The Bear is an American comedy-drama television series created by Christopher Storer. It premiered on Hulu on June 23, 2022, and stars Jeremy Allen White as an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage the chaotic kitchen at his deceased brother's sandwich shop. The supporting cast includes Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, and Matty Matheson.[1] In July 2022, it was renewed for a 10-episode second season,[2] which was released on June 22, 2023.[3] In November 2023, the series was renewed for a third season.[4]
The sandwich shop interior is copied from the Chicago shop Mr. Beef on Orleans, in River North. The creator was a frequent patron and a friend of the owner's son.[5]
A young chef, Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, inherits his family's Italian beef sandwich shop after the suicide of his older brother. He comes home to Chicago to run it, leaving behind his world of working in a Michelin star restaurant. He is left to deal with his brother's unresolved debts, a rundown kitchen, and an unruly staff, while dealing with his own pain and family trauma.
Cast
Main
Jeremy Allen White as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto, an award-winning New York City chef de cuisine, who returns to his hometown of Chicago to run his late brother Michael's failing restaurant.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard "Richie" Jerimovich, Michael's best friend and the de facto manager of the restaurant.
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu, a talented young chef who joins The Beef as its new sous-chef under Carmy.
Lionel Boyce as Marcus Brooks, The Beef's bread baker-turned-pastry chef, spurred on by Carmy's mentoring.
Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina Marrero, an acerbic and stubborn veteran line cook who embraces the opportunity to train professionally.
Abby Elliott as Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto, Carmy and Michael's sister, the reluctant co-owner of The Beef.
Matty Matheson as Neil Fak (starring season 2, recurring season 1), a childhood friend of the Berzattos, and sometimes-handyman for the restaurant.
Recurring
Edwin Lee Gibson as Ebraheim, a veteran line cook at The Beef who is close with Tina.
Corey Hendrix as Gary "Sweeps" Woods, a runner at The Beef.
Oliver Platt as Jimmy "Cicero" Kalinowski, the best friend of the late father of the Berzatto siblings, whom everyone affectionately refers to as "Uncle", and the restaurant's key investor.
Jon Bernthal as Michael "Mikey" Berzatto, Carmy and Natalie's late brother, who struggled with drug addiction before dying by suicide four months before the events of the series.
José Cervantes as Angel, a dishwasher at The Beef.
Richard Esteras as Manny, a dishwasher at The Beef.
Chris Witaske as Pete, Natalie's earnest and naive husband whom most of the family dislikes.
Carmen Christopher as Chester, the roommate and close friend of Marcus who often visits the restaurant.
Joel McHale as Carmy's executive chef in New York City, who was verbally abusive and dismissive.
Jamie Lee Curtis as Donna Berzatto (season 2), the troubled mother of the Berzatto siblings.
Gillian Jacobs as Tiffany Jerimovich (season 2; uncredited guest, season 1[a]), Richie's ex-wife with whom he shares a daughter, Eva
Robert Townsend as Emmanuel Adamu (season 2), Sydney's loving and supportive father who nevertheless has trouble accepting Sydney's choice to follow an inherently risky culinary career.
Molly Gordon as Claire (season 2), a childhood friend of the Berzattos, on whom Carmy harbored a crush as a teenager.
Ricky Staffieri as Theodore Fak (season 2), Neil's brother
Alex Moffat as Josh (season 2), a line cook hired by The Bear
In the summer of 2022, James Beard Award-winning chef Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto returns home to Chicago to manage The Original Beef of Chicagoland, a rundown River North restaurant owned by his brother Michael, who recently died by suicide. His brother's best friend, Richie Jerimovich, and the stubborn staff resist Carmy's efforts to modernize the restaurant. Carmy hires Culinary Institute of America-trained chef and Chicago native Sydney Adamu, who wants to help him fix the restaurant because it was her father's favorite.
2
2
"Hands"
Christopher Storer
Christopher Storer
June 23, 2022 (2022-06-23)
In a flashback, Carmy works at a fine dining restaurant in New York City where his boss verbally abuses him. In the present, Carmy attempts to overhaul the menu as he faces continued resistance from the staff members who fail to show him respect. Carmy's sister, Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto, attempts to help but struggles to connect with him. After a health inspector discovers multiple safety and sanitation issues, the restaurant is given a "C" rating. Carmy discovers how poorly the restaurant has been managed, and that his brother owed $300,000 to their family friend, Jimmy (referred to as "Uncle Cicero"). Cicero offers to buy the restaurant from Carmy, who refuses the offer but promises to pay back his brother's loan. Sydney wants to be paid as a proper sous-chef. Richie reveals to Sydney that Michael wouldn't allow Carmy to work in the restaurant when he was younger and that he shot himself in the head four months earlier.
