FX on Hulu’s sleeper hit, The Bear, did not fall into a sophomore slump and, in fact, the fire still burned hot in Season 2. Jeremy Allen White is still taking Chicago by storm, years after becoming the biggest Shameless breakout cast member. Everyone who watched his frequently agonizing portrayal of Lip Gallagher knew that White had it in him to be a massive star, and now, he’s also heading into A24 land with The Iron Claw.
We are here today to talk about The Bear, however, because Season 3 will happen (hell yes, Chefs). FX made the announcement in early November while rhetorically asking, “Who wants another round? FX’s The Bear is returning for a third season.” Let’s discuss what we know so far.
Plot
Season 2 ended Carmy stuck in the walk-in fridge after he had offended the hell out of Claire, which I was fine with because the show does everything else well but, for some reason, manic-pixie-doctor felt out of place in Carmy’s world. Maybe that was the point. Also, the dude is busy and might not ever have time to get busy, if you catch my drift.
To be slightly more serious here, let’s get speculative. Carmy, of course, is prone to existential crises and might need to reckon with the fact that his crew carried off the restaurant “friends and family” test night just fine without him running the show. This could either be seen by him as a personal failure or a success. He brought this crew together and made sure they were prepared, inside and out, so they were determined that the show must go on. Carmy, of course, might still have a meltdown while wondering whether he isn’t needed.
As well, we could see more of Carmy and Sydney’s professional chemistry flourishing because that under-the-table finale conversation surely needs another chapter. She might need to set him straight on priorities again at some point, or perhaps she will spread her wings and fly so high that Sydney might have her own joint one day. She could rock it, and everyone knows that much.
We also definitely need to see more of Marcus’ and Richie’s personal journeys, so ideally, Season 3 will grant us those updates. Only the writers and showrunners likely know what happens at this point for sure, until we receive word that filming has begun. Once that does happen, we can expect a quick turnaround in keeping with Season 2.
In the press release announcing Season 3, FX stayed pretty mum on plot hints, other than reminding us that Season 2 saw the crew “[a]s they stripped the restaurant down to its bones, the crew undertook transformational journeys of their own, each forced to confront the past and reckon with who they want to be in the future.” So, it makes sense that Season 3 would build upon that foundation and roll into the day-to-day operations of the fancier new place.
Cast
The big three — White (as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, Ayo Edebiri (as Sydney Adamu), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (as Richie Jerimovich) — will be back. FX hasn’t confirmed any other returning cast members yet, but we will hopefully be seeing Lionel Boyce return as Marcus, Abby Elliot as Natalie, and so on. No one would be mad to see returning cameo actors again like Jon Bernthal as Mikey, Jamie Lee Curtis as the nightmare mom, Will Poulter’s tattooed Chef, and Joel McHale as that rude, patronizing boss Chef.
Release Date
FX confirmed that Season 3 will arrive in 2024. If the show sticks to the same release schedule as Seasons 1 and 2, then we could see it happen again with a year turnaround for June 2024. Keep the faith, Chefs!
Trailer
No trailer exists yet, but do you want to watch Sydney quit again before Carmy eats donut off the floor? Sure you do.
We don’t know when The Bear return, but once that tidbit drops, we shall celebrate.
