The Bear, season 2, Disney+ review ★★★★★

Episodes watched: 10 of 10

We’re more than halfway through 2023, when critics inevitably consider their highlights of the year. There’s been some great TV over the last seven months: Dead Ringers, Fleishman is in Trouble, Succession. The latter, in particular, is the universal competition, the big boss, the show that can’t be beaten… until now. Despite the lack of immediate international reach and episodic anticipation (at least in the UK), the second season of The Bear has achieved the feat of superseding Succession.

How? Well, instead of obsessing over the skyscraper tyrants of modern capitalism, Christopher Storer’s on-the-ground culinary drama is about the genuine struggle toward the possibility of success. It’s about risking yourself – your face, your finances, your sense of worth – to reach an improbable dream. The corporate Roy family, to some extent, was born into success despite the unreachable throne. In contrast, The Bear family (filled with devoted friends and colleagues as much as siblings) has to fight and endure for any kind of victory.


Ebon Moss-Bachrach as cousin Richie. Photo: Disney

‘Yo,’ says cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) in the basement under the under-refurbishment restaurant upstairs. ‘You ever think about purpose?’ He's asking one of his oldest friends, Chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), who’s busy planning and scheduling and scrabbling for permits to open the place. The question of purpose suffuses Richie – a 45-year-old father who never amounted to anything – but also floats through the minds and doubts of the characters, who ebb and flow into and away from each other with enjoyable fluidity and fizzy chemistry.

A couple of examples. Carmy, our uneasy hero, is about to do himself and his dead brother proud. But can he maintain the necessary level of attention and embark on a new relationship with childhood friend Claire (Molly Gordon)? After a few past failures, will Chef Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) prove her doubtful, if compassionate, dad wrong about the restaurant business? Regardless of all their personal issues, the chefs and managers and handymen swoop between heaven and hell to get the restaurant running.


Left to right: Carmy (Jeremy Allen-White), Sugar (Abby Elliott), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri). Photo: Disney

Although Claire drops angelically into Carmy’s life