Grief and gourmands: 'The Bear' cooks up Emmys comedy record

Set in the chaotic world of a top restaurant kitchen, where each chef has their own unique skill set and emotional baggage, "The Bear" on Wednesday broke the Emmys record with the most nominations for a comedy in a single year.

What makes the show's latest haul of 23 nods even more remarkable is that, for many critics, "The Bear" is barely a comedy at all, dealing with hard-hitting issues from death and mourning to betrayal and emotional abuse.

"You find laughter in grief," said Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the actor who won an Emmy at the last gala playing restaurant manager Richie, and is nominated again this time around.

"One of the strengths of the show -- and one of the reasons that it's connected with so many people -- is I think grief is the river that runs through all of us," he told a press conference before Wednesday's announcement.

The show's latest, historic nominations count was for season two of "The Bear," which aired last summer.

Nominally, it charted the race to open a daring, experimental new fine-dining restaurant, from the ashes of a disheveled family-run sandwich joint.

But characters dealt with a loved one's suicide, attended addiction counselling, cared for terminally ill relatives, experienced panic attacks and generally tore each other apart.

"The show does have its moments, but it also has very light moments, too, very beautiful moments, too," insisted Ayo Edebiri, who has also won an Emmy, and is nominated again, as Sydney.

- 'Chuckle fests' -

The question of whether "The Bear" is a comedy has been endlessly debated in entertainment industry circles.

The designation is important because the Emmys -- the small-screen version of the Oscars -- splits contenders into drama, comedy and limited series.

Some have claimed entering "The Bear" as a comedy was a strategic move by producers, allowing it to bypass big hitters in drama like recent Emmys juggernaut "Succession," and therefore amass more awards.

But the comedy category more generally, "has taken a more serious turn," noted Variety's Clayton Davis.

Gone are the days of "clear-cut, humor-filled chuckle fests" like "Frasier" and "Seinfeld."

Shows like "Fleabag" and "Barry" have straddled the line with drama, and taken viewers to dark places, with enormous success, he wrote recently.

Still, according to The Daily Beast, "The Bear" is a true comedy, as it "consistently finds humor in horrible events."

Writer Sarah John pointed to scenes in which a character deadpans that she doesn't know her late mom very well because "of the whole dead thing," and another in which a character is accidentally stabbed in a fast-paced "comedy of errors."

"More comedies should embrace the fact that humor can still be found in times of real strife," she wrote.

- 'Awards season' -

Regardless, the debate has not hurt "The Bear" in awards terms.

Its third season, shot early this year, launched in the United States last month.

Reports that a fourth season had been filmed back-to-back with the third were "not exactly" confirmed by the cast, who admitted: "We did something like that."

"We'd just kind of come off the success of awards season and stuff, and so yeah, I was very anxious," the show's star, Jeremy Allen White, said of returning to the set in February.

White took home the lead actor prize at the last Emmys, and is the firm favorite to repeat in September.

"The pressure is very real. But then after a couple weeks of getting back around these guys and our beautiful crew... it feels fun again and it all feels possible again."