- Crisis-hit Valencia hire West Brom's Corberan as new boss
- Suriname ex-dictator and fugitive Desi Bouterse dead at 79
- Syria authorities say torched 1 million captagon pills
- Pope calls for 'arms to be silenced' across world
- 32 survivors as Azerbaijani jet crashes in Kazakhstan
- Pakistan air strikes kill 46 in Afghanistan, Kabul says
- Liverpool host Foxes, Arsenal prepare for life without Saka
- Zelensky condemns Russian 'inhumane' Christmas attack on energy grid
- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
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."
F.Carias--PC