Inside the Whisper Campaign to Unseat The Bear As the Emmy’s Best Comedy

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Last year at the Emmys, as Catherine O’Hara prepared to announce the winner for Outstanding Comedy Series, things for “The Bear” were generally following a predictable course. The winners in the acting categories, Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Christopher Storer, all repeated their victories from the previous year, while Liza Colon-Zayas snatched her first win in an unexpected turn of events. “In that room,” a person working on one of the nominated series confided to me, “we don’t often encounter surprises. As the awards ceremony progresses, you start to feel like, Here it is, here we go again.

Instead, let me rephrase it: Once more, we chose not to go! Upon the announcement that Hacks had won, its creators – Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky – emerged on stage, met with applause from the TV industry professionals in attendance. Actors from competing shows such as Abbott Elementary and Only Murders in the Building stood up, and even the cast of Shōgun joined in the cheer. From my vantage point in front of my television, this victory seemed not only unexpected, but also delightful.

At the tail end of a challenging summer for “The Bear,” tension escalated as the series was vying for season-two Emmys, yet simultaneously debuted its third season. Critics expressed disappointment with the show’s slow progression, deeming the later episodes more akin to self-referential stunts rather than driving the plot forward. The tone of the show became even heavier and intense, with comic relief based on Fak character moments feeling exaggerated and out of place, especially John Cena’s cameo which was seen as a low point. Essentially, “The Bear” seemed to be moving away from its comedic roots, and viewers were taking notice, including us!

It appears that The Bear shifted from being an Emmy frontrunner to a contender for lesser awards within just a few months. This transformation, according to several writers across different comedy series, may have been influenced by a subtle current of indifference or even resentment within the industry. Many TV professionals, particularly those in comedy, seemed reluctant to award a prize to a show like The Bear, which is both moody and structurally serious, over lighter, funnier shows. This apparent bias might have contributed to Hacks winning last year, and possibly this year as well.

Many people find it amusing and odd that ‘The Bear’ is winning comedy awards despite not being a true comedy,” commented one Emmy-winning writer. “It’s peculiar,” echoed another writer with TV credits spanning over two decades, “because audiences have always stated that it’s not a comedy, yet it continues to win. It’s somewhat similar to the current sentiment towards Trump – we elected him, but now we’re upset.

To clarify, “The Bear” is not comparable to Donald Trump in TV comedy. Instead, it stood out as a formidable force during the 2022-2023 Emmys, winning three of the four major acting categories, along with awards for writing, directing, and best comedy series for its debut season. Given that its critically acclaimed second season was released amidst the Emmy campaign for its first season, it appeared we were witnessing a potential multi-year reign of TV comedies being overpowered by “The Bear”. The show received a leading 23 nominations in last summer’s Emmy nods. However, it became evident that the show may not have been as all-encompassing as initially thought, as some cast members – Oliver Platt, Abby Elliott, and Matty Matheson – were unexpectedly snubbed during the nomination process.

As “The Bear” surpassed the comedy milestone set by “30 Rock” with an impressive 22 nominations in a single year, a network comedy writer expressed their frustration, suggesting it might have been the final blow for comedy writers. “30 Rock” is revered in the industry, and crafting its witty humor required immense effort. Therefore, witnessing a show that seemingly doesn’t prioritize being funny can feel rather disheartening, like an insult to the hard work invested in creating comedic masterpieces such as “30 Rock.

As a cinephile, I must admit that, despite The Bear’s attempts at injecting humor, it fell short when compared to its comedic peers in the nominations. To put it simply, it wasn’t the well-honed comedy we expected from seasoned comedy performers. It left a slight bitter aftertaste for many viewers.

As a devoted cinema enthusiast, I’ve been witnessing a longstanding tradition by the Television Academy that half-hour shows are categorically comedies, while hourlong shows are strictly dramas. This classification seems rather rigid, especially considering the prevalence of dramedies for decades. However, the concept of half-hour dramas has largely been overlooked, with only a handful of exceptions like Amazon’s ‘Homecoming’.

This rigidity in categorization has led to numerous borderline dramatic shows, such as ‘Transparent’, ‘Nurse Jackie’, and ‘Barry’, competing and even winning in the comedy category. In a conversation I had with an Emmy-nominated writer for both comedies and dramas, they expressed that “by not allowing ourselves to blur the lines between [comedy and drama] means a lot of people end up getting shortchanged. Someone who doesn’t belong in their category might beat them.

The root of everything can be traced back to the Emmys competition in 2004, as suggested by a seasoned writer with two decades under their belt. In essence, this writer suggests that the main issue arose when ABC became overly ambitious. They were aware that Lost was likely to win for the drama category, so they entered Desperate Housewives in the comedy category instead, and both shows ended up winning.

For years, the idea that comedy is considered the lesser sibling compared to drama in television production has been a source of frustration for those involved in creating comedies. This is evident at awards ceremonies like the Emmys, where Drama often takes center stage. However, last year was an exception, and the win for ‘Hacks’ added even more triumph to its victory. A seasoned TV veteran commented, “There’s been a strange tendency for comedy writers to take a back seat and be seen as Hollywood misfits. It’s assumed that writing comedies is simple because you just write a bunch of jokes. The success of ‘Hacks’, in a way, showed us that we might not always have to settle for being the underdogs.

In the wake of prolonged resentment and following the WGA and SAG/AFTRA strikes, it seemed that the overall industry shrinkage was particularly affecting comedies. In such a context, a drama series that is seen as stealing praise from genuine comedies becomes more than just an inconvenience. As a writer for network comedies put it, given the current scarcity of comedy shows, seeing a non-comedy receiving top accolades feels like a slight. “With today’s limited comedy landscape,” they explained, “considering that ABC’s 2025-2026 fall schedule only features two comedies in total — amounting to just one hour of comedy out of 21 hours of programming — it stings when you see a non-comedy being lauded at the highest level.

If not “The Bear”, then why is “Hacks” so popular? Among those in the business, “Hacks” is widely regarded as a humorous series with outstanding performances, created by delightful individuals such as Downs, Aniello, and Statsky. Furthermore, it’s a show about comedy writers struggling to make it in an industry that doesn’t always encourage success. A writer for a rival series stated, “I believe the support for ‘Hacks’ was heavily influenced by a sense of solidarity and responsibility towards this industry.” It is said that the showrunner of one of the nominated shows instructed their writers’ room to vote for “Hacks” because they wanted a comedic series to win. They felt that “Hacks” had a better chance than they did to convey a message to the industry, emphasizing that comedy remains significant.

People who didn’t have a strong affection for the show “Hacks” were still cheering it on as part of a perceived struggle against “The Bear”. A seasoned 20-year TV industry veteran exclaims, “I’m definitely voting for ‘Hacks’!” The sentiment is that while ‘Hacks’ may not be flawless and might not endure like shows such as ‘Veep’ or other popular series, in the current climate, we crave humor and want to celebrate it.

Following the triumph of “Hacks”, the creators’ heartfelt speech resonated with some of the existential concerns I encountered during my conversations. From the podium, Aniello exclaimed, “Comedy holds significant value to us.” This triumph for “Hacks” was essentially a win for comedy’s ongoing presence in Hollywood. It was challenging not to interpret his words as a subtle call-to-action, “Pay attention, FX!

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2025-06-07 16:54