Skip to Content
Pop CulturetvAug 19, 2025

Ayo Edebiri Offers Non-Answer to Question of Whether ‘The Bear’ Is a Comedy: ‘Above My Pay Grade’

Edebiri is up for two awards, including outstanding lead actress in a comedy, at this year’s Emmys.

By Precious Fondren
Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The Bear is a critically acclaimed show. And most will agree that, at one point, it was top tier. But is it a comedy? That’s more debatable—and plenty have debated it.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, The Bear star Ayo Edebiri, who plays Sydney Adamu, doesn’t even want to give an answer as to why it’s categorized as a comedy at the Emmys again this year. 

“My feeling is that that is a question that is honestly above my pay grade,” Edebiri said. “That’s a question for the studios. 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.”

Sidestepping her non-answer, The Bear did pick up another 13 nominations this year, down from their 23 nods it got in 2024. 

@enews

#TheBear cast embraces after winning Outstanding Comedy Series at the EMMYs. #AwardSeason (🎥: Courtesy of the Television Academy and FOX)

♬ original sound - E! News

Edebiri is up for outstanding lead actress in a comedy this year’s Emmys, airing September 14. She’s also in the running in the comedy directing category for season three’s “Napkins” episode. 

The cast was asked backstage in early 2024 when the show won Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmys if they themselves thought it was comedy. Jeremy Allen White yelled, “Yes!”

“I think the show is true to life. Sometimes it’s funny, and sometimes it’s real,” executive producer Josh Senior said at the time. “What we try to do is tell a real story.”

He’s not the only executive defending the show’s status. 

FX chairman John Landgaf spoke on the comedy debate. Kind of.

“I’ve never seen a better season of any television series, let alone a comedy, than The Bear Season 2,” he said. “Like, that’s as good a season of television as I’ve ever seen. And there are parts of that season that are very, very funny. We let the voters decide the answers to these questions.”

The Latest
Tagged

Related Stories