‘The Bear’ Season 3 has self-indulgent stunt-casting, but is still emotional: review

Let it rip.

TV’s most stressful show is back – no, not a gritty murder mystery or nail-biting medical drama, it’s “The Bear” (Season 3 is now streaming on Hulu).

The show – which all but swept the Emmys and Golden Globes – follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), an uptight chef from the world of Michelin-starred restaurants who returns to Chicago to helm his brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) chaotic sandwich shop after Mikey’s suicide.

At first, the ragtag kitchen staff was skeptical, but in Season 2, Carmy and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) wrangled them into leveling up and giving the place an upscale makeover. Going into Season 3, they’re a more cohesive team.

Season 3 is a mixed bag. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) remains a blowhard (but, he’s matured slightly). Carmy is still an emotionally stunted mess, although he does try harder to support his staff on a personal and emotional level. Sydney remains earnest yet frazzled.

“The Bear” isn’t interested in plot – while there’s a semblance of it, as the team embarks on its new venture, “The Bear” follows these characters through slice-of-life triumphs, failures, and mundane daily tasks, with frequent dips back into their pasts.

Some parts of this succeed more than others. There are aspects of Season 3 where the story meanders. There’s nothing wrong with characters just existing together onscreen, but having a little bit of narrative direction wouldn’t kill “The Bear.”

On the other hand, when this summer’s other biggest show (“House of the Dragon”) sprints through plot too fast and kills off characters before we even get to know them, it’s refreshing that “The Bear” stops to smell the roses.

Still, by Season 3, “The Bear” is getting a tad self-indulgent.

A flashback should convey essential new information about the characters or deepen our understanding of them, to view them in a new light. Some of these sequences in Season 3 feel like merely an excuse to bring back splashy guest stars like Joel McHale or Bernthal.

Both actors are welcome presences – and Mikey remains an emotional touchstone in the story, so it’s right to sprinkle Bernthal into every season. But, “The Bear” isn’t covering new ground in these scenes.

While it’s fun to see McHale and Bernthal – and it’s a pleasant surprise to see big-name Season 3 guest stars such as Josh Hartnett or John Cena, both charming in their roles – some of it seems like “The Bear” is stunt casting and bringing in famous faces just because it can.

Season 3 continues shading in what makes these characters tick, and tugging on your heartstrings – especially with Marcus, and an effective return from Jamie Lee Curtis. The show remains emotional, as grief stays a prevailing topic. It’s heartening to see the team get better at supporting each other through hardships, rather than flailing alone.

Still, it’s all a little haphazard. For instance, it’s nice to learn more about Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), but it also feels like the show just noticed that it forgot to flesh her out much in past seasons, so it’s now scrambling to fill in her characterization. (Season 3 devoting more time to her also draws attention to the strange fact that “The Bear” is a character-driven show where many of the characters are bafflingly thinly-drawn.)

Despite its flaws in narrative focus — or lack thereof — “The Bear” remains an emotional show filled with top performances.