Throughout the 2000s, network sitcoms like 30 Rock, Arrested Development, and The Office dominated the Outstanding Comedy Series category. However, this trend has shifted substantially in recent years. From Hacks to Ted Lasso to Fleabag, all the recent Emmy winners have been streaming shows. Thanks to Veep’s trio of wins and a single win for Schitt’s Creek, 2014’s Modern Family win was the last time a winner came from one of the traditional big four TV networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox)
In recent years, only one Outstanding Comedy Series nomination slot will go to a network sitcom, usually the undeniably brilliant Abbott Elementary. However, everything else that earns a nomination is a streaming series, even though traditional network output used to dominate this award. Ghosts is a perfect example of a well-liked network sitcom that would almost certainly have received an Emmy nomination if not a win in an earlier era, which might explain this pointed barb in season 4, episode 12.
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While the ghosts watch the kitchen workers cook, Sass and Pete commented that they wish they could control them like the rat from Ratatouille controlled his human friend. When Albertan asks Sass what Ratatouille was about, he replies that it is about the chaos of professional kitchens, adding that it is “Like that show The Bear, but it’s a comedy.” This minor line from Ghosts season 4, episode 12 was secretly a gag about The Bear controversially winning Outstanding Comedy Series in 2023 even though, as a lot of critics and writers noted, the series hardly qualifies as a comedy.
Even though the show can get very dark and dramatic, The Bear has still been consistently categorized as a comedy rather than a drama by the Emmy Awards.
The Bear might be critically acclaimed, but it is undoubtedly as much a drama (if not much more so) as a traditional comedy. The show addresses issues like suicide, drug addiction, alcoholism, economic anxiety, and poor mental health with unflinching realism. This made its win was divisive, to say the least. Despite this, The Bear was nominated again in 2024, which Ghosts notably wasn’t. Even though the show can get very dark and dramatic, The Bear has still been consistently categorized as a comedy rather than a drama by the Emmy Awards.
