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The culinary arts are something that has been explored before to varying effects in comedy. For many, shows like 1993's Chef! and 2014's Young & Hungry may come to mind. The popular animated comedy series Bob’s Burgers is another, one that recently got its shot at the silver screen. This series is not Bob’s Burgers, not quite. FX’s new comedy series, The Bear, may have a different recipe for its audiences, but it hopes to have a similar level of success.
The Bear follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto’s (Jeremy Allen White) return home to his family restaurant. The show promises a mix of comedy and drama, one that delves into the psychology and emotional realms of its characters who work in the fast-paced restaurant industry. FX is known for its heavy-hitters in the field of comedy, with a lineup that includes titles like It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and You're the Worst, among others. Premiering on June 23, time will tell if The Bear joins the ranks of these successful series, but if the smell from the kitchen is any indication, FX is serving up another tasty treat for audiences.
When Is the Release Date of The Bear?
The Bear will have its premiere on June 23, 2022. The series will be available for streaming exclusively on Hulu.
Watch the Trailer for The Bear
The trailer for The Bear focuses mainly on chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto's return to Chicago to run his family business after a death in the family. The sandwich shop – The Original Beef of Chicagoland – is a small business with its own list of problems. From a disorganized workspace to broken toilets, to disgruntled employees, Carmy learns that he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Carmy himself brings his own zest to the restaurant and uses his fine-dining background to try to turn his restaurant into a respectable business. Carmy must learn how to gain the trust and respect of a wary crew. This means knowing when to stick to his guns, when to innovate, and when to adapt. Eventually, he learns that although there is a lot to fix, there's also a lot that they were doing right, and they start to come together as a close-knit chosen family.
Although the show is being marketed as a comedy, if the trailer is any indication of content, then we are in for a mix of comedy and drama. One dynamic to watch is how the series explores the tense and complex nature of the characters' relationships. The dynamic between the managing staff and the kitchen staff specifically seems to be something that will grow and progress over time.
Who Are the Cast and Confirmed Characters of The Bear?
The series has a breadth of talented actors in its cast. At the head is Jeremy Allen White as main character Carmy Berzatto. Viewers may be familiar with White from his tenure as Lip Gallagher on the award-winning comedy-drama series Shameless. When preparing for the role, White participated in extensive training in the kitchen in order to convincingly pull off playing a classically trained chef. Co-showrunner, Joanna Calo commended White’s commitment to the project telling EW; "He had to work extremely hard. Jeremy is very good with his knife now."
He also reportedly attended weeks of classes at an LA cooking school while also spending time in the kitchens of prestigious restaurants across the US in New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. He was given access to an experience that not many have: White briefly served in line under the supervision of chef Dave Bera as a chef at Pasjoli, a Michelin star-rated Santa Monica restaurant. Of the experience, White underplays the amount of work that he put in "I was completely clueless in the kitchen before this show, and then I progressively got to kind of mediocre."
White is not the only member of the cast of The Bear. Viewers might recognize co-star Chris Witaske from appearances on the Netflix original The Wrong Missy. He is an alum of The Second City Theatre in Chicago, fitting given the premiere role of Chicago as a locale within the series. Other members of the cast with notable roles are Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Dropout), Abby Elliot (Cheaper by the Dozen), Ayo Edebiri (Dickinson), Lionel Boyce (The Jellies!), Liza Colón-Zayas (In Treatment), and Edwin Lee Gibson (Fargo). Renowned celebrity chef and actor Matty Matheson will be featured in a recurring role on the show and has also been given consulting producer credit.
What Is The Bear About?
Check out the premise for The Bear below:
A young chef from the fine-dining world comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop after a heartbreaking death in his family. A world away from what he's used to, Carmy must balance the soul-crushing realities of small business ownership, his strong-willed and recalcitrant kitchen staff and his strained familial relationships, all while grappling with the impact of his brother's suicide. As Carmy fights to transform both the shop and himself, he works alongside a rough-around-the-edges kitchen crew that ultimately reveals itself as his chosen family.
Who Is Making The Bear?
Christopher Storer, known for his work on shows like Ramy and Eighth Grade, serves as a director, writer, and executive producer for the show. Storer is joined in the writing room by Alex O’Keefe. The series is produced by members of the production company Super Frog, including acclaimed director Hiro Murai, who worked on the series Atlanta as well as the award-winning Childish Gambino music video for the single “This Is America,” and Joanna Calo of Bojack Horseman fame. Super Frog was co-founded by Murai and Nate Matteson (Station Eleven). Calo, Matteson, Murai, and Josh Senior (Bo Burnham: Inside) all receive executive producer credits. Tyson Bidner (Ramy) will serve as producer.
Chef and actor Matty Matheson brought his expertise and experiences in the restaurant and cooking industry, and many of those experiences served up inspiration for some elements of the show. Joanna Calo relates that many of the stories about the inner workings of the restaurant business were “insane [and] not only about what people are willing to put themselves through but just the work ethic and the ways in which that ethic can both soothe and sort of help you evade any emotional processing, which kind of was perfect for [the] show.” She continues: “The stories that Matty would tell always involved a lot of violence and insanity then also love…there’s so much love there and a lot of kindness to each other, and those kitchens do become family.”
This bonding through the trauma and insanity that occurs behind those swinging kitchen doors, at the grills, the prep stations, and the back rooms of restaurants, will undoubtedly be an ongoing conceit within the series to look out for.