Carmy attends an Al-Anon meeting in an attempt to better understand his brother's struggles with addiction. At the restaurant, he introduces a Brigade de cuisine style kitchen and relies on the ill-prepared and increasingly frustrated Sydney to manage it. After initial failures, the staff begins to connect to their new roles, particularly Marcus, the passionate baker. Carmy and Sydney clash over how to best run the restaurant.
4
4
"Dogs"
Christopher Storer
Sofya Levitsky-Weitz
June 23, 2022 (2022-06-23)
Carmy and Richie cater a children's birthday party for Cicero. Carmy creates homemade Ecto cooler, which is accidentally spiked with Richie's Xanax, causing the children to fall asleep in the yard. When Carmy tells Cicero about the Xanax, Cicero responds that he actually doesn't mind. Meanwhile, Sydney bonds with the restaurant staff and begins to earn their respect. Marcus becomes passionate about his new chocolate cake program.
5
5
"Sheridan"
Joanna Calo
Karen Joseph Adcock
June 23, 2022 (2022-06-23)
Carmy and Sydney agree to create a new dinner menu to increase profits. As they prepare to open for lunch, a toilet backs up. Carmy calls Fak, Richie's friend, to fix it. Fak wants to be an employee but his interview with Richie culminates in a fight which Carmy breaks up. Fak reveals that Richie has been selling cocaine in the alley behind the restaurant; Richie explains that this got the business through the COVID-19 pandemic but agrees to stop. As Marcus rushes to bake cakes, a fuse blows and the restaurant's operations cease. When Fak informs Carmy it will cost over $5,000 to replace a damaged condenser, he asks Richie to get the money by selling cocaine one final time. Sydney saves the day by running an outdoor lunch service using a makeshift barbecue setup.
Sydney develops a risotto meal for an upcoming dinner menu, but Carmy rejects it; Sydney serves it to a customer anyway. Natalie comes to the restaurant to figure out the restaurant's unpaid taxes and she and Carmy search for the missing documents. Marcus continues to work hard on developing donuts but finds himself behind on restaurant work. The restaurant has its windows shot out by stray gunfire, and Richie asks the local gangsters to find out who did it. Later, the gangsters get into a scuffle, which Sydney breaks up by offering them leftovers; Richie feels left out and unneeded because of Sydney's success and calls the police on the gangsters.
Ebraheim reads aloud a very positive review of the restaurant, which especially mentions the risotto that Sydney served (unknowingly) to a food critic. Tina's son gets suspended from school and she brings him to the restaurant to learn culinary skills. Just before the lunch rush, the team learns that Sydney left the preorder option active on their newly computerized to-go service, generating more orders than they can fill. Carmy gets angry with Sydney and Marcus. Sydney accidentally stabs Richie in the chaos and announces her immediate resignation as Carmy begins to mentally deteriorate.
Carmy attends an Al-Anon meeting and shares that he started in the restaurant business because his brother didn't let him work at The Beef. Sydney and Marcus meet at her apartment and discuss their futures after they both quit due to Carmy's outburst. The Beef hosts a bachelor party, where a fight breaks out and Richie is arrested for nearly killing a guest. The man recovers and Richie is charged with aggravated assault. Marcus returns to work and Carmy apologizes. Carmy accidentally starts a stove fire and takes no action, and the other chefs extinguish it. Richie gives Carmy a letter left to him by Michael, which includes a spaghetti recipe with the direction to use smaller cans of tomatoes because they taste better. Carmy opens one of the cans and finds hundred-dollar bills hidden inside; they close the restaurant for the day, open all of the cans, and find more hidden money. Sydney returns after Carmy sends her a text with an apology and suggestions for improvements to her risotto dish. Carmy hangs a sign announcing that The Beef is closed and that a new restaurant called The Bear will be opening soon.
Carmy and Sydney begin to develop a menu for The Bear and bring in Natalie as project manager for renovations. Needing more funds, they ask Cicero for an additional $500,000 loan. He agrees under the condition that if the loan is not paid back in 18 months, he takes ownership of the property, estimated to be worth $2 million. Sydney asks Tina to be her sous-chef, to the latter's delight. Carmy, Sugar and Sydney plan to open the restaurant in three months.
