Here's everything on the menu for 'The Bear' season 2.
The Bear is ready for seconds. The award-winning and acclaimed FX comedy returns to Hulu with season 2 on June 22, promising new recipes for the same beloved kitchen.
Created by Christopher Storer, The Bear tells the story of fine-dining chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), who returns home to save his family's failing Chicago sandwich shop, The Original Beef, in the wake of his brother Michael's (Jon Bernthal) suicide. To do so, he teams up -- and oftentimes butted heads -- with sous chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), a talented but inexperienced young chef who struggles to win the approval of the kitchen's long established staff.
That well-worn but dedicated staff includes Lionel Boyce as pastry chef Marcus, Liza Colón-Zayas as line cook Tina, Edwin Lee Gibson as line cook Ebraheim and Matty Matheson as handyman Neil. The rest of Carmy's family is filled out by "cousin" Richie, who also serves as the restaurant's manager, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Abby Elliott as Carmy's lovingly sister Natalie as well as Oliver Platt as the Berzatto siblings' uncle, Jimmy Cicero.
Here's everything on the menu for The Bear season 2.
How Season 1 Ended
Season 1 saw Carmy and Sydney both learning the ways of The Original Beef and how the kitchen staff operated things before either one of them joined the team while also trying to get the restaurant out of debt. By the end of the first eight episodes, Carmy found his late brother's hidden cash stored in cans of tomato sauce, leading to his decision to close The Original Beef. In its place will be The Bear, a new restaurant developed by Carmy and Sydney.
Following The Bear's debut in June 2022, the FX series earned rave reviews and critical acclaim before going on to find itself a major awards season contender. White won Golden Globe, Critics Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards for his performance in season 1 while Edebiri won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Performance in a New Scripted Series.
The series was also named one of AFI's Top 10 Programs of the Year and took home honors at the Independent Spirit Awards, Writers Guild Awards and Producers Guild Awards.
What Season 2 Is About
"We'll build the restaurant. I know that much," White told ET of The Bear season 2 in September 2022.
Since then, FX revealed the official logline for season 2. According to the cable network, The Bear will follow Carmy and his team "as they work to transform their grimy sandwich joint into a next-level spot. As they strip the restaurant down to its bones, the crew undertakes transformational journeys of their own, each forced to confront the past and reckon with who they want to be in the future."
Unsurprisingly, "it turns out the only thing harder than running a restaurant is opening a new one, and the team must juggle the insane bureaucracy of permits and contractors with the beauty and creative agony of menu planning. The transition brings a newfound focus on hospitality as well. As the entire staff is forced to come together in new ways, pushing the boundaries of their abilities and relationships, they also learn what it means to be in service, both to diners and each other."
More specifically, for Carmy that means fulfilling his late brother's dream of turning The Original Beef into something to be proud of while also trying to balance being a good brother, cousin and boss as well as a reliable ex-boyfriend. For the rest, season 2 will see Richie forced to evolve or be left behind, Sydney trying to figure out how to lead, Marcus learning to trust his culinary instincts, Tina navigating major changes in the restaurant and Natalie getting sucked back into the family business she adamantly tried to stay out of.
New Cast & Crew Members
Season 2 is welcoming several new characters -- and cast members -- to The Bear. Booksmart breakout Molly Gordon will recur as Carmy's ex-girlfriend and potential love interest in the new episodes, while Guardians of the Galaxy actor Will Poulter will appear as a chef from Copenhagen, Denmark, who trains Marcus, and Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk has an undisclosed role.
While Poulter and Odenkirk haven't been seen in any of the new footage released ahead of season 2's premiere, Gordon's character has been teased in some of the clips, with her arrival coming as a surprise to Carmy.
Behind the scenes, the series is expanding with several new writers and directors joining Storer, who wrote and helmed most of season 1 with writer and director Joanna Calo as well as writers Catherine Schetina & Rene Gube, Karen Joseph Adcock and Sofya Levitsky-Weitz. Joining in season 2 are Ramy Youssef, who helms episode four, which was written by Stacy Osei-Kuffour, who previously worked on PEN15 and Watchmen.
Trailer & Release for Season 2
FX first revealed that season 2 was coming in 2023 during the Oscars telecast in March. The network also dropped a 30-second trailer in an ad, giving audiences the first official look at the new episodes.
FX then revealed the full-length trailer on May 15. "Still thinking chaos menu?" Sydney asks Carmy, to which he says yes, "But thoughtful."
On top of the restaurant's development, Carmy also appears to still be struggling with the death of his older brother. "I'm trying to start from a place of positivity," he says midway through the clip.
All 10 episodes of The Bear season 2 will be available to stream starting June 22, FX announced in May. Like season 1, The Bear will be on Hulu alongside the cable network's other major hits.
FX's The Bear season 2 premieres June 22 on Hulu.
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