To absolutely nobody’s surprise, FX has fired up the burners to serve us yet another piping-hot season of The Bear.
The critically acclaimed and culturally beloved dramedy created by Christopher Storer has only been going from strength to strength — earning leading man Jeremy Allen White his first Golden Globe Award (followed by a consecutive win for Best Actor in a Television Series Comedy), 13 Emmy Award nominations (with 10 wins and a Primetime clean sweep in 2023), as well as an enviable Rotten Tomatoes score.
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So what exactly can we expect from The Bear season 3?
Aside from more profoundly introspective episodes about the bittersweet reality of working in hospitality (both as a chef or restauranteur), which will undoubtedly win more converts to the Church of Carmy, there’s plenty else to look forward to. And by all accounts, despite the Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it’s still on track for a 2024 premiere.
Check out The Bear season 3 trailer above.
Jump To:
- Everything We Know About The Bear Season 3
- Has The Bear season 3 been confirmed?
- What will the third season of The Bear be about?
- Do we know The Bear season 3 cast members?
- When is The Bear season 3 release date (Australia or otherwise)?
- Is there a The Bear season 3 trailer? Yes, two… and there’s also a leaked clip
Everything We Know About The Bear Season 3
Has The Bear season 3 been confirmed?
On November 6th of 2023, FX officially renewed The Bear for a third season.
“The Bear, which wowed audiences in its first season only to achieve even greater heights in season two, has become a cultural phenomenon,” the Disney-owned cable network’s president, Nick Grad, expressed in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter).
“We’re so proud to partner with Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, and the rest of the creative team, as well as the brilliant cast led by Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.”
Grad added: “What they and the crew have done is truly remarkable, and we and our partners at Hulu join fans in looking forward to the next chapter in the story of The Bear.”
Ahead of the upcoming premiere, The Bear has already been renewed for season 4, which is currently being shot back-to-back with season 3.
What will the third season of The Bear be about?
During the season 2 finale, The Bear’s opening night proves to be an overwhelming success — at the cost of Carmy’s (Jeremy Allen White) relationship with childhood sweetheart Claire (Molly Gordon); Carmy’s relationship with Cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach); and Marcus’ chance to say goodbye to his dying mother.
The Bear season 3 will undoubtedly see Carmy & Co grappling with the newfound success of their restaurant whilst desperately attempting to balance out their personal lives. That’s doubly the case for White’s Carmen Berzatto, who spiralled into self-loathing (over surrendering focus on his new restaurant to Molly Gordon’s Claire) while stuck in a walk-in refrigerator.
“I was flying to Chicago and I got dropped a little note on a napkin while I was on the plane. All it said on it was, ‘I hope Carmy gets a happy ending,’” revealed Jeremy Allen White shortly after winning a trio of SAG Award trophies.
“I think that’s all I really hoped for. That he learns how to understand himself a little bit better and appreciates what he has and then finds some peace.”
Then there’s the matter of budding rookie turned full-fledged sous chef: Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri). Having steadily come into her own and become a co-founder/co-proprietor of an exciting new culinary establishment, season 3 will most likely explore her rise. As well as putting the cuisine first and foremost.
White told Variety: “For the second season, so much of it was about putting the restaurant together, so there wasn’t that much cooking. But now, in the third season, I think we’re going to go back to that functioning kitchen atmosphere that we had in the first.”
Based on a recently published set photo (see: above), there will be a pivotal funeral scene involving Carmy, Richie, Sydney, and Marcus staged in front of a church. This may very well be the mourning of the latter’s mother, who is implied to have passed during the season 2 finale. Or potentially another unforeseen possibility.
Do we know The Bear season 3 cast members?
The entire main cast is set to return for The Bear season 3 including:
- Jeremy Allen White as Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto,
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Cousin Richie (real name: Richard Jerimovich)
- Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu
- Lionel Boyce as pastry chef Marcus
- Liza Colón-Zayas as 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
- Oliver Platt as Uncle Jimmy “Cicero” Kalinowski
- Chris Witaske as Natalie’s husband Pete
- Molly Gordon as Carmy’s childhood friend (and now heartbroken love interest) Claire
What remains less certain, however, is whether Jon Bernthal will return as as Michael “Mikey” Berzatto, Carmy and Sugar’s late brother who died by suicide; nor whether Jamie Lee Curtis is set to reprise her role as the siblings’ troubled mother Donna Berzatto.
