am very happy that Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai won their awards and yes you can argue that one show gets automatic nominations in actor and actress as well but when you look at both these performances, I can't see anyone that beats them so they should absolutely be nominated

[@JorWat25]

I had heard that Will Smith had won an Emmy for Slow Horses, but it wasn't until you called him 'the nicest man' that I realized it's not the same Will Smith who slapped Chris Rock.

[@omegaman6494]

If only lol

[@daviebananas1735]

You thought THAT Will Smith was the main writer of Slow Horses??!

[@JorWat25]

@@daviebananas1735 I'd never heard of the show before. It seemed possible to me.

[@daviebananas1735]

@@JorWat25 Of course if you don’t know what the show is. It’s a hugely successful British spy show about MI5. Nobody who’s seen it would think that THAT Will Smith was the main writer. It’s absurd. Especially given how common the name is.

[@southsidejohnny5624]

He will always be the hapless Phil Smith in The Thick Of It to me. “I will rain down on you so hard, you’ll have to be reassembled by (expletive deleted) aircraft investigators”

[@MegaWelshpanda]

i remember when watching bear season 1 when it first came out, i watched it because disney + had labelled it as dark comedy, at no point did i think it was a dark comedy, i assumed disney + had made a mistake until i saw all the awards nominations.

[@siohmy]

I think “Born in the USA” must be the most unironically misplayed song of all time.

[@cwbrooks5329]

Agreed. American Woman is another good one. Allentown also deserves a shoutout.

[@MrGenedancingmachine]

I’ve lived longer through people giving “um ackchyually” on “born in the USA” than I have the people “misunderstanding” it. Let’s finally blow the whistle on it, everybody knows and no one fucking cares

[@MrGenedancingmachine]

I’ve lived longer through people correcting others on “born in the USA” than I have people misunderstanding. The job is well and truly done, ok?

[@martinjones3519]

Richard, at 5' 8" on a good day I can't feel your pain. Soz!

[@alansouthall8221]

thank goodness we have richard to arbitrate on what is funny

[@DSQueenie]

I was half way through watching this when it disappeared 😂

[@tonythesuperperson]

Hello again

[@timsplanet2]

Hi

[@TwoWrights]

Kevin Kline, an amazing dramatic actor, won his Oscar for A Fish Called Wanda. Everything, Everywhere, All At Once…clean sweep of the Oscars. Comedies and comedians can win Oscars, they’ve just got to be really good movies, and not have anything else nominated that pulls votes away. Oscars always fall to the most average middle of the road films because the Oscars voting system pushes votes to the middle of the road.

[@BenchRacerRC]

hands up who watched this EP before it got nuked and re-upped earlier today.

[@AlKohaiMusic]

I mean issue at heart is the Television Academy is pretty tangibly more concerned with platforming 'Prestige' shows, rather than accurately reflecting and celebrating the actual media that made up the landscape the categories are formed around. The big 4 arts awards at least in the US, though almost surely the UK as well, are so unapolgetically pretension they will almost exclusive award shows that reinforce the the narrative that this art form is important, impactful, and indicate the artistic 'merrit' of the Academy as a whole. So who win, shows that either have sociopolitical impact they can piggy back on, or cinematic stylized interpersonal dramas that just barely challenge their auiences comfort. Meanwhile comedy has a strong tradition of (rightfully) deconstucting and spotlighting absurdities that result from institutions like the academy right? Always Sunny in Philadelphia has never won an emmy, only been nominated for comedy stunt cordination/performance which again it never won. The longest running American Sitcom, whose writing is maybe not the highest laugh per minute, but is some of the hardest laugh per joke writing ive ever encountered. Should it have won at least once, upto personal opinion, but i think it never would nor will happen. Its generally episodic exploration of the adventures and consequences of unapologetically reprehensible morons who all are too self interested to ever better themselves, and all shot for less than i imagine the bear spends on catering. Despite the caliber of performance, writing, and passion oozing from that show, if the ATAS named it best comedy I'd say theyd perceive that as a devaluation of the artistic ideal the award embodies. Tldr: Award shows especially non-independant ones, care more about how their awards platform their brands than celebrating artists themselves. The err towards media that is more adult/cinematic/with robust nuanced narratives, so they are will never not be turn on by a single camera dramas starring deeply flawed but justifiably so characters. Especially over a genre that demands a dissonance between preconceptions society ingrains us with and the real world we inhabbit. Tldr 2: award shows are middle school popularity contests moderated by the schools administrators. Those adminitrators will always pick dramas unless left no other option. Both drama's and comedies are incredibly difficult to write at a high level, folks who claim one to be easy and the other hard work, weirdly enough tend to predominantly write the one they think is harder. In reality compelling stories are both simultaneously. Comedy without stakes or world to tangentially tether to approaches baby babbel. And dramas that happily crush you under their stakes without allowing comedic levity will end up dead as fast as their shows characters would since they somehow made it this far without the most inate rationalization/coping mechanic we have. Tldr 3: award shows turn all collaborative art forms into compeitions to the benefit of the producers of said award shows. It makes art worse, and given the studio money bleed industry wide a blank "award winning" blank it might very really be nessacary to green light new season/work. It sucks. If something you like wins "best" , neat, but if something you love neglects to be nominated, support it and share it as if it did. The creatives and audience are the actual foundation of determining cultural significance, not an 80 year old organization.

