The Bear is back on TV and it’s hectic, melancholy and incredible

The Bear
★★★★
Disney+

The modern measure of how anticipated a new TV series is surely the number of views a trailer has on YouTube, and the season three trailer for The Bear has racked up more than 10 million views. Those millions will not be disappointed.

Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) is just as anxious as ever in the new third season of The Bear.Credit: FX

After the furious pace of last season’s finale as the restaurant finally opened its doors as a fine-dining eatery, culminating in Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) breakdown and, we assume, break-up with Claire (Molly Gordon), the first episode of this new season acts like a long exhalation.

Essentially one long montage (nobody does a lovingly filmed composite shot like The Bear), it’s the day after the opening, and Carmy is back in the restaurant, obsessing – what he does best – about what went wrong, and mostly, about his past. We see him training to be a chef, and there are long, exquisitely lit shots of food being prepared as he trains under the abusive NYC Chef (Joel McHale), who doesn’t even rate a real name in the cast (and is reportedly based on a couple of real chefs). A melancholy soundtrack from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross accompanies the cinematic episode, and cinematographer Andrew Wehde’s former work shooting commercials for Michelin-starred restaurants is evident; shelling peas has never looked so sensual.

Apart from the occasional ruthless comment from NYC Chef in the flashbacks, there’s no dialogue until 15 minutes in, and even from that point it’s minimal. But fear not – the second episode is back on form as Carmy sets out new rules for the restaurant and he and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, surely the series’ standout actor) spend at least five minutes screaming “f--- you” at each other.

Ayo Edebiri as Sydney and Jeremy Allen White as Carmy in their kitchen in The Bear.Credit: FX

The Bear’s first season was coloured by grief, trauma and guilt, and the second slowed down the pace and gave the characters – Sydney (the brilliant Ayo Edebiri), Marcus (Lionel Boyce), Richie, Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) – greater depth and inner lives. The focus of the third season is the team’s aim on making the restaurant a success, although Uncle Jimmy (Oliver Platt) isn’t happy about Carmy’s microgreens budget. This season is also very much about family, both biological and the ones we choose.

Grief still percolates: Marcus’ mum, as expected, dies, and we see more of Carmy’s brother, Mikey (Jon Bernthal), in flashback scenes; an episode featuring Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) reveals more about the childhoods Carmy, Mikey and Natalie had; we learn Tina’s backstory.

Tonally, The Bear remains unlike most dramas, veering from soapie – there’s a birth (not a spoiler, as Natalie was pregnant in season two), the impending wedding of Richie’s ex-wife, Tiffany (Gillian Jacobs), life decisions to be made and two funerals – to the claustrophobic realism of the kitchen and an almost documentary-like feel. Celebrity chef Thomas Keller (the only American to get three Michelin stars) appears, training Carmy, and another episode features several real big-name American chefs, including Will Guidara (also a co-producer on some episodes), Genie Kwon and Wylie Dufresne.

There’s comic relief – perhaps sometimes too much – from Fak (internet celebrity Matty Matheson) and Theo (Ricky Staffieri) and there’s even some actual fun at a party (and Olivia Colman returns!), but Carmy remains infuriatingly stubborn (and miserable), even as the restaurant becomes a success, at least in terms of customers and reviews.

There are hints though, that he might finally make positive changes, as the season finale’s final scene says, “to be continued”. The Bear can be exhausting, especially when binged, but that’s testament to the fully realised characters and world creator and director Christopher Storer has created.

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