Assuming season 3 continues down the path of demystifying the emotional anguish that seems to plague the entire Berzatto clan, there’s a good chance we can expect special appearances from both Bernthal and Curtis. Especially in the latter’s case, given the arrival of Natalie and Pete’s baby.
The real point of intrigue, however, involves the guest stars.
In The Bear season 2, audiences were treated to masterfully executed appearances from the likes of Will Poulter, Bob Odenkirk, Sarah Paulson, John Mulaney, and Olivia Colman; with Molly Ringwald portraying Carmy’s Al-Anon meeting moderator in season 1.
When prompted about whether he could confirm another surprisingly star-studded episode, FX chairman John Landgraf said: “Unfortunately, I can’t. I was surprised as you were when the Christmas episode came through the door.”
In early April, it was revealed that Adam Brody had been cast in the role of a food critic for The Bear season 3; alongside GQ writer Chris Black (apparently as an Atlanata native who “doesn’t know s**t about Chicago” named Philip Smart) and The New Yorker staff writer Naomi Fry.
When is The Bear season 3 release date (Australia or otherwise)?
Having begun rolling cameras in February 2024 — and despite the Writer’s Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes — The Bear season 3 is scheduled to premiere on June 27th, 2024 (i.e. tonight).
How is this possible when other shows have ostensibly been tanked by similar delays?
Similar to the motley crew manning the kitchen at The Bear, this is one series that’s been known to work fast. Season 1 and season 2, for example, began airing within a year of each other (almost exactly to the day).
“We shoot our show really quick. All in, I think it’s about 39 days a season, so it’s roughly four days an episode,” Christopher Storer revealed to Esquire.
“I don’t like to do a lot of takes. There’s something about preserving the nervous energy that’s really important to the show. It’s heavily scripted but there’s enough room for everybody to play and adapt.”
“Once something in the kitchen gets too rehearsed, it can feel a little performative; same with the dialogue. We spend a lot of time after wrap walking through the next day’s blocking so we’re combining as many set-ups as possible, which really lets us hit the ground running.”
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Storer added: “Our crew is amazing — like very amazing — and the camera department is fast as s**t. Our actors know how fast we drill and are able to make this thing feel incredibly alive and incredibly nerve-wracking, which isn’t easy. I’m in awe of them every day.”
“That spirit also translates outside the kitchen. Like this year for the Christmas flashback, we would just roll for 15 minutes at a time and drill through 10 pages. It was also great having Ayo on set with me that week — she’s going to direct a few episodes next year so she was an important set of fresh eyes.”
Landgraf has also suggested that all episodes will drop at once, setting us up for a healthy binge.
“It wasn’t lost on me or anyone who worked on the show that it was anxiety-inducing. So we made a decision to drop the whole thing because it has a beautiful, uplifting ending.”
Is there a The Bear season 3 trailer? Yes, two… and there’s also a leaked clip
There is now not one, but two highly-stylised teaser trailers for The Bear season 3.
The first (immediately above) depicts Carmy’s self-imposed isolation in the eponymous restaurant; while the second (at the top of this article) is a blunt reassurance that the series — and the eponymous restaurant — will be as chaotic as ever. But that isn’t to say we haven’t already previewed what’s to come.
In April 2024, footage illicitly captured during a Disney shareholders’ meeting was posted on X (formerly Twitter) before it was brought to even greater attention by multiple major entertainment publications. Shortly thereafter, copyright strikes and sternly worded legal notices were issued left and right; with certain notable players forced to tuck their proverbial tails and hit the unpublish button.
“Today during The Walt Disney Company’s Annual Shareholder Meeting, a clip from the upcoming third season of FX’s The Bear was shown as part of the presentation,” FX clarified in an official statement.
“The clip was subsequently captured and shared publicly without permission. This clip is not authorized for use beyond the shareholder meeting and we request that you and/or your outlet do not post or share it in any manner.”
“If it has already been posted, we request that it be removed immediately.”
According to Collider, the since-deleted scene unfolded as described:
Through nearly a minute of footage, both the comedy and drama of The Bear are on display as Neil and Ted excitedly try to coax Carmy into the office. When he arrives, he’s met with a lineup of photos and names of every major food critic who might visit the new restaurant. The goal is to ensure everyone knows the moment such a distinguished diner has entered their establishment. For Carmy, however, the wall fills him with anxiety as the realities of running a fancy restaurant set in. He’s not exactly in love with the changes the pair have made, but he thanks them for their work and even calls it a smart decision, leaving them overjoyed.
Guess we’ll see it go down with our own eyes soon enough.