Days after series lead Jeremy Allen White, who portrays Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, won his first Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy), FX Networks announced The Bear season 2 was on the way with two more episodes than season 1.
“FX’s The Bear season 2 premieres early summer with ten episodes. Only on @hulu,” tweeted the Disney-owned cable company.
And as of today, we know The Bear season 2 release date: June 22nd of 2023 (US), July 19th of 2023 (Australia).
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Everything We Know About FX’s The Bear Season 2
Has The Bear season 2 been confirmed?
On July 14th of 2022, FX Networks renewed The Bear for season 2.
“The Bear has exceeded our wildest creative, critical, and commercial expectations. We can’t wait to get to work on season two,” said FX Entertainment President Eric Schrier.
Co-showrunners Christopher Storer and Joanna Calo added: “We are so grateful to FX, our insanely talented cast, our crew who worked hard, fast, and in the dead of winter, not to mention everyone who watched. And we can’t wait to bring you all back to The Bear in 2023.”
Unsurprising given the universal acclaim and 100% Rotten Tomato score it currently boasts.
What will the second season of The Bear be about?
After months of toiling away at his deceased brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) sandwich shop — The Original Beef of Chicagoland — with his motley crew of unruly kitchen staff, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) reaches his breaking point, and seems ready to throw the towel in.
That’s when “Cousin Richie” (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) gives Carmy a letter left to him by Mikey prior to the latter’s suicide, which includes a spaghetti recipe and notes that they use smaller cans of tomatoes because they apparently taste better.
This was, of course, simply a clue that leads Carmy to stumble across hundreds of thousands of dollars hidden inside said tomato cans, providing him with the opportunity to pay off The Original Beef’s piling debts, close down, and rise from the ashes not as a phoenix from the rubble — but as a new restaurant primed for a fresh start: The Bear. Something that’ll surely resemble something closer to Carmy and Sydney’s dream restaurant.
Where season 1 centred upon “finding a family and feeling anchored,” showrunner Joanna Calo told Variety that season 2 will home in on hospitality, taking care of others, as well as making the cast’s lives a bit bigger. Carmy will still be reeling from his brother Mikey’s death and battling his own demons while scaling the family-owned operation up.
“Nobody’s fixed and everyone’s a work in progress. Every second counts,” said series creator Christopher Storer.
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Elsewhere, Storer added: “In terms of the restaurant changing, it’s not that they’re going to lose all the charm of the restaurant… It’s more like: How can we do this and maybe make some money? And maybe make it easier? And maybe — maybe — start from a place that’s not fucked?”
“Instead of beating a dead horse and making this fuckin’ food that no one even wants to make, I see the promise in my sort of found family in the kitchen. Can we use that to build something freshly, now that we’ve all found each other in this stupid-ass system where things make no sense and people are putting veal stock on the top fuckin’ shelf of the walk-in?”
“To me, the whole first season feels almost like a prelude to what the show actually is,” said Jeremy Allen White.
“[Carmy’s] life was so not full. It was so focused on industry and moving forward. I remembered a time in my life where I was really wrapped up in, not only my work — I think that can be a good thing — but also in success and whatever that meant to me at the time.”
“I think Carmy is, at times, battling with a similar thing. He’s in this very lonely place and any empowerment or confidence is coming from his craft and that leaves him in a very delicate and vulnerable position.”
A pretty succinct take from the Shameless actor.
The official synopsis for The Bear season 2 is as follows:
Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri), and Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) 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.
Do we know The Bear season 2 cast members?
The entire main cast is set to return for The Bear season 2 including:
- Jeremy Allen White as Chef Carmy Berzatto,
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as “Cousin Richie” (real name: Richard Jerimovich)
- Ayo Edebiri as the rookie Sydney Adamu
- Lionel Boyce as aspiring pastry chef Marcus
- Liza Colón-Zayas as the acid-tongue veteran line cook Tina
- Edwin Lee Gibson as yet another veteran line cook Ebraheim
- Matty Matheson as Carmy’s childhood friend and handyman Neil Fak
- Abby Elliott as Carmy’s sister Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto
It’s unclear whether we can expect appearances from Jon Bernthal as Michael “Mikey” Berzatto, Carmy and Sugar’s late brother who died by suicide, Joel McHale as Carmy’s abusive executive chef from his past in New York City, or Molly Ringwald as the Al-Anon meetings’ moderator.
Considering the second season promises to be very introspective vis-a-vis Carmy’s demons, a few flashback scenes featuring Bernthal and McHale may very well be on the docket with more from Ringwald on the way.
While character details for his role are still very much under wraps, Variety has confirmed Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) will be featured in the second season.
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When is The Bear season 2 release date (US)?
As outlined above, FX Networks has announced when the next season of The Bear will be served up on Hulu: June 22nd of 2023.
When is The Bear season 2 release date (Australia)?
Here in Australia, The Bear season 2 will arrive on Disney+ a month after it premieres in the US: July 19th of 2023.
Is there a The Bear season 2 trailer?
As of today, The Bear season 2 has a full-length trailer, courtesy of FX. Read more about it here.
In the meantime, relive the magic of season 1 via Disney+.