Construction delays occur, including the discovery of a mold problem. Sydney has dinner with her father, who expresses his concerns about her choice to open a restaurant. Sydney sends Tina and Ebra to culinary school. Meanwhile, Carmy reconnects with his childhood friend Claire, now a resident in emergency medicine, but intentionally gives her a wrong phone number.
11
3
"Sundae"
Joanna Calo
Karen Joseph Adcock & Catherine Schetina
June 22, 2023 (2023-06-22)
Carmy continues to attend Al-Anon meetings, where he discusses his struggle to find time for leisure and enjoyment. He and Sydney prepare their menu, but realize they have to get out of their routine and sample food at other restaurants. Claire gets Carmy's real number via Fak, and asks Carmy to help her pack up her mother's house. Carmy subsequently bails on his plans with Sydney, so she goes to restaurants around the city to sample dishes. Gathering inspiration, she also receives feedback from a former colleague, who stresses the importance of having a business partner she can trust. Sydney returns to The Bear and becomes upset when she discovers Carmy has been making large decisions without consulting her.
Two months before the planned opening, Carmy learns from Natalie that she is pregnant. Richie and Fak continue to lead construction efforts, while Sydney begins screening new employees. Meanwhile, Marcus is tasked with developing three unique desserts for The Bear. He temporarily leaves his terminally ill mother to travel to Copenhagen to learn from Luca, a skilled pastry chef, and the two quickly form a kinship. Luca recounts being humbled about his level of talent after working with a more skilled chef (implied to be Carmy) and how he has since found a better balance between honing his craft and appreciating life outside the kitchen. Marcus is inspired by the experience, while growing feelings for Sydney.
13
5
"Pop"
Joanna Calo
Sofya Levitsky-Weitz
June 22, 2023 (2023-06-22)
Sydney continues developing the menu with help from Tina, who is thriving in culinary school, although Tina is troubled when Ebra stops attending. Natalie convinces Cicero to expedite permit applications. Claire accompanies Carmy to drop off a liquor license application, where the pair bond. She convinces him to accompany her to a party, where Carmy realizes Claire represents the release and enjoyment he has been searching for. After the party, Carmy takes Claire to see the restaurant, walking in on an argument about Richie stealing electricity from a neighboring building. When the restaurant clears, Carmy and Claire share their first kiss.
Approximately five years before The Bear is set to open, Carmy returns from Copenhagen to spend Christmas with his family and friends. Michael and Carmy warn Natalie not to ask their mother Donna, a volatile alcoholic, if "she is okay." Donna drunkenly prepares a meal based on the Feast of the Seven Fishes. Pete arrives with another seafood dish, which is thrown out because an "eighth" fish could ostensibly be bad luck. Richie asks Cicero for a job, which Cicero later grants him. Carmy's cousin Michelle encourages him to stay with her in New York to pursue his career, noticing how the family's dysfunction weighs on him. As they await dinner, the group debates the ambiguous origins of the Seven Fishes tradition. Lee, Donna's on-and-off boyfriend, whom Michael resents, offers his interpretation, but an intoxicated Michael repeatedly throws forks at him. Natalie, disregarding the earlier admonition, asks an upset Donna "if she is okay," to which Donna responds with an emotional outburst—and leaves. Michael throws another fork at Lee when he scorns Donna's behavior and a fight nearly occurs, only to be interrupted when Donna crashes her car into the dining room.
15
7
"Forks"
Christopher Storer
Alex Russell
June 22, 2023 (2023-06-22)
Richie is sent by Carmy to Ever, an upscale fine dining restaurant, for the week as education. Richie is deeply skeptical of the restaurant and annoyed by having to wake up before dawn to meticulously clean forks. After seeing how dedicated the restaurant's staff are to their customers he has a change of heart, becoming enthusiastic and learning to expedite a busy dinner service. At the end of the week Richie is sad to leave and asks about staying on permanently, believing that Carmy is trying to get rid of him. He meets the owner, Terry, who recounts the origins of the restaurant and how she overcame professional setbacks. Terry reveals that Carmy told her that he believes in Richie and his people skills.
Ten days before opening, Carmy and Sydney are panicking over their inability to pass the fire suppression test. Ebra returns, reconciles with Tina, and agrees to take over the restaurant's takeout sandwich window. Richie returns with a newfound sense of purpose and a new penchant for wearing suits; Marcus returns from Copenhagen with an impressive new dessert menu. Richie apologizes to Natalie for the way he has treated her, and they begin interviewing front-of-house candidates. Sydney begins to see Claire as a threat to Carmy's focus. Fak realizes that Michael disabled the fire suppression system when he tried to commit insurance fraud by burning down the restaurant. Fak fixes it in time for the test and they pass, allowing the restaurant to open. Carmy, realizing he loves Claire, makes her dinner.
