Everything to Know About the Hulu Series

Credit: FX

Everything to Know About Season 2 of Hulu’s Hit Series ‘The Bear’

Getting back into the kitchen! Hulu’s The Bear quickly had viewers talking when it premiered — and it wasn’t long before that attention got the show renewed for season 2.

The series explores the food industry through the lens of a talented chef named Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), who returns to Chicago to run his older brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) restaurant following his death. The Bear shows Carmy’s attempts to help the sandwich shop thrive as he deals with his own grief over his brother’s suicide.

According to White, a large part of bringing Carmy to life came with facing his own issues. “We kind of found each other at a similar place. He knew he’s really gifted at this thing, but he could be painfully insecure about his abilities as well,” the actor told GQ about the transition to a new leading role after his time on Shameless. (He played Lip Gallagher on the Showtime series from 2011 to 2021.)

The New York native opened up about the extensive amount of background work that went into the job.

“I learned a lot. I spent a lot of time in kitchens and I talked to a lot of chefs. Originally, before I started that journey of understanding kitchen culture and trying to understand chefs a little bit more, I saw this determined young man whose identity was so wrapped up in being a chef and so wrapped up in his success. That felt familiar to me,” he told Collider that same month. “Not as much today, but as a younger man and a younger actor, I felt like my identity was incredibly wrapped up in my job, as an actor and as a performer.”

He continued: “That’s a very vulnerable position to be in because, if you have success, that success is wonderful and you have glory, and you feel like you’re on this high, but if you’re not having success, it can be the end of the world. I was familiar with that feeling, and I think that’s what Carmy is about, when you meet him. Everything is so high stakes and everything seems so life or death for him.”

Ahead of the show’s renewal, White hinted at the larger story that could be explored in season 2. “To me, the whole first season feels almost like a prelude to what the show actually is,” he explained to GQ, noting that the true journey is Carmy opening up his own restaurant.

For the Homecoming alum, getting to see how fans reacted to the first season was what really got him thinking about the show’s future. “What I find attractive in people is a determination. If you’re truly good at something, that’s incredibly attractive,” he shared about his character. “I understand people having a crush on Carmy. I think I have a bit of a crush on Carmy.”

At the time, White also weighed in on the idea that Carmy potentially isn’t interested in love or sex. “Carmy’s, like, the least sexual person. In playing him, I was aware that he had no room for love,” White added to GQ. “So I appreciated that [an article] was aware that Carmy does not f–k.”

Scroll down for everything we know about season 2 so far:

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Credit: Matt Dinerstein/FX

Who Is Returning?

The Bear was renewed for a second season in July 2022. White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas and Abby Elliott are all expected to return.

Credit: Matt Dinerstein/FX

Where Did the Show Leave Off?

The first season finale, which aired in June 2022, showed Carmy finding over $300,000 in the tomato cans in The Original Beef’s kitchen. The group came together to collect the money and decided to close down the sandwich ship in favor of a new restaurant: The Bear.

Credit: FX

What Will the Story Be for Season 2?

Based on season 1, the next chapter will focus on the employees trying to fix up The Original Beef as a team. This reunion comes after Carmy’s outburst in episode 7 caused Sydney and Marcus to temporarily quit.

Season 2 will also presumably continue to follow Carmy as he deals with Mikey’s death. After opening up in an Al-Anon meeting, Carmy’s issues with his older brother took a turn when Richie finally gave him the letter that Mikey left.

Credit: Matt Dinerstein/FX

Is There Hope for a Carmy and Sydney Romance?

According to White, there is still a long way to go when it comes to healing Carmy and Sydney’s partnership.

“You’ve still got this tension, with Carmy and Sydney, and this power balance that they’re still gonna be struggling with. Yes, he apologized, kind of. Yes, she sort of accepted it. Yes, they both have a shared passion for this thing,” he told Collider in July 2022, referring to their bond as “really smart” on screen. “But there’s certainly a lot for them to sort out with one another still left.”

Edebiri, for her part, doesn’t see a romance between the coworkers in the future. “I don’t want to rain on anybody’s parade, but I don’t think so. I don’t think so. And Jeremy has said this too,” she told TV Line in August 2022.

In January 2023, creator Christopher Storer weighed in on his vision for the pair. 

“We wanted to make something that was about friendship and a partnership,” he told Variety. “It really is so funny that that is one of the things that people took away — of all the heavy s—t 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.”

He added: “From the beginning, it was like, ‘We should just show people being really good at their jobs and pushing each other.’Selfishly, I hadn’t seen a show without a romantic plot and was like, ‘That could be kind of cool and interesting.’”

Credit: Matt Dinerstein/FX

What Will Season 2 of ‘The Bear’ Explore?

Storer noted that the second season would pick up from the ups and downs in the finale. “Nobody’s fixed and everyone’s a work in progress,” he shared with Variety in January 2023. “Every second counts.”

The screenwriter continued: “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 they’re sort of battling with.”