With streaming services having so much stuff to cycle and sift through, it can make it very hard to find something new to watch without getting a recommendation from a friend or see a bunch of people talking about it on social media. This is exactly what happened with the Hulu on FX original called The Bear. If you are someone who has gone through family trauma, worked in a restaurant service job, or a combination of the both, then I can not recommend this show enough.
The Bear is about Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (played by Jeremy Allen White), who has become one of the top chefs in the country at one of the world’s finest restaurant, which has led him to have is own problems with anxiety and insomnia. After his brother’s suicide, Carmy is left with his brother’s hole in the wall sandwich shop on Chicago’s North River, so he returns home to run it. What follows is a story about dealing with grief of losing a family member, how to deal with what the dead family member has left behind, and the going ons of a greasy spoon of a restaurant that is barely hanging on financially with employees that are stuck in their ways.
This show is built upon the back of the characters and all of them are great in their own messed up ways. The first character I want to highlight is Carmy’s cousin Richie, who was Michael’s screw up best friend. When I think of the stereotypical Chicagoian, Richie is the person who comes to mind. He is someone who is stuck in their ways, does not like the changes that Carmy tries to implement and who oozes toxic masculine energy for most of the show. There is one episode that Richie starts to feel left behind by the changes that are happening at the Original Beef, and in the surrounding neighborhood. You can really tell how much he loved Michael, and past the jerk persona that he puts on, really loves the people that work at the Original Beef, since his family (ex-wife and kid) don’t have anything to do with him, with his ex-wife having him listed as “Trouble” in her phone because when he always calls, it is trouble.
Sydney played by Ayo Edebiri is the second character that I want to highlight. She comes in the first episode has a someone who wants to work with Carmy because of the respect she has for the food he makes. Her portrayal of Sydney is at its peak when something starts to go awry in the kitchen, you can literally feel her anxiety and fear coming though the screen because of how palpable it is. Her trying to fit in as the new person and also be their boss after her and Carmy introduce a “French Brigade” which is what is used in fancier restaurants is such a realistic feeling.
Each character has an important journey throughout the show. Carmy trying to make peace with his brother’s suicide and addiction, Sydney’s struggle to balance the dreams she has with the ability to actually execute on them. Tina first being so off-put by the changes to being proud of the food that she is making. Even Marcus, who is 100% bought in to the changes at the beginning, but like Sydney gets lost in the dreams and loses sight of the right now. All of these characters, even the ones that I have not mentioned all contribute to the best character of them all: The Original Beef Sandwich Shop. If you told me that this was an actually living and breathing sandwich shop that I could go to in Chicago’s North River, I would totally believe you. All of these characters make this feel like a lived in workplace that personally brings back memories to working at Rama Jama (a local diner I worked at in high school)
Where this setting really comes alive is in the second to last episode of the first season called “Review” This episode is a complete one-shot with no cuts that takes place from the front of the house to the kitchen. All of the progress that had been made start to break down once mistakes start to pile up and compounding all at once. This whole series is stressful and panic inducing, but what makes this episode that much more is by this point you have become invested in the growth of these characters and want this hole in the wall place to succeed.
While the season finale does wrap up the season with a bow and maybe a little bit more of a good feeling than I would have thought it would have, but because of how this season has went it feels like the characters have earned this good moment. It has been a while that a new show has gotten me completely bought in so quickly, so even though I don’t think the ending is perfect, it does not make the journey any less important.
The Bear has an incredibly long ingredient list: family trauma and grief, anxiety, dreams, stress, great characters, and a living setting. All of those ingredients come together to make an amazing dark comedy/drama that after I got done watching it made me feel like I just got done working a shift at the Original Beef sandwich shop. Definitely one of the best Hulu Originals ever, if you have a Hulu subscription than I can not recommend going out of of your way to watch this series.