17
9
"Omelette"
Christopher Storer
Joanna Calo & Christopher Storer
June 22, 2023 (2023-06-22)
The Bear is set for its soft opening, for family and friends only. Sydney feels pressured to impress her father. Carmy begins to second-guess the plans and forgets to have the handle of the walk-in refrigerator replaced. Natalie informs Carmy that she has invited their mother. Richie and Natalie see the restaurant is fully booked for two weeks, but need to increase reservations to stay profitable. Cicero delivers the official business license to Carmy, and warns him about the danger of distraction. Carmy apologizes to Sydney for his lack of focus, and gives her a custom chef's coat. With the team prepared and the restaurant ready to launch, the team opens The Bear for business.
On family and friends night, Richie runs the front of house while Sydney runs the kitchen. Issues begin to mount: the restaurant runs out of forks, Sydney and Marcus are forced to assist when a line cook disappears, and the walk-in refrigerator handle breaks, trapping Carmy inside. Richie successfully takes over expediting. Pete, Natalie's husband, sees Donna outside, who despite his pleadings refuses to go inside, saying she does not deserve to celebrate or potentially spoil her children's success. Pete accidentally reveals Natalie's pregnancy to Donna before she leaves. Trapped in the fridge, Carmy spirals into self-loathing and rants about how his relationship with Claire has ruined his focus in the kitchen. Claire overhears him and leaves in tears. Richie sees her leave and has a heated argument with Carmy through the refrigerator door. Carmy is devastated when he plays a missed voicemail from Claire earlier in the day, in which she confesses her love for him. The service ultimately ends successfully, Marcus receives a gift from Luca (although he misses numerous panicked calls from his mother's nurse), and Sydney feels stressed yet emboldened by the successful opening night.
Release
The Bear premiered on Hulu in the United States on June 23, 2022.[12] It is available internationally in the Star hub on Disney+.[13] The 10-episode second season was released on June 22, 2023.[3]
According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, The Bear was the second-most-watched program across all platforms during the week of July 13, 2022,[15] the most watched program during the week of July 22, 2022,[16][17] and the seventh-most-watched program during the week of July 27, 2022.[18] According to the streaming aggregator JustWatch, The Bear was the second most streamed television series across all platforms in the United States during the week ending July 3, 2022,[19] the second during the week ending July 17, 2022,[20] According to FX, the first season was the most-watched comedy series in the network's history.[21][22][23]
Season 2
According to the streaming aggregator Reelgood, The Bear was the second most watched program across all platforms in the United States during the week of June 22, 2023,[24][25][26] and the most during the week of June 29, 2023.[27] According to JustWatch, The Bear was the most streamed television series across all platforms in the United States during the week ending June 25, 2023.[28] According to FX, the second season was the most-watched season premiere in the network's history.[29][30] According to Whip Media's viewership tracking app TV Time, The Bear was the eighth most-watched streaming original television series of 2023.[31][32]
Both seasons of The Bear have received widespread critical acclaim. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the overall series holds a 99% approval rating.[37] Meanwhile, on Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the overall series has received a score of 90 out of 100.[38]
Season 1
For the first season, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 100% with an average rating of 8.7/10, based on 79 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Like an expertly confected sandwich, The Bear assembles a perfect melange of ingredients and stacks them for optimal satisfaction—and thankfully keeps the crust-iness for extra flavor."[33] Metacritic gave it a weighted average score of 88 out of 100 based on 24 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[34]
On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season holds an approval rating of 99% with an average rating of 9.3/10, based on 103 critic reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Instead of reinventing the menu, The Bear's second season wisely opts to toss its lovable characters into another frying pan of adversity, lets 'em cook, and serves up yet another supremely satisfying dish."[35] Metacritic assigned it a weighted average score of 92 out of 100 based on 42 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[36]
For the second year in a row, the American Film Institute named The Bear one of the ten best television programs of the year.[43]The Bear appeared on many publications' lists of the best TV shows of 2023, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and People, among others.[44][45][46][47]
Lionel Boyce, Jose Cervantes Jr, Liza Colón-Zayas, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, Richard Esteras, Edwin Lee Gibson, Molly Gordon, Corey Hendrix, Matty Matheson, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Oliver Platt and Jeremy Allen White
