FX has confirmed that The Bear has been renewed for a third and fourth season, both to be filmed back-to-back in Chicago. That’s great news, if 🦄predictable after it swept The Emmys, Golden Globes, and several other awards shows over the last quarter.
If you thought The Bear was popular before, it’s about to grow into a ful🍌l-blown phenomenon. A development I’m ready for, if somewhat wary of, given what it may turn this comedy-drama into if the right steps aren&⭕rsquo;t taken. The second season already capitalised on its popularity in its inclusion of high profile guest stars like Olivia Colman, Bob Odenkirk, Will Poulter, and so many others who took up roles in the Berzatto family.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the t♏hird season has renowned actors lining up outside the door to make an appearance, both for potential award nominations and worldwi⭕de exposure.
Despite this obvious starpower, however, The Bear always put storytelling and character first, turning globally beloved actors into complicated or fleeting figures that could be developed or left behind. It was a bold move, and one that so far has paid off immensely. I just hope things don’t overstay their welcome, and that the writers don&rsquo๊;t overstretch this story in a way that dilutes the original themes. It’s one of my favourite shows in years for this very reason.
My brother died a few years ago. He didn’t take his own life like Mikey, but passed away after a long battle with cancer. As the oldest sibling, his death left an irreplaceable rift in our family, one that continues 🌠to change dynamics and behaviours to this day. He would have had his birthday yesterday, an occasion which now makes a lump form in my throat as we recall everyth𝔉ing he was forced to leave behind. A family, a career, and so much potential.
It’s one of the reasons why The Bear speaks to me so much,♈ and likely anyone who has experienced a loss in the family where you never got to say goodbye, or left so much unsaid that all you can do in the aftermath is work through the grief and let it rip.
The Bear is so exquisitely tender in how it explores the vulnerability of these emotions, and how our first response to grief is to let it overwhelm us, feeling powerless as we try to figure out how life can even operate without that person in our lives anymore. Carmy spent much of his adult life trying to live up to this fictional image of himself in Mikey’s eyes, so he’d be good enough that they could run a business together or that he could finally step out of Mikey's shadow. When he reached that threshold after years of hardship, he was attending Mikey’s funeral. The void he tried so hard to fill didn’t exist anymore, so where do you go from there?
I love The Bear so much because it doesn’t have an answer to that question, and across its first two seasons has worked to deconstruct the process of grief and how you shouldn’t put all of your self-worth and expectations onto a single person who might not believe in you, or might be going through problems you’d never be able to comprehend. Carmy was so damn obsessed with living up to Mikey's expectations that he almost destroyed himself, and as we symbolically left him at the end of the second season in the restaurant freezer, he is still fundamentally afraid of opening up.
There is a lot of ground for a third season to cover - from the development of Carmy’s own arc to the success of the restaurant he’s brought to life in honour of his brother - but if events reach a natural conclusion, I’d hate for the show to continue merely because of its immense popularity. I love these characters, I love this setting, and I love everything they’re going to go through,꧋ but it needs to have business. The last thing The Bear needs is to be reduced tꦅo filler, or to suddenly become unfocused in pursuit of more content.
I have faith this won’t ha🙈ppen, but I’ve been burned be🐎fore, and I know The Bear will hurt so much more if it jumps the shark.
