Service! Culinary drama The Bear, one of the biggest TV breakouts of 2022, is already coming back for seconds. The Bear season 2 is ready to be served, after lead Jeremy Allen White took home the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Series earlier this year, and is set to hit tables in the US in late June. There's a problem for those of us in the UK, alas: perhaps owing to our more stringent standards of produce, we won't see it until 19 July, a whole month after it comes out Stateside.
Plot details are yet to be announced, but creator Christopher Storer told Variety in a sneak peek that the season won't see Carmy (White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) shack up, despite speculation. “We wanted to make something that was about friendship and a partnership,” he told the trade outlet. “It really is so funny that that is one of the things that people took away — of all the heavy shit that's going on in the show! It was interesting because Ayo and Jeremy, since they are our friends and are such wonderful people, I think there is this charisma that comes off both of them.”
Also, this season will be two episodes longer than the first. That's right, they've supersized.
Here's everything else you need to know about The Bear season two.
What's the release date for The Bear season 2?
As has been the frequent source of frustration for UK audiences wanting to watch the prestige programming of FX and streamer affiliate Hulu, The Bear won't come out over here until a month after it does in the US. What's more, the whole thing is dropping all at once — so by the time we get to catch up with Carmy and Sydney's culinary capers, the Yanks would've spoiled it to hell on Twitter, and no-one over there will be talking about it anymore. If this was a Michelin-star restaurant you'd best believe we'd be leaving a two-star Yelp review…
Anyway, rant over. The kitchen will be open for The Bear season 2 on 19 July. And yes, to confirm, that's the whole kitchen, all of it all at once: as tends to be the case when Disney+ drops prestige adult drama fare in the UK, it's coming in bulk a la Netflix.
What will The Bear season two be about?
The question on everybody's lips. Including the show stars, apparently: according to Variety, as of January, White and Edebiri still haven't read the scripts for the new season, even though they were planned out in tandem with season one by the creators.
Co-showrunner Joanna Calo told Variety that season two will centre thematically on “hospitality, taking care of others and making the cast's lives a bit bigger,” with Carmy still reeling from the death of his brother before season one began. “Nobody's fixed and everyone's a work in progress,” Storer said. “Every second counts.”
“Season 2 really is about the opportunity to start fresh and what does that mean. What does Carmen and Sydney's dream restaurant look like? But also at the same time, what does a dream restaurant in 2023 look like? I think that's the thing that they're sort of battling with,” Storer continued.
In a May press release, Disney+ finally released an official synopsis for the coming season, which has been turned around at a fast food rate of speed (though we're sure it's not processed-quality).
It reads:
"Season two follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri) and Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) 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.
Of course, 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."
Who is set to star in The Bear season 2?
Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri, who play series leads Carmy and Sydney, will return for the new season — but we're not quite sure about Jon Bernthal, who appeared in a flashback as Carmy's deceased older brother, Michael, whose death was a major catalyst in the show.
“Originally, we weren't going to see him at all,” co-showrunner Joanna Calo said of Bernthal's guest appearance as Michael. “And then we realised we really wanted to see who this person was … the casting was really also very hard because we kind of knew that if we didn't get the perfect person, it wouldn't be worth it.”
Hey, if you can get Jon Bernthal for another cameo, you're not gonna turn him down.
Is there a trailer for The Bear season 2?
No, not yet — but keep an eye here for updates.