[@daviebananas1735]

You CANNOT make TLDR comments longer than the original verbose comment.

[@sianwarwick633]

Was all the publicity for The Bear, and Jeremy Allen White a way to get him to possibly win best Dramatic Actor, and for the show to be considered a drama ? Is that how it was presented or submitted. Good one for Eddy Grant. I hope he gets the money

[@debbiewright8452]

Price of the tickets!

[@christianstanding]

Well now I need to know, what are your top three films that should be made into a musical?

[@rwbb5757]

Marinas views on tennis are disgraceful and shall not be forgotten

[@PatDK]

Her views on many things…. How high class with your nose up your own ass do you have to be to say that nobody in a guy richie movie is actually possibly a person in real life

[@aaronachnid]

Leg room?! Surely Richard is in the front three VIP rows?

[@richardtickler8555]

He stands up for us tall people

[@redmed10]

The Bear just sounds like an elongated version of a gordan ramsay kitchen nightmares episode. I may have misnamed his show but couldn't be bothered looking it.

[@mauricecasey866]

Oh Dear, what happened?

[@DanAtkinson]

I'm only 6 foot tall and the stall seats at the theatre are ridiculously tight. I had to ask the lady next to me if she minded me spreading my legs!

[@aaronachnid]

I assume UFC fighters or boxers would have to pay for their walk-on music; why shouldn't it be the same for politicians?

[@dlutchner]

I believe you have fallen it the trap that FX Productions wanted when categarising The Bear as a comedy. i.e. The show is now being talked about and may then peak interest for people who have yet to watch it.

[@daviebananas1735]

Pique

[@GrahamA63]

Marina - sorry but your jacket looks so much like the armchairs my mum and dad had in the 70s - looking at it reminds me of the texture and smell of those chairs. Thanks?

[@PaulMcCaffreyfmac]

Who the hell's Winnie Holzman? I always thought the whole 'Wicked' thing was the ruination of a superb book of that name by Gregory Maguire. I'll be considerably less triggered if it's just a cheeky rip-off by someone else that has nothing to do with the original.

[@alladin_payne]

The latest season of The Bear I noticed had a few disruptive scenes with the Faks, the loudmouth cousins that didn't have anything to do with the main storylines. I really think that they were shoehorned in to try to validate the show as being comedic. Which may have worked if they were funny, but they weren't.

[@bianquita1]

Those scenes infuriated me. Who even talks like that? And why are they around?

[@ThedudeabidesDood-l5n]

I would argue that awards nights are pointless......

[@user-ic4vo2zc6f]

Covering the current state of Broadway and no mention of Scott Rudin? Surprised at that.

[@gavmungus824]

Richard! Put your arm down! LOL

[@MrArthurdog]

The Bear is put in the comedy section because it's only 30 minutes long and doesn't classify as a drama

[@cybergornstartrooper2157]

very confused - How did a British guy not only get a show but then get so many awards. I’ve always thought British and American comedy are completely different.

[@susansmith7920]

I agree the Bear is NOT a comedy

[@charlottelanvin7095]

You can't compare John Oliver with ant & Dec!

