‘The Bear’ season three is shaping up nicely
Few shows have landed with the same impact as The Bear. Like Carmy’s tastiest dishes, it contains a myriad of ingredients – heated workplace drama, astute examination of trauma, a platform for famous guest stars – carefully blended so every layer compliments the whole. After only two seasons, it’s already ascended to the loftiest heights of prestige TV.
For all its acclaim, critically and with audiences, the most exciting thing about the show is that it’s only just getting started. What does the future hold for Carmy, Richie and Sidney? After such a rich appetiser, the main course can’t get here fast enough.
Is The Bear season 3 actually happening?
Yes, Chef!
FX officially renewed the show for a third season in November last year, several months after the second season dropped.
Speaking about the announcement, Nick Grad, president at FX Entertainment, said: “The Bear, which wowed audiences in its first season only to achieve even greater heights in season two, has become a cultural phenomenon. We’re so proud to partner with Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, and the rest of the creative team, as well as the brilliant cast led by Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
“What they have done is truly remarkable, and we and our partners at Hulu join fans in looking forward to the next chapter in the story of The Bear.”
Who wants another round? FX’s The Bear is returning for a third season. Only on @Hulu. #TheBearFX pic.twitter.com/0CY2TxWtUs
— The Bear (@TheBearFX) November 6, 2023
When is The Bear season 3 coming out?
We have a window, Chef
During FX’s presentation at the Television Critics Association press tour, network chairman John Landgraf confirmed The Bear’s third season will arrive in June 2024 in the US.
As for whether all the episodes will be released at once, Landgraf said he has “no doubt” Hulu will keep the same release pattern. “It wasn’t lost on me or anyone who worked on the show that it was anxiety-inducing,” he said. “So we made a decision to drop the whole thing because it has a beautiful, uplifting ending.”
UK viewers, however, might have to wait a little bit longer for the third season. The second season arrived on Disney+ in the UK a month after the US date last year, in July and June respectively, so the same could happen again for season three.
Where will the story go in The Bear season 3?
Back to the kitchen
After spending a season planning a new revamped restaurant, the second season culminates with Carmy and co. opening the place for invited friends and family. For Carmy, this leads to chaos – after he ends up locked inside the walk-in refrigerator and spirals into self-loathing, blaming his relationship with Claire for his lack of focus in the kitchen. As Claire overhears this, she appears to end the relationship and leaves in tears.
The situation, however, is brighter for the rest of the staff. Richie, despite an argument with Carmy, comes full circle as he manages to fill in for Sydney on managing the orders, while the latter has newfound confidence following acceptance from her father.
After launching the restaurant, it seems the third season will echo the first in primarily leaning on the kitchen dynamic. Speaking to Variety in December, Jeremy Allen White said he hadn’t read any of the scripts, but suggested this would likely be the direction.
“I do know in January I’m going to spend a fair amount of time getting together with some chefs,” he said. “There’ll be a menu set, I believe, that’s going to be for the restaurant in the third season. And I know that I’m going to start putting together that menu with different chefs and cooking and just trying to get prepared to do more of that stuff on camera.
“We all did a lot of preparation before the first season. I went to culinary school, and I spent a lot of time in restaurants and stuff. And then, for the second season, so much of it was about putting the restaurant together, so there wasn’t that much cooking. But now, in the third season, I think we’re going to go back to that functioning kitchen atmosphere that we had in the first.”
The second season also expanded its focus to supporting characters like Marcus, who was given a surge of confidence after being taught by chef Luca in Copenhagen. The fate of his ill mother, however, is a hanging question, after he saw various missed calls from his mum’s carer on his phone.
Speaking to Deadline about the calls, Marcus actor Lionel Boyce said: “I don’t know where they’re going, how they’re gonna write it. But I think you’re totally right. He had a great night and he’ll punish himself for not being attentive, like, for losing himself.”
About his hopes for season three, he added: “I think the thing to me that is interesting to explore is just, like, continuing the journey of aspiring for greatness. It’s just a story of passion. All the writers do such a great job of arcing out specific stories for each character, so I’m excited to see where they’ll take it. But for me, I would love to explore that.
“This season was, to me, very much him just discovering there’s a path to greatness and seeing what it takes to get there. So I would like to see him get one step closer to it and see what comes with that – the good and the bad.”
What else do we know about season 3?
Ayo Edebiri is stepping behind the camera
Ayo Edebiri, who plays Sidney, will direct one of the episodes in the third season.
As confirmed in an interview with Vogue, creator Christopher Storer encouraged Edebiri to visit the set daily during season two following her behind-the-scenes work on shows like Big Mouth and What We Do In The Shadows.
“Last season, he said, ‘Come to set, just come to set, see what happens,’” Edebiri said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, ok. Yeah. I think I want to do this.’”
Wait, is season 4 happening as well?
Let them cook
According to Deadline, multiple sources have said the show will be back for a fourth season, which will be filmed back to back with season three in Chicago. It’s believed the decision to film both seasons is due to the schedules of its increasingly in-demand cast.
This, however, has yet to be confirmed by FX. With filming on the third season officially kicking off in March though, we might receive some confirmation either way soon.
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Adam Starkey
NME
