TV’s most claustrophobic series is back, as season two of The Bear is on Hulu. Season one was all about Carmy, played by Jeremy Allen White, trying to keep his late brother’s grubby sandwich joint afloat, and season two is about stripping The Original Beef down to the studs and putting an upscale restaurant in its place.
While the anxiety of season one was all about the sandwich spot’s workers doing their thing in the tight kitchen space, starved for fresh air, season two gets them outside a bit. Sydney spends some time with her father, who is loving but dubious about her career goals. Carmy meets up with a woman from his childhood neighborhood, which seems to cause a hint of a spark. Tina and Ebra get trained at culinary school.
The pressure of feeding hundreds of hungry customers in a kitchen that’s falling apart drove season one, and the stress of getting a top-shelf restaurant open in a matter of months — the escalating costs, the crippling bureaucracy, the new menu — fuels the new season. Nobody delivers stress better than Richie, portrayed by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, as he struggles to find his true purpose in a white-tablecloth eatery that fits better with the ambitions of Carmy and Sydney than his own.
Scenes between Carmy and Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, getting to know each other better as they sort out the new menu, are riveting. Contemplating the herculean task that awaits them, an exasperated Sydney, wholly focused on attaining a Michelin star for the new place, says in the first episode, “This is a terrible idea.”
Carmy’s sister Natalie, played by Abby Elliott, has joined the restaurant staff as the operations manager, and the character known as “Mom” is keeping a secret from her co-workers and family members. Chicago again plays a starring role in The Bear, the city sparkling in B-roll footage of the El, the Willis Tower, the Chicago River, and showing its grime as the camera zeroes in on The Beef. A litany of vintage rock songs–REM, Counting Crows, Chicago’s own Wilco–provides the musical backdrop.
The season two premiere is entitled “Beef” and the second episode is “Pasta.” Other episodes bear the titles “Sundae,” “Fishes” and “Bolognese.” Season two has 10 episodes, most bearing a name one can sink one’s teeth into (and all streaming at once).
FX’s The Bear is listed as a comedy, but that’s due to its 30-minute run time more than its humor. There are cringey laughs here and there, but the show is much more about stress and how humans handle extreme levels of it. Delightful season two offers tons of agita, and some welcoming peeks at the characters’ lives outside the restaurant as it transforms from The Beef to The Bear.