[@thekaratekidpartii2169]

I don't believe that the Lion King the Musical has made more money than any other piece of art in the history of art-although, it is possibly the easiest to quantify having a worldwide gross of around 8.2 billion dollars. However, it is reported that around 80% of people who visit the Louvre specifically go to see the Mona Lisa. The Mona Lisa has been displayed at the Louvre since 1804. The Louvre was free until 1922. The Louvre (today) makes around 500 million dollars a year. That means the Mona Lisa has made a potential 40 billion dollars-taking inflation into account. Also, I realise this is a show about entertainment, but what's wrong with "only talking about the art"? I mean, should we really be celebrating the fact that Mrs Doubtfire is more widely recognised than Hamlet? "A fool is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing" - Oscar Wilde

[@daviebananas1735]

You’ve obviously a never seen this show. They often talk about how they only rate things which are universally popular. It’s artless commentary for artless people.

[@dv3982]

3:00 I think GTA5 might just beat that although surprisingly close

[@mindhost]

Came here to say that, 8,5 billion for GTA5, vs 8,2 billion for the Lion King musical (according to google)

[@dv3982]

@@mindhost turns out I’m kicking myself for not thinking of Fortnight- that’s got both of them beat combined 😂

[@josephmccann8523]

I think it's the idea of being a base product. The Lion King has done that off ticket sales alone as far as I know but the others have been bolstered by microtransactions.

[@powertrip25]

The Bear is Hilarious.....i dont know what anyone is on about.

[@arleequinn5524]

Published 11 mins ago and I’m wondering what happened??

[@LovelyCox]

Forgive me y I’m wrong. I thought o or classification of comedy/drama Emmy awards was due to length of episode

[@jeffparker1617]

It was from 2015-2021, now the technical rule is that at least 6 episodes from the season under consideration have to primarily be comedic material - but obviously the Bear wasn't, and they didn't rule it ineligible, so maybe it's a guideline.

[@Jonathan_Corwin]

So how much of an overpriced musical ticket goes to the writers if they are making 6 figures a week?

[@maxine2798]

A LOT of tickets around the world. Good work if you can get it

[@thescowlingschnauzer]

Congratulations to Will Smith (not that Will Smith)!

[@AC-sd6fo]

What have you stopped putting segments on the timer of the video? Not watching all this

[@pelman5483]

Tim Rice is a pauper compared with LLoyd Webber. Well, not literally!

[@polarbear128]

What happened??

[@crimsonoakshadow6118]

thumbnail used to say the bear was stealing awards - no quote

[@alangreenway6695]

The problem with any awards show is there’s an element of the industry wanting to push certain things they want you to consume, not what the audience actually likes. There is definitely an intellectual or class snobbery that wants deep and meaningful art to win, and not the accessible stuff that has an easy entry level without the need for a college degree and an understanding of high society. Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, BAFTAs- none of them are for the audience except they expect people to watch the ceremony.

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

A comedy without any laughs - see 'Hippies.'

[@andymartin6471]

Both The Bear and Hacks are considered comedy dramas, I've only seen The Bear, and it is funny, just stop the snobbery.

[@themanofsand1]

I have attempted several times now to listen all the way through a TRIE broadcast ... I have to ask, is it just because I have a Canadian ear and am not used to the UK accents, but does Marina speak extraordinarily fast?

[@Ryanneey]

Fellow Canadian here, and I never noticed that before. Now, it's probably all I will be able to focus on 😅

[@sianwarwick633]

Bit of clickbait since everyone knows The Bear is an angst-fest

[@ShuntedMate]

Theatre union rep here: west end producers love not publishing their profits because they can pretend they’ve not recovered from COVID, even though we can see they have.

[@krisinsaigon]

a comedy is a story where everything at the beginning is out of place but by the end everything has been put in its right place and the natural order has been restored, as opposed to a tragedy where things end badly. Maybe The Bear is a comedy in that old school sense of the word?

[@sandramckeehan5679]

Broadway treated its patrons with contempt during and after covid, with the woke ideology, and pricing. I used to travel from PA to NYC multiple times a year for a show. I have not done that for five years and have no plans to go again. Broadway needs to apologize for being too big for its britches and give its fans some perks to make up for their horrible wokeness, a bit like Disney I would say. NYC has taxed everyone out of being able to stay there as well. Why should we make an effort only to be . . . the word I want I won't use. I could go on, I am angry they ruined a good time. I will see shows elsewhere.

[@davidrobertson9174]

Must have been terrible going without a musical or two whilst the world was grappling with death. Do hope you're alright 👍

[@sandramckeehan5679]

@@davidrobertson9174 🤣 Thank you for your concern! I am all right even without musical theater. Enjoy your moral high ground and watch out for people who will not let a good crisis go to waste.

