Let It Rip! 'The Bear' FX Is Almost Back
Here's what's on the menu for Season 2.
The Bear, an FX original series that airs on Hulu, is set to return for its second season in June 2023—and for fans who've spent the past year shouting "yes, chef!" every time they so much as boil water, that day can't come soon enough.
The show, created by Christopher Storer, follows Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), an award-winning chef who returns to Chicago to save his family's struggling sandwich joint, The Original Beef of Chicagoland, after his brother, Mikey (Jon Bernthal), dies by suicide.
The staff, including Mikey's best friend, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), resists and sometimes even sabotages Carmy's efforts, but Carmy, fueled by grief, refuses to let up—until, eventually, he snaps (just ask sous chef Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, who find herself on the receiving end of his risotto-triggered outburst).
The fast-paced series was a critical hit and a star-making vehicle for White, who's already won a Golden Globe, SAG Award and Critics' Choice Award for his work in Season 1, and is bound to snag an Emmy nod when the nominations are announced in July. (Real ones know he deserved recognition for playing Lip on Shameless, but that's besides the point.)
So, what's cooking with Season 2 of The Bear? Let's dig in.
Is there a season 2 of The Bear?
Yes, there will be a Season 2 of The Bear. FX announced the show's June 2023 return with a teaser that aired during the 2023 Oscars broadcast in March.
What is the release date for The Bear season 2?
FX has not announced an exact release date—just that the show will return in June 2023. Watch this space for details.
How many episodes of The Bear are there?
There are currently eight episodes of The Bear and there will be 10 episodes in Season 2. That's—*takes out calculator*—18 episodes upon the arrival of the show's next installment.
Matt Dinerstein/FX
Where can I watch The Bear?
The entire first season of The Bear is available to stream on Hulu. The entire second season will be available to stream on Hulu in June (exact date TBD).
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Is The Bear on Netflix?
The Bear isn't on Netflix, silly. It's on Hulu!
Is The Bear Season 2 still filming?
The Bear's second season will reportedly wrap filming at the end of April; it started filming in Chicago in February 2023.
Is there a trailer for The Bear Season 2?
There isn't a trailer for Season 2 of The Bear just yet. But there is a teaser that shows Carmy and his (now loyal) crew packing up The Beef to prepare for the launch of their new endeavor, The Bear. Think of the footage as an appetizer.
Who is in The Bear Season 2 cast?
The entire kitchen staff is set to return for Season 2, along with several characters who don't handle knives. The Season 2 cast includes:
Jeremy Allen White (Carmy)
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Jeremy Allen White will return to play Carmy, the beating heart of the show. In an interview with InStyle, White unpacked his character thusly:
"[Carmy]'s obviously gone through this really traumatic thing right before you meet him, which made him interesting. I realized that Carmy's identity was just completely wrapped up in being a chef and being really successful at it. And, I don't know, that made the rest of his life very lonely."
Despite Carmy's blowup in episode 7 ("Review"), he's a relatively sensitive, thoughtful guy. He's just been, you know, stewing.
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Ayo Edebiri (Sydney)
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Ayo Edebiri will be back as sous chef Sydney, who is integral to Carmy's success (he can't pull off his vision for The Bear without her). Will she finally get a dish of her own on the menu? She'd better!
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Cousin Richie)
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach is in for another round of The Bear as Richie, Mikey's best friend and The Beef's de facto manager pre-Carmy. For most of Season 1, Richie undermines his new boss, but by the end of the eight-episode installment, he warms to his "cousin."
Lionel Boyce (Marcus)
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Lionel Boyce will return as Marcus, a pastry chef on a mission to make the perfect donut.
Liza Colón-Zayas (Tina)
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Liza Colón-Zayas will suit up (apron up?) once again as Tina, a longtime Beef employee who isn't buying what Carmy or Sydney are selling—until she realizes that, damn, they can cook.
Edwin Lee Gibson (Ebraheim)
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Veteran stage actor Edwin Lee Gibson will return as the show's most even-keeled crew member, Ebraheim. Who else is going to patch up Richie's butt after a knife fight?
Abby Elliot (Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto)
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Abby Elliot will once again play Carmy's concerned sister, Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto. From the looks of the teaser, she'll help her brother pack up The Beef. But will she also help him launch The Bear? Hmm.
Other returning cast-members are likely to include real-life chef Matty Matheson as repairman Neil Fak; Corey Hendrix as line cook Gary; José Cervantes as dishwasher Angel; Richard Esteras as dishwasher Manny; Oliver Platt as Carmy's Uncle Jimmy; Joel McHale as Carmy's former chef boss; Chris Witaske as Carmy's dorky brother-in-law, Pete; and (maybe) Jon Bernthal, in flashback, as Mikey.
What restaurant is The Bear based on?
The restaurant at the center of the show was inspired by Mr. Beef, a beloved Italian sandwich joint in Chicago's River North neighborhood. In fact, the show's executive producer and showrunner, Joanna Calo, told Forbes that creator Christopher Storer knows the family behind the real-life restaurant—hence his familiarity with the setting.
"He spent a lot of time in that beef place,” she said. “And I will say also while we were shooting, that some days we actually did shoot in the Mr. Beef on Orleans, and people would show up and bang on the windows trying to get their beef, and we ruined it for them because we were shooting, and it wasn’t operational that day. I think the passion for the beef and the truth of this place and what it meant to people really came through...”
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Where did the money come from in the last episode of The Bear?
At the end of Season 1, Carmy finds cash hidden in tomato sauce cans. The money came from a $300,000 loan Mikey took from the Berzatto brothers's Uncle Jimmy—a loan that everyone assumed Mikey, a drug addict, had blown but it turns out he didn't. He left the stash behind for Carmy to open a restaurant of his own.
Carmy discovers the gift after reading Mikey's final note to him, which included the family's secret sauce recipe and the message "I love you dude, let it rip."
"We wanted to reveal that even though Michael was an addict, he was telling the truth when he told Uncle Jimmy he wanted to franchise," series creator Christopher Storer told IndieWire.
At the end of Season 2, Carmy announces that he's closing The Beef and opening The Bear, a family-style restaurant with "two-tops," "booths" and "a window on the side for sandwiches."
What is Season 2 of The Bear about?
Based on the Season 1 ending and the Season 2 teaser, it's safe to assume that the upcoming installment will be about the shuttering of The Beef and the launch of The Bear. Plus, presumably, Carmy's personal growth.