Order up! The Bear is back for a fourth course of culinary dramedy this summer. The new season’s trailer reveals that the titular restaurant is in trouble on a couple of fronts, while the kitchen is embroiled with the show’s signature flavor of chaos once more. All episodes of the fourth season will premiere on Hulu on June 25.
As the trailer opens, we learn that The Bear is in dire straits; as financier Cicero (Oliver Platt) reveals, the restaurant is on a ticking clock, and when it reaches zero, they’re out of money, and they will cease operations. What’s more, the reviews for the establishment, which has become considerably more upscale than its blue-collar Italian beef roots, are not great: they criticize its lack of consistency. That was a key plot point from last season, as head chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) served up a different dish every day. Sous-chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) is worried that the chaos is what’s fuelling Carmy, while manager Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and co-owner Natalie (Abby Elliott) try to keep things together. Meanwhile, Carmy’s estranged mother (Jamie Lee Curtis) is back in his life, for good or ill. Will The Bear survive? You’ll have to tune in to FX or Hulu next month to find out.
What Happened in Season 3 of ‘The Bear’?
With The Bear’s reinvention from a neighborhood sandwich joint to a fine-dining experience, the restaurant had a rocky start. Carmy’s insistence that the restaurant should serve a different menu every day proved controversial with both staff and ownership. The kitchen’s constant dysfunction began to weigh on everyone, leading Sydney to consider an offer from a rival restaurateur. Meanwhile, Carmy’s sister and restaurant co-owner Natalie gave birth, leading to an unexpected reunion with her long-estranged mother. The show also flashed back to the days when The Bear was still The Beef, and a desperate Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas) was hired on by Carmy’s still-living brother Mikey (Jon Bernthal). The season ended on a cliffhanger, with a long-awaited review from the Chicago Tribune coming in, as well as a report on The Bear’s finances.
While The Bear has been a critical and awards-show darling, and a hit with viewers, since its debut in 2022, it had some growing pains with season 3. Reviews were mixed, especially with the much-anticipated season premiere turning out to be an extended montage. In her review, Collider‘s Therese Lacson found that the season “arrives undercooked and lacks the proper components that might have made it as successful as the seasons before it.”
Season four of The Bear will premiere on Hulu on June 25.
via Collider