“The Bear” totally devoured the 2024 Emmy nominations, breaking a record at 23 – the most nominations ever for a comedy series. During its first two seasons, “The Bear” captivated fans and critics alike with its endearing rough-around-the-edges cast, led by Jeremy Allen White’s Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto.
Following Carmy’s ongoing uphill battle to revive and totally reinvent his Italian family’s failing Chicago beef sandwich shop, Season 3 focuses on the dysfunctional restaurant kitchen crew, particularly anxious Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) and volatile Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), as they anxiously await a Chicago Tribune review that could determine the restaurant’s future.
Fed up with the toxic dynamics of the elite ‘fine dining’ kitchens in which he was trained, Carmy works at imbuing his staff with the discipline and ambition of ‘nouvelle cuisine,’ a culinary movement characterized by lighter, more delicate dishes, utilizing fresh, high-quality, seasonal ingredients, focusing on minimalism and presenting the dishes in an elegant, artistic, visually appealing manner.
For perfectionist Carmy, a James Beard Award-winner who was named a Food & Wine Best New Chef before he turned 21, his list of fine dining ‘non-negotiables’ also includes changing the entire menu on a daily basis, never repeating a dish exactly the same way.
Amid the profanity-laced performances, there are riveting if relentless cooking montages, including flashbacks recalling Carmy’s stint at Noma in Copenhagen and Daniel in Manhattan.
That’s amplified by episode-long glimpses into the character-driven backstories of grieving pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce), middle-aged line cook Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas), Carmy’s pregnant sister / Bear co-owner Natalie (Abby Elliott) and their abusive mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis).
In 10 episodes, series creator/writer/director Christopher Storer boldly strives to destabilize every juicy segment, including elliptical references to Carmy’s love interest Claire (Molly Gordon).
This season concludes with the closing of the beloved restaurant Ever, run by charming Andrea Terry (Olivia Colman), complete with cameos from real-life A-list chefs like Daniel Boulud, Rene Redzepi, Thomas Keller, and Genie Kwon,
FYI: The tantalizing food is prepared by Chris Storer’s sister, Courtney Storer – and “The Bear” has already been renewed for Season 4.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Bear: Season 3” is an ambitious, audacious 8 – with all episodes streaming on Hulu.
Nominations for the 76th Emmy Awards were recently announced; the ceremony is scheduled to air live on ABC from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Sept. 15 from 8 to 11 pm ET.
In order to be eligible, submitted television programming had to air between June 1, 2023 and May 31, 2024. The remnants of the pandemic, the double-whammy of the 2023 writers’ & actors’ strikes, and inevitable industry cost-cutting measures led to fewer contenders than usual.
As a result, FX’s “Shogun” – about 17th century feudal Japan – led the pack with 25 nominations, including best drama series. Although it was made by an American company for a domestic streamer, most of the dialogue was in Japanese, indicating that viewers have become more accustomed to reading subtitles.
FX’s “The Bear” was second with 23 nominations, a comedy series record; of course, questions still arise as to whether it really is a comedy. Then comes Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building” with 21, HBO/Max’s “True Detective: Night Country” with 19 and Netflix’s “The Crown” with 18.
This year, members of the Television Academy had to come up with new favorites since stalwarts like “Succession” had already aired its conclusion, making the final season of “The Crown” the only returning nominee in the drama category.
Until this year, “The Morning Show” had never received a major nomination, despite being eligible on multiple occasions, nor had “Slow Horses,” “Reservation Dogs,” ”Hacks,” “3 Body Problem” and “The Gilded Age.”
It’s disappointing that excellent miniseries like “A Gentleman in Moscow” and “Expats” were overlooked, despite memorable performances by respective stars Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. Plus Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks’ “Masters of the Air” only earned nods for main title theme music, sound mixing & sound editing.
On the other hand, it’s gratifying to note that the Broadway-influenced 3rd season of “Only Murders in the Building” could produce an EGOT (a term designating winners of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar & Tony) for songwriters Benj Pasek and Staples graduate Justin Paul, who won Oscars for the song “City of Angels” in “La La Land,” Tonys for producing the stage musical “A Strange Loop” and writing the original score for “Dear Evan Hansen,” along with a Grammy for best musical theater album.
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