[@davidrobertson9174]

@sandramckeehan5679 a guy I worked with died from Covid, and another was put into intensive care and never fully recovered. We're in our 30s so not exactly frail. For people who describe covid measures as woke, it pisses me off. There's no moral high ground just a bunch of dead people. Yeah, some people profiteered from the pandemic, (I'm in the UK and our government gave billions to dodgy PPE suppliers) but theatres in general faced an impossible choice of changing the way they operated or remaining shut/going out of business.

[@Hexon66]

Wait a minute. Isn't The Bear a Sky show? No, no. Couldn't be, they're being critical.

[@chrisc_1012]

No, it's not It's on Disney+ in UK

[@readventurekids]

I was watching a recent episode and was a bit taken aback when Richard mentioned that it was sponsored by Sky. While I know Richard is incredibly honest and wholesome, I couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. As soon as a big sponsor like Sky is involved, I worry that the level of honesty and transparency might be affected. Am I being too cynical? I haven't watched an episode since and feel like I might be doing both myself and the hosts a disservice.

[@bensalt1185]

Very fair question to ask them on their Q&A shows....is there something about bias if they cannot be critical or fair on Sky shows?

[@maxine2798]

@@readventurekidssurely you are savvy enough to make some judgement on their comments. I don’t have sky so they can recommend what they want on that platform and I won’t watch it. If you go down that path, look at the platforms you watch/listen the show on. Look at the adverts that come on and think what influence they might have etc. the beeb pays Richard and the grauniad pays Marina. Are you ok with that or does that potential influence put you off?

[@readventurekids]

@@maxine2798 True enough. Common-sense prevails!

[@bianquita1]

The Bear is no comedy. It's also over-rated, but that's another thing.

[@iananderson6485]

Rich people gate keeping art, found this a hard watch/listen.

[@jessicababbitt1983]

The acting category in question is "Lead Actor in a Comedy Series." It's not an award for the funniest person; it's an award for the best actor. I think Larry David would agree that Jeremy Allen White is a finer actor than he is. If it was "Best Comedy Actor," we'd be seeing people from one-hour dramas, like Matthew Mcfadyen, win every year. I agree there is a bit of category smudging going on with The Bear. It is considered a comedy because it's a 30-minute show, but "Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" doesn't necessarily have to be the funniest person on television or even a funny person at all.

[@markturnbull2021]

Did you listen to the podcast?

[@Elwaves2925]

You seem to be missing the point. You correctly say it's "Lead Actor in a Comedy Series" but only comment on the actor part of that, mostly ignoring the comedy series part. Being 30mins does not mean it should be considered as a comedy series. So while Jeremy Allen White is a fine lead actor, The Bear is not a comedy series, therefore it shouldn't be in the Lead Actor in a Comedy Series category. It's not smudging, it's outright wrong and disrespectful to the genuine lead actors of comedy series.

[@jessicababbitt1983]

@@Elwaves2925 I don’t disagree that The Bear is not a comedy, but should it be put in the same category as Shogun? What if the best actor in a comedy award went to someone in a comedy series that didn’t make a single joke all season, would the same outrage persist? I think there’s a lot to be fixed here, but I don’t think the lead actor in a comedy award necessarily needs to go to a comic or someone especially funny.

[@Elwaves2925]

@@jessicababbitt1983 Yes, it should be in the same category as Shogun. They are both dramas both belong in the same category. Or should Shogun be up for the comedy award too as it has a few comedy moments in it. I would expect just as much outrage had that been the case. You say yourself, it's not going to the best actor it's going to a lead actor and as long as the show is a comedy, whether that actor makes a joke or not is irrelevant. Although ask yourself this, how many comedy shows would have their lead actor NOT make a single joke all season? Not gonna happen. The point is it isn't the actor, or what they do that defines which category it belongs to. It's the show that defines it.

[@ollie4680]

@@Elwaves2925 It's a comedy drama and expecting writers to adhere to the strict ruling of a single award show's categories is what's disrespectful here. The Bear isn't the first show to cause controversy like this and it won't be the last. The awards shows are the problem, the shows are not.

[@johnnoon9498]

The fear of offence has killed comedy shows. People are going to podcasts and KZbin for their comedy fix.