Hannah Einbinder’s mother, Laraine Newman, has spoken out about The Bear’s comedy nominations at the 2024 Emmy Awards.
The Hacks star’s mom, 72, took to social media to share her disapproval over The Bear star Liza Colón-Zayas winning an Emmy in the category of best supporting actress in a comedy series.
Einbinder’s daughter, Hannah, 29, was nominated in the category alongside Colón-Zayas, 52, for her performance as Ava Daniels in the Max series.
“F—. THE. BEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Newman, a Saturday Night Live alum, wrote via X on Sunday, September 15. Newman soon deleted the post, telling a fan who queried her opinion, “I know. I took it down. Not my best moment.”
Newman then wrote via X, “I think the Bear is a great show but IMHO it’s not a comedy- not even a dark comedy.”
Newman wasn’t the only person to comment on the FX series’ Emmys placement as a comedy series. Emmys cohost Eugene Levy, who hosted the event with son Dan Levy, addressed some “universal truths” about The Bear during the pair’s monologue.
“You’re here because your show struck a chord with audiences, your stories, your characters; we see ourselves in them,” Eugene said, citing The Bear as an example. “The Bear is nominated for 23 Emmys tonight, making it the most nominated comedy in history. Now, I love the show and I know some of you might be expecting us to make a joke about whether The Bear is really a comedy. But in the true spirit of The Bear, we will not be making any jokes.”
The remarks drew nods from two of the show’s stars, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
Critics and fans first voiced opinions on The Bear being classed as a comedy after the controversy first reared its head during the 2023 Emmy Awards. The ceremony saw the series earn 10 awards including outstanding comedy series.
According to this year’s Emmy Awards Rules & Procedures guidelines, which were last updated on February 28 2024, a comedy series is defined as, “programs with multiple episodes (minimum of six), where the majority of the running time of at least six episodes are primarily comedic.”
The guidelines further specify that, “the Academy reserves the right to have the category placement reviewed by the Academy’s Industry Panel.”
Once a series like The Bear is “established as a comedy or drama series, a category change will prompt a review by the Industry Panel.”
Hacks ultimately came out on top of The Bear during the evening after winning the award for outstanding comedy series. In addition to beating The Bear, it won out over Abbott Elementary, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Only Murders in the Building, Palm Royale, Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows.