THE BEAR
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was nine, and there are very few shows that make me go... "Wow I really want to take a bite of that beef sandwich right now.” And somehow that was the thought looming in my brain while I watched THE BEAR, a new limited series created by Chris Storer, which premiered on FX on Hulu. The show has a seemingly simple concept—Carmy, a young chef (played by Jeremy Allen White) from the world of fine-dining, gives it all up to come home to Chicago and run his family’s Italian beef sandwich shop. But the show doesn’t want to settle for an easy-breezy sugar-coated look into what goes on behind-the-scenes in a kitchen. If anything, it’s extremely grounded and real (if not a bit anxiety-inducing!), capturing the urgency, tension, speed and raised voices of a cramped restaurant kitchen. I found myself on the edge of my seat as I followed the chaos, mayhem and the absurd amount of work that goes into running a family sandwich shop. And it’s all incredibly executed by the pulse-racing camera movements and amazing performances by the cast—including Ayo Edebiri, who plays the ambitious sous chef who comes in to help Carmy run the place but must earn the respect of the OG kitchen crew. But at the end of the day, what really captivated me is the relationship between the kitchen staff, and the drive and commitment that brings them back in, day after day despite all.
—Mimi Li, Development Assistant
