The Bear: Overview and Preview of Season 4

It's release has kind of gone under-the-radar (per usual with their full-season drops that annoy the crap out of me), but the 4th Season of The Bear released on June 25th on Hulu. The critically acclaimed show starring Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Adebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and more was one of the most chaotic, surprising, funny and emotional shows I had ever seen over it's first 2 seasons. The 3rd season was a bit of a miss, but that didn't hinder my excitement for Season 4.

I've watched 5 of the 10 episodes in Season 4 -- but realize many people probably aren't caught up less than a week from it's release. So rather than going into a review of the 1st half, I'm going to save those for the next couple weeks if enough other people are watching it as well.

Instead, Today's Blog will be a Preview and Overview of The Bear

For People who haven't watched the show -- this will give you the premise, the actors and characters that they play, other guest actors (without their roles in the show - no spoilers), and the general emotions/themes of the show so you know what you're getting into.

For those who have watched some of the show -- think of this as a refresher. Even though the show comes back more regularly than 99% of shows on TV right now, there are still little things that are easy to forget about the characters.

For those who are caught up through Season 3 -- I am also going to add a paragraph at the very end which sets the table for where the characters are going into Season 4. I'm a Huge "Watch a YouTube Recap before starting the new season" guy -- this will act as that.

General Thoughts

Spoiler-free

For someone who's never watched The Bear, the very first thing I would tell them is: the 1st 2 seasons are some of the best TV I've watched. I think it's as worthwhile of a watch as any show around. The runtime of the episodes are short, but I wouldn't describe it as an easy-watch -- I think it's a show that demands focus, and when given that focus, is emotionally-connective and you get caught up in the chaos.

The show's premise is about a young, renowned Chef named Carmen Berzatto, who after years of working in the world's finest restaurants, comes home to Chicago to run his family's struggling restaurant. "The Beef" -- which was run by Carmy's brother -- is now under his watch as he navigates obstacles from crazy employees/customers, failing equipment, financial pressure, etc to turn things around for everyone.

The strength of the show is it's cinematography (the way it's shot is frenetic and inventive), and it's characters (and how connected you get with them emotionally as viewers). You're fully enveloped in the chaos at all times -- which can be uncomfortable at times. It has a similar energy in some ways to Uncut Gems -- it runs on anxiety and stress very often. That sounds like a negative, but in the early seasons it drives the action and keeps things exciting.

Characters and Actors:

The creator of the show Christopher Storer, who got his start working with the comedian Bo Burnham on his specials and debut film Eighth Grade. I have to mention that 1st because I grew up on his stupid but hilarious YouTube songs -- I'm Bo Yo, My Whole Family, Words Words Words -- also shoutout his performance in Promising Young Woman. Not his character's actions, just Bo. Moving on.

Main Cast:

Carmen Berzatto -- Jeremy Allen White

Carmy, the accomplished young chef returning home to run his family's restaurant. It's clear that his family is very important to him, but his family has also fucked him up mentally, and he's trying to navigate those feelings returning home after many years away.

Chef Sydney Adamu -- Ayo Adebiri

Chef Syd is introduced as a stage chef coming to work at The Beef under Carmy. A young and ridiculously-talented chef, but has made mistakes in her career that she's looking to rectify.

Richie Jerimovich -- Ebon Moss-Bachrach

"Cousin" of the Berzatto family, works at The Beef. Big, Boisterous personality that lends itself nicely to butting heads with authority (because he thinks he should be the authority).

Abby Elliott -- Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto

Sister of Carmy, Sugar is the connective tissue of the Berzatto family, or at least trying her best to be.

Marcus Brooks -- Lionel Boyce

Pastry chef at The Beef, Marcus specializes in all things baking from sandwich buns to desserts, and has a strong desire to improve his craft.

Tina Marrero - Liza Colon-Zayas

Tina is one of the main chefs at The Beef who is doubtful of Carmy's leadership until she sees for herself what he's capable of.

Neil Fak - Matty Matheson

A real-life chef, Matheson actually plays the roll of handyman/odd-ball who is the best friend of Carmy and family friend of the Berzatto's (The Fak Family has no shortage of members).

