In a landscape flooded with fantastical dramas that cost over $40 million per episode, an endless procession of cinematic universe expansions, and manufactured reality formats that highlight humanityโs most deplorable, weโve forgotten about making time for the grounded, character-driven stories. Stories that are simply about people coming together and making the best out of a bad situation like FXโs latest homerun: The Bear.
Food-related media often paints over the realm it inhabits with a single brush stroke, simultaneously highlighting the artistry, beauty, and glamour while conveniently leaving out the harsh reality. Either that or delving into two-dimensional cliches with the tired misunderstood-artist-masquerading-as-a-chef trope, cringeworthy egos, and equally cringeworthy soap opera theatrics a la Burnt starring Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller (full disclosureโฆ this oneโs a major guilty pleasure of mine).
Ask anyone whoโs ever worked a single day in the hospitality industry what the day-to-day is really like. Speaking from experience, that shit is positively mundane. Itโs long hours, razor-thin margins, razor-thin paycheques, routine exhaustion, and more often than not, an abundance of emotional violence. Customers see a kitchen. The initiated see the trenches.
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Paying homage to the no-holds-bar brand of authenticity that projected the late great Anthony Bourdain into global stardom when he published Kitchen Confidential โ as well as the very same brand of authenticity present in everything else that came subsequently after from The Layover to Parts Unknown โ FXโs The Bear has achieved something magical in balancing the intriguing with the genuine.
As Bourdain himself once alluded to in the early chapters of Kitchen Confidential, the most fascinating aspect about working in a kitchen isnโt really whatโs plated or even Michelin stars. Itโs the band of pirates stationed behind the pass, slaving over a hot stove for 18 hours, wielding Japanese knives sharper than the most lethal samuraiโs katana (as well as a rich vocabulary of slurs at the ready). And thatโs precisely where The Bear shines.
Created by Christopher Storer, the series follows Shameless alum Jeremy Allen White as Carmen โCarmyโ Berzatto โ a celebrated chef from the world of fine dining who returns to his native Chicago after the suicide of his older brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal). Carmy comes from quite an impressive pedigree of restaurants. Weโre told heโs worked at the likes of Noma, Eleven Madison Park, and The French Laundry. But with Mikey gone, heโs now left to deal with the aftermath, which just so happens to include taking over their humble family sandwich shop, The Original Beef of Chicagoland. Easier said than done.
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Carmyโs brigade de cuisine includes his deceased brotherโs brash yet lovable best friend slash non-biological โcousinโ Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), the acid-tongued de facto maternal figure Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas), aspiring patisserie with dreams of something more Marcus (Lionel Boyce), obligatory wild card Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), and as our protagonistโs very first hire, idealistic newbie Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) โ who also comes fresh off the production line of your traditional culinary institutions. Real-life chef Matty Matheson of Viceland fame also hangs around, portraying jack-of-all-trades handyman Neil Fak.
With the exception of Edebiriโs Sydney, right off the bat, everyone is resistant to the efficiency-oriented structure Carmy attempts to introduce. Throughout the pilot episode, thereโs plenty of talk about the sacred, time-honoured โsystemโ and how nobody should ever mess with it. Establishing a conventional kitchen hierarchy goes about as well as youโd expect. And while the civil war within The Original Beef rages on, thereโs the matter of a $300,000 debt to settle incurred during Mikeyโs chaotic reign. An obstacle that feels insurmountable for a dingy, C-grade joint barely making ends meet as it is.
Between the virtually endless back and forth between Whiteโs Carmy and the old guard, The Bear is balanced with an earnest examination of the human element. Beyond the surface-level ideas of grief, loss, and anxiety.
In the third episode, the talented Mr Berzatto audits an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in an attempt to better understand Mikeyโs struggles with addiction, which is heavily implied to have played a major factor in his tragic fate. What we assumed was a self-contained subplot, however, soon spills outward and reveals a larger issue at hand.
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Initially, itโs framed as your run-of-the-mill hospitality fatigue. Like many who have inspired Carmen โCarmyโ Berzatto, Jeremy Allen Whiteโs character devotes a good majority of his life to the restaurant. He doesnโt have any other hobbies. Zero romantic prospects. Not even so much as a friend outside of his employees and sister Natalie โSugarโ Berzatto (Abby Elliot).
He wakes up early. Clocks in. Clocks out. Prepares for the worst. Recklessly scoffs down some peanut butter and jelly toast with a side of Dorritos over the sink. Falls asleep with his eyes open at the stove and sets whatever frozen dinners heโs preparing on fire (if he can muster up the energy). Thatโs when we realise Mikey mightnโt be an isolated incident. Thereโs something eating away at Carmy.
The level of delicately-handled introspection is comparable to The Bearโs FX stablemate Atlanta and HBOโs Barry, and ranks among some of the finest writing in television right now. Writing thatโs worth your time.
How To Watch โThe Bearโ In Australia
Given itโs currently streaming on Hulu over in the US, The Bear will officially land at Disney+ on August 31st.
Anyone out there simply who cannot wait (like yours truly), however, should look into a VPN.
