Yes, chef!
The Bear
The first two seasons are now streaming in their entirety on Hulu in the U.S.. I've seen all 18 episodes.
The second season deepens the characters who were introduced in the blisteringly intense first season, sending them all on dramatically individual journeys to find their own true center.
In the eight episodes that started the ball rolling last year, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) was introduced as a fine-dining chef who returned to Chicago after the death of his brother, who left the family's sandwich shop to him. The shop's employees were highly antagonistic toward him, especially his 'Cousin' Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), but were gradually won over by his drive and determination to save the failing shop.
The show debuted all eight episodes in June 2022, winning widespread acclaim, though I wasn't able to watch the show myself until August. Assembled with incredible intensity, it was an easy show to binge in its entirety, especially since each show was about 30 minutes, and I had the ad-free plan at the time. I loved the frenzied pace and the dark humor, as well as the show's focus on the joys and challenges of making food for other people, while dealing with people who constantly tried one's patience.
The first season dealt with Carmy struggling to keep the longtime shop alive as it faced imminent threats of closure. It concluded on a hopeful note, however, with the discovery of a trove of cash that opened up many possibilities.
Beginning on that hopeful note, Carmy and his sister Natalie (Abby Elliott), together with chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), pitch their wealthy Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) on their plan to renovate the sandwich shop into a fine-dining establishment. The season then follows the course of the renovation.
Created by Christopher Storer, who directed seven of the episodes, the show expands the length of some of the episodes, but only as much as needed to tell the story of that episode. The episodes also vary in their intensity, again as needed to reflect the mood of the characters at that point. We follow, for example, recently-minted pastry chef Marcus (Lionel Boyce) as he travels to Copenhagen to be trained by the famed Luca (Will Poulter), recently-opened up Tina (Liza Colon-Zayas) as she receives training at a Chicago culinary school; and chef Sydney as she spends a day sampling Chicago restaurants in search of fresh inspiration.
Through several episodes, we see how Carmy deals with the possibilities awakened by a renewed friendship with old flame Claire (Molly Gordon). And we also bear witness to a jaw-dropping, epic family holiday dinner in the not-so-distant past that erupts into a volcanic explosion of emotional violence.
Diving deeper into surging rivers of great conflict and riveting stress, buoyed by a raft of stirring performances, The Bear remains entirely absorbing.
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