Has there been a TV show in recent memory that blends drama, comedy, tension, romance, business and friendship as tastefully as FX’s The Bear? Even if you’ve never set foot inside a professional kitchen, suddenly there were millions of armchair chefs eager to don their whites and shout “Cousin!” at every opportunity. In the space of just two years, the show has done for the humble omelette what Taylor Swift did for friendship bracelets.
In advance of the highly anticipated premiere of season three, which is streaming exclusively on Disney+, we break down the ingredients of what exactly makes The Bear so great – and what is whetting our appetite for the next ten episodes of the Golden Globe and Emmy-winning series.
Dynamic writing that sizzles
It’s a simple enough premise for a TV show; a chef returns to his hometown to take over the family business – an ailing sandwich shop – following the untimely death of his brother. The brilliance of The Bear, and Christopher Storer’s writing, however, has been how that plotline has been subtly fleshed out over the course of two seasons, intertwining drama and comedy with a realistic portrayal of family and friendship dynamics.
In season two, we saw how Carmy struggled to handle the transition from turning The Beef into fine dining establishment The Bear, while simultaneously trying to make time for his burgeoning relationship with old flame Claire – a relationship which went down in flames after his dramatic admission from inside the walk-in freezer on the restaurant’s opening night (he really should’ve got that handle fixed.) Storer’s superb writing was exemplified in the astonishing Fishes episode in season two, a flashback to a dramatic Berzatto family Christmas gathering that was simply one of the best episodes of television in any show in recent memory.
The world will see how he and the crew manage The Bear as they throw open its doors to the world; has Carmy bitten off more than he can chew? Will he make things right with Claire? Will his and Sugar’s mother Donna play a more prominent role in their lives? And what will become of Richie, Sydney and Marcus as they pour their hearts and souls into their jobs – perhaps at the expense of their personal lives?
Characters with depth and flavour
Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy is undoubtedly the fulcrum of The Bear, the character that holds a dynamic cast together, his busy kitchen staff, his sister and cousin, his love interest, his business partners and beyond. There has always been pain bubbling under the surface of Carmy’s impassive exterior, but over the course of two seasons we’ve seen him soften his stance and season two even saw him falling in love, despite his best efforts to avoid it. Yet one good character does not make a successful series – and it’s arguably the supporting cast that really gives The Bear its binge-worthiness.
At every turn, there is someone to root for – flaws and all. There’s Sydney, the self-deprecating sous-chef-turned-business partner with big ambitions. Having been brushed over as a drug-dealing loudmouth in the first season, Richie had his own redemptive arc in season two, finally finding a purpose as the restaurant’s maitre d’ after a period of soul-searching. Even the less prominent ensemble characters such as dessert chef Marcus, for example, have important roles to play, as season two dug into the backstory of his terminally ill mother and his period of training in Copenhagen. Will the next season finally see he and Sydney act upon their feelings for each other? How will the ever-relatable Tina manage the pressure of working as a sous-chef in a fine dining restaurant? In any case, the varied cast of characters makes for a rich gumbo of stories, and not one of them – no, not even comic relief Fak – is surplus to requirements.
A cast of well-known, premier cru cameos
Previously known primarily as a long-running cast member in Shameless (US), Jeremy Allen White became a bona fide star with his portrayal of Carmy, an ambitious-yet-complicated man who has been damaged by his dysfunctional upbringing and the suicide of his brother Mikey. Ayo Edebiri, our adopted Irish Princess, deftly balances Sydney’s vulnerability with her steely fortitude; the character progression of Ebon Moss-Bacharach’s Richie from a drug-dealing ne’er-do-well to maitre d’ of a fine dining restaurant has been both convincing and satisfying.
Season two also saw some familiar faces among the cast. Jamie Lee Curtis played the role of her life as Carmy and Sugar’s alcoholic mother Donna, Bob Odenkirk played her antagonistic partner Lee, while Olivia Colman appeared as Terry, the serene head chef of the Michelin-starred restaurant where Richie goes for work experience. Considering how it’s one of the biggest and best shows on TV right now, you can expect to see a few more famous cameos spreading their elbows for space at the table in season three too.
A soundtrack you can devour
It’s hard to recall a TV series in recent times that has had such a good soundtrack. There has clearly been great thought put into The Bear’s music, thanks to showrunner Christopher Storer and executive producer Josh Senior. Many local Chicagoan artists have featured prominently – including Wilco and Mavis Staples – while REM’s 1994 song Strange Currencies was even re-released last year thanks to its prominent placement in various season two scenes.
Other bands and artists who have featured on the show include Pixies, Nine Inch Nails, Liz Phair, The Pretenders and more. These indie- and dad-rock inclinations have been in keeping with the scrappy nature of the storyline, and it’ll be interesting to see whether Storer and Senior change tack for season three as The Bear finds its feet as a high-end establishment.
“We don’t want anybody to ever say that we’re picking stuff because it’s cool,” Senior has said in the past. “We want to pick stuff that we love that feels right for the show. It’s about being authentic and consistent with the work letting the work speak for itself.”
The setting
Chicago has featured prominently in countless TV shows and films over the decades, but the Windy City almost feels like another character in The Bear – where it doesn’t shy away from its often-gritty reputation, best illustrated in the first season when The Beef’s windows were accidentally shot in by gangsters. Much of the series feels like a love letter to the city, but in season two it also travelled to other locations in some superb flashback episodes, including one where Marcus spends time in Copenhagen in the restaurant Carmy trained in. And who can forget when Sydney takes herself off on a whistle-stop tour of the city to sample the best dishes in Chicago’s restaurants? The series has probably done more for Chicago’s tourist industry than deep dish pizza and the Cubs baseball team combined.
Where will it take us in season three? We can’t wait to find out.
To watch the series or find out more, visit DisneyPlus.com