Television Q&A: Is 'The Bear's' designation as comedy intended as joke?

You have questions. I have some answers.

Q: I enjoy “The Bear.” However, I don’t understand its designation as a comedy. I don’t find it funny, but very sad at times. How did it end up with the comedy classification instead of drama?

A: Basically, the studio decided it is a comedy and submitted it accordingly for awards. Defining shows has viewers facing complicated descriptions: “dramedy,” for example, which has been applied to some series for decades, or “dramatic comedy,” as one source calls “The Bear.”

When it’s awards time — and the Emmy nominations are coming July 17 — the Television Academy rules seem clear. Comedy and drama series “are defined as programs with multiple episodes (minimum of six), where the majority of the running time of at least six episodes are primarily comedic for comedy series entries, or primarily dramatic for dramatic series entries, in which the ongoing theme, storyline and main characters are presented under the same title and have continuity of production supervision. The Academy reserves the right to have the category placement reviewed by the Academy’s Industry Panel.”

But as Clayton Davis wrote in Variety recently, the division between comedy and drama at the Emmys “have become increasingly tenuous” as more and more shows straddle comedy and drama. And I haven’t even gotten into the gamesmanship that puts shows and performers into categories where they think they have the best chance of winning.

Alan Sepinwall in Rolling Stone has said that viewers trying to sort out which shows go in which categories “just have to throw up our hands and admit defeat.” I guess we should just follow the shows we think might be good, regardless of their description.

Q: What is the status of “The Gilded Age”?

A: A third season of the HBO drama is in the works, with production reportedly beginning this month. But I’d not expect the new telecasts to air until 2025.

Q: I vaguely recall a short-lived TV Western from the late 1960s or early '70s called "Cade's County" that featured Glenn Ford portraying the sheriff of a remote Western county. His deputy was a beloved character actor whose name escapes me. Do you know when the series ran and for how long, and if it's available now on DVD or elsewhere?

A: The contemporary Western starring Ford as Sheriff Sam Cade originally aired in 1971-72 on CBS. The character actor you remember was Edgar Buchanan, perhaps best known to TV audiences as Uncle Joe on “Petticoat Junction” (1963-70), as one of Cade’s deputies. The cast also featured Peter Ford, Glenn’s son, as another deputy. I found episodes on YouTube. Prime Video also has “Sam Cade,” a movie assembled from TV episodes.

Q: I recently binged the first season of “Treadstone” on Peacock. Lots of things were left hanging. Will there be more?

A: No. “Treadstone” was an attempt by USA Network to add to the Jason Bourne universe. (Fans will recall that Treadstone was the secret program that turned Bourne into an assassin.) As you thought, the series set up storylines for a second season. But that season did not happen. Ratings were disappointing and, as the Hollywood Reporter said, USA moved away from scripted programs in favor of reality shows and limited series.

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