Jimmy Cicero - Oliver Platt

"Uncle Jimmy," another family friend of the Berzatto's, who is a shrewd businessman in most aspects, except for his investments in The Beef which are spiraling. (Platt is one of my niche all-time favorite actors).

Guest Actors/Cameos/Side Actors

Not going to give any context to their roles so nothing gets spoiled, but if the names above aren't enough to pique your interest -- get a load of this shit right here (my favorites are underlined).

Jon Bernthal

Jamie Lee Curtis

Molly Gordon

Olivia Colman

Joel McHale

Will Poulter

Molly Ringwald

John Cena

Bob Odenkirk

John Mulaney

Sarah Paulson

Josh Hartnett

Brie Larson

Gillian Jacobs

Rob Reiner

Fucking Ben Affleck just said in an interview a few weeks ago how badly he wanted to guest star in The Bear. It's a testament to not only the quality of this show, but the joy people have working on it that they're able to get these A-list actors for small roles.

Recommendation

If you've read any of my TV blogs this year, there's a pretty common theme I look for when I'm watching TV shows: Things that are unique, and things that make me feel emotions. The Bear does both.

This show is very unique -- I've never seen a show in the kitchen setting like this, or that moves this frenetically at times. It's also incredibly funny, moving, authentic, and deep. I also think there's real ambition in how it's made -- each season has been different (to varying success levels) and they take chances throughout. And visually the show is just made in a masterful way.

The show also has made me feel every emotion -- and it makes me think about life a lot. The show is hilarious and makes me laugh a ton. It has really deep familial themes that can be relatable. With the family and relationship aspects, I don't find the exact situations super relatable, but there are aspects that hit super close. It can also be stressful to watch, or make you feel anxiety on the characters' behalf. They've been through trauma, they find themselves in hard positions, they make frustrating choices -- that's part of the deal with The Bear. So if you can't handle that, it won't work for you.

I also think there's a lot of inconsistency in it at times. I think it can be somewhat repetitive, I don't always think the dialogue is great, I think it can be a frustrating watch at times. But I think the good outweighs the bad in a massive way. And like I said before: the first 2 seasons rival any show you're gonna watch, so if nothing else, do yourself a favor and give it a shot.

And if you don't wanna take my word for it -- google how many Academy Awards the show has won. Basically swept every major award at the Emmy's/Golden Globes for it's 1st and 2nd seasons. Some of the best acting on TV.

Bean's Blog Season Ratings:

Season 1 = 9.3/10

Season 2 = 9.7/10

Season 3 = 7.3/10

Season 4 = ??/10

If you're looking for Season 4 Preview thoughts -- keep reading. If not, thank you for reading this far, and I hope you feel compelled to start The Bear tonight if you've never watched before. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Season 4 Preview

Just going to jot down some quick thoughts on where things were left off going into Season 4 of The Bear for anyone needing a refresher (I certainly did).

I think the most important thing to remember coming in is thatthe Chicago Tribune had just posted their review of the restaurant at Season 3's conclusion. In S3 they made it known that it was a mixed review, but that's really all we know.

Carmy at the end of season 2 said some things while trapped in the freezer about Claire, she heard them, Carmy spiraled all of Season 3. Have to imagine something's going to occur with them in S4, but we don't have much to go on right now.

Sydney has been offered a CDC position at Shapiro's new restaurant, which obviously would mean she backs out of the partnership with Carmy.

Sugar has had her baby -- that happened toward the end of S3 as well. So she will be full-momming in S4.

Richie is struggling with the Ex-wife/Step-dad dynamic and trying to be a good father to his daughter, while also trying to balance his frustrations with Carmy and keeping The Bear afloat.

Uncle Jimmy told Carmy how important a good review would be in the success of the restaurant -- how will he react if the review isn't entirely glowing?

That's all you really need to know going into S4 -- and if you lost confidence in the show after S3, at least give S4 a shot to see what you think (even if you didn't finish 3 -- you don't need to).