Screens/Reviews

The Bear
Where: Disney+
What: Series, Season 2, 10 episodes, 35 mins.
When: Now
Genre: Drama
Rating: NNNNN (out of 5)
Why you should watch: A great follow-up to last year’s surprise hit about Michelin-level chef who takes over family’s greasy spoon in Chicago. This year, they try to upgrade — superb.

SEASON 2 of last year’s surprise hit The Bear builds on all that was good about Season 1, and dives deeper into key characters while satisfyingly stretching the story like pasta dough.

There’s yelling, hugging, tears and beers as immediate and adjacent members of the Berzatto family set out to convert their greasy spoon into a Michelin-starred restaurant.

Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) sort of gets a girlfriend, the vulnerability hinted at in Cousin Richie Jerimovichs (Ebon Musk-Bachrach) character is developed, sous-chef Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) assumes a bigger role in the kitchen and on the show, and legendary Canadian chef (and co-producer of The Bear) Matty Matheson’s handyman character is given more depth. All good moves.

We get critical information in all main characters’ back stories, even some in smaller roles, and the scope of the show expands. A series of flashbacks is introduced and Carmen’s brother Michael, also Richie’s best friend, appears providing a critical understanding of key characters’ motivation.

An extended flashback to a pivotal Berzatto family Christmas dinner is stunning, raw and real viewing. Jamie Lee Curtis provides an award-winning performance as the seemingly bipolar, alcoholic Berzatto mother. Some A-listers provide key cameos at the dinner, but I won’t spoil the surprise.

Less claustrophobic than the first season, in addition to the flashbacks, there are scenes outside of The Bear, with even a side trip to Europe for one character. Expanding the settings and the characters doesn’t water down the series’s impact but, instead, opens up storytelling opportunities.

The ambitious goal of the kitchen allows The Bear to even more authentically depict the intense pressure and exhilarating highs of success that service life offers. Matheson and his decades in the industry, in all types of kitchens, clearly, insightfully inform the storytelling; the chef’s critical behind and in front of the camera.

Season 2 leaves us hungry for more, with lots more story to tell and characters in whom we are increasingly interested and invested.