Although The Bear viewers heard Richie Jerimovich’s ex-wife Tiffany once during Season 1, it wasn’t until Season 2’s sixth episode that Community alum Gillian Jacobs made her onscreen debut as the character. “Fishes” took place five years before the opening of the title restaurant, a time when Tiffany and Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Richie were still together and the former was pregnant with their daughter, Eva. But with the different relationship Tiffany and Riche have in the present day, and following Moss-Bachrach earning an Emmy nomination for his work on The Bear, Jacobs talked with CinemaBlend about what she’d like to see happen with these two in a potential Season 3.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Gillian Jacobs ahead of the SAG-AFTRA strike and shortly after it was announced that Ebon Moss-Bachrach had been nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 75th Primetime Emmys. As such, I asked the actress what it was working with him in “Fishes,” bringing up the intimacy their characters shared in their scenes together since this was when they were still married. She responded:
I’ve known Ebon… not well, I haven’t hung out with him a ton, but I’ve known him for a long time. I went back and was like, ‘We’re in the same scene in one episode of Girls, but we don’t share any dialogue. We’re not in the frame in the same time, but both of our characters are in a scene together.’ So it was so nice to be able to do that with someone who I’ve known for a long time. And the tenderness and the sweetness and the hope and the possibility of that scene was just so lovely, and I think such a nice counterpoint to everything else in the episode. To get to see Richie at that point in his life where there is so much hope there and they’re in love and they’re expecting a child. It was a wonderful experience, he’s a wonderful scene partner. It was just a joy to get to do those scenes.
Tiffany and Richie’s scenes were arguably the most positive aspect of “Fishes,” as along with expressing their love for each other and their excitement for Eva’s impending arrival, Tiffany was also incredibly thankful to Oliver Platt’s Jimmy "Cicero" Kalinowski for giving him a job, even though Cicero hadn’t actually made a decision on that, but decided to cut Richie a break after Tiffany brought it up. Shortly thereafter, the stressful dinner table scene unfolded, which had Jacobs experiencing paradoxical feelings in the middle of the shoot. So getting those other scenes with Moss-Bachrach, someone she’s known for so long, made for a nice counterbalance.
Gillian Jacobs returned as Tiffany in The Bear Season 2’s seventh episode, “Forks,” where she called Richie to let him know that she was getting married again. While Richie was understandably a little surprised by the news, he and Tiffany still seemed to be on amicable terms with each other, at least when it came to co-parenting. As of this writing, The Bear hasn’t been renewed for Season 3, but if Hulu subscribers do end up getting another batch of episodes, I wanted Jacobs’ take on what Tiffany and Richie’s dynamic would be like now that she’s about to begin a new marriage, and the actress said this:
I don’t know. What I loved about that scene too was that there’s still a lot of love between them. And yet, she’s also engaged to another guy. It’s moving on, but they’re in a good enough place that she wanted to call him and tell him that. And you see how hard it is for her to tell him that. I don’t know where that would lead, but yeah, that would be an amazing opportunity to get to be in any further episodes of the show. I would be so lucky.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach is competing at the next Emmys ceremony against Ted Lasso’s Brett Goldstein and Phil Dunster, Barry’s Anthony Carrigan and Henry Winkler, Jury Duty’s James Marsden and Abbott Elementary’s Tyler James Williams. His is one of 13 nominations the Hulu show received, including Outstanding Comedy Series, Jeremy Allen White for Outstanding Lead Actor and Ayo Edebiri for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Given the critical acclaim both seasons of The Bear received, its chances of scoring another renewal are stronger than not. If/when Season 3 is announced, let’s hope that Gillian Jacobs is brought back and she and Moss-Bachrach are able to more deeply explore how things are between Tiffany and Richie as ex-spouses.
We’ll find out if Moss-Bachrach takes home the gold when the 75th Primetime Emmys air Monday, September 18 on Fox. For those who’ve finished The Bear Season 2, take a look at the other best Hulu TV shows available to watch, or get a lay of the small screen land as a whole for the near future with our 2023 TV schedule.
