Break another Emmy Awards record? Yes, chef.
With a total of 11 wins, “The Bear” shattered its own record for the most Primetime Emmys won by a comedy series in a single year. (It first bested that same record at the last Emmy Awards, in January, with 10 trophies.)
Lead actor Jeremy Allen White and supporting actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach again triumphed for their performances in the FX series. Liza Colón-Zayas joined them, becoming the first Latina to win the Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy series. Despite the major wins, “Hacks” upset “The Bear” for the top award in the comedy series category.
“This show has changed my life,” White said at the ceremony, held at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live on Sunday. “It’s instilled a faith that change is possible. Change is possible if you are able to reach out; you are really, truly never actually alone.”
“Thank you for giving me a new life with this show,” Colón-Zayas said in her stirring acceptance speech. “And to all the Latinas who are looking at me: Keep believing and vote. Vote for your rights.”
Created by Christopher Storer, who serves as showrunner alongside Joanna Calo, the hectic yet meditative FX series centers on Carmy (White), a talented but troubled chef who transforms his family sandwich shop into a fine-dining establishment.
Storer won the Emmy for directing the chaotic Season 2 episode “Fishes.” “This episode, it was one of those weird ones where we were all cramped into a smaller house,” said Storer while accepting the Emmy.
“And it was one of those instances where I could, for the first time, see our whole crew. It was special because I could see how hard everybody worked, how much everybody cared and how much they cared about each other. And I just want to accept [this] on their behalf, just because they’re so wonderful.”
“The Bear” entered this year’s Emmys race with 23 nods, making it the most-nominated comedy series in a single year (surpassing “30 Rock,” which collected 22 in 2009).
The show’s nominations included comedy series, lead actress Ayo Edebiri and supporting actor Lionel Boyce, as well as two noms for directing and one for writing (Storer and Calo).
At the Creative Arts Emmys, the series took home guest acting awards for Jon Bernthal and Jamie Lee Curtis — both for their performances in the episode “Fishes” — as well as casting, cinematography, picture editing, sound editing and sound mixing.
“To be the source of someone’s pain is very difficult,” Curtis said in her acceptance speech at last week’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards of her anxiety-inducing character. “And yet, to watch this group of people come together — both the kitchen family and the family-family — and work it out, it’s astonishing to me that I get this opportunity at this point in my life.
“Chris Storer is the chef, and every single person — every crew member, every actor, every editor, those f—ing kitchen timers — they’re the ingredients of this beautiful, beautiful, beautiful piece of television.”
