Ayo Edebiri on if ‘The Bear’ Is Considered a Comedy or Drama: “That’s a Question for the Studios”

Ayo Edebiri on if ‘The Bear’ Is Considered a Comedy or Drama: “That’s a Question for the Studios”

Is The Bear a comedy or a drama? We may never know!

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Ayo Edebiri spoke about the ongoing debate on her hit show’s genre, specifically whether The Bear is considered a comedy or drama.

“My feeling is that that is a question that is honestly above my pay grade. That’s a question for the studios,” Edebiri said. “We get asked a lot about it as actors and they don’t ask the producer, so that’s kind of my answer to that.”

While many of the series’ viewers — and some of its castmembers — consider the show to be a drama, it’s taken home awards for best comedy series at several award shows, including the 2024 Golden Globes and the 2024 Emmy Awards. There, The Bear earned the title of the most-nominated comedy series in a single year with 23 nods. In 2023, Edebiri won an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy series.

Outside of acting, Edebiri has lent her talents to behind-the-camera work. The actress made her directorial debut for the episode Napkins in season three.

“The writing was just so beautiful. I remember reading it and seeing it in my mind, like really clearly,” she told Vanity Fair. “There was a real advantage because it was not only a standalone episode of a character that we hadn’t really gotten to see, but it got to be outside of the restaurant. It got to be in the past, and then it also got to connect before the show had even started, but the feeling of the first season, I just felt like it was really gonna be fertile, visually. And that I was going to be able to do a little bit of my own thing.”

The experience led her to realize that she loves to direct and hopes to make her feature directorial debut one day. “I think I will eventually direct a feature. I know that I will, but I feel no real rush,” she said. “I’m writing right now as well and that’s its own process.”

The show is nominated for best comedy series at the 2025 Emmy Awards. The ceremony takes place on Sept. 14.