created by Christopher Storer, 2022-present
Wow, I have some mixed feelings about this one. The Bear is extremely stressful, but also very rewarding. It was hard to watch at times, yet had a lot of heart and the story itself left me with those “warm, fuzzy” feelings that everyone loves. I get why this series was all the rage when it was initially released!
The Bear is about a young chef, Carmen, that has to leave his job as head of the best restaurant in the world (yes, literally the best in the world) to run the family restaurant left to him by his older brother when he passed. The restaurant is run sloppily, but everyone that works there is like family. Because of the absence of Carmen’s older brother, there are a lot of open wounds left unattended. The series focuses on grief, both in the ways it can tear people apart and also the ways it can unite them. In that way, it reminds me a bit of shows like Ramy or Master of None. The style mimics those shows, and it acts as a window into a person’s life. Just like those other shows, it also takes the time to explore the feelings of the other characters around the main one.
Because it is set in a restaurant (with a power imbalance to boot) The Bear consists mostly of yelling. Most of the characters lack the ability to express and work through their grief, which causes tensions to soar. No one listens to each other and the only way to have a voice heard is to yell over everyone else. It raises my blood pressure significantly. However, once the grief is addressed, at the end of the series, it all pays off with some meaningful breakthroughs for the characters. It will tug at your heartstrings, especially after the emotional damage of the other episodes!
This is not a series with a fast-paced plot, nor is it funny (as Hulu would lead you to believe by listing it under “comedy”). It was a window into the lives of a group of people dealing with the loss of someone close to them. It is extremely emotionally-driven. However, I can confidently say you will never be bored watching this series, and the heart-rate elevation might even count as a workout. There are a lot of reasons to love this series, but comedy and an intricate plot are not those reasons.
Overall, I recommend this series to a couple types of people. First, anyone that worked in a kitchen or restaurant should check this show out, if for no other reason than to live out your traumatic experience through someone else on screen. Second, I suggest The Bear if you’d like to see a series bring meaning to small interactions, as well as a show about people Learning To Be Okay. If you liked the movie The Descendants (the George Clooney one), or Call Me By Your Name, you will most likely love this show (Jeremy Allen White IS the working woman’s Timothée Chalamet, after all). If you can handle yelling, check this one out!
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