The Bear just scored 13 nominations at this year’s Emmy Awards, largely in the comedy categories that it has lately dominated in spite of its serious tone and subject matter. After all, as Chef Charlie Kelly would say, cooking is no laughing matter.
Ever since The Bear broke out and became FX’s other massively successful comedy in 2022, fans of other Emmy-nominated comedy shows (as well as some unjustly un-nominated ones) have bristled at how the most prestigious and snobbish industry awards organisations lump The Bear in with silly, funny sitcoms that don’t stand a chance.
Cooking Is The Most Serious Thing in Philadelphia
The Bear won 21 Emmy awards through its first three seasons, and, come Sunday, September 14th, Season Four of Christopher Storer’s critical darling about a troubled but brilliant chef who takes over his late brother’s restaurant will aim to add to its already-stocked trophy case while shows that actually make people laugh will go home empty-handed.
In tonight’s new episode of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “Mac and Dennis Become EMTs,” FX’s original comedy hit that has been infamously under-appreciated at 16 Emmy Awards ceremonies and counting finally took a crack at its network’s newest golden child. In the episode, Charlie starts a ghost kitchen and insists with deadly seriousness that the rest of the Gang must answer his every command with, “Yes, Chef.”
Naturally, the ghost kitchen scheme backfires when Charlie spills boiling oil all over The Lawyer’s face and Dennis flips the ambulance they were cooking in hell, even that synopsis is funnier than the average episode of The Bear.
Seeing as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The Bear are sister shows and the success of FX is a boon for both “comedies,” Always Sunny didn’t go too hard on the young whippersnappers who have almost as many Emmy wins as there were total jokes in The Bear Season Four.
Beyond adopting the kitchen lingo popularised by The Bear and becoming a dour and douchey chef, the only direct shots Charlie takes at The Bear are when he describes the job of cooking people dinner as “life and death stuff,” and “the most serious thing that has ever—” ugh, yes Chef.
If anything, The Bear got off easy with some mild roasts amidst such a spicy Always Sunny episode. Considering that Always Sunny has been an era-defining comedy with all-time classic jokes that have had us laughing for the last 20 years, the fact that a thoughtful, sensitive and often naval-gazing dramedy that clearly leans further into the “drama” half has a fast pass to the Emmy gold that has eluded Always Sunny for decades is a bit of a disgrace to Always Sunny’s immense legacy.
Honestly, Storer and the Emmy voters should count themselves lucky that nobody from Always Sunny came out and straight up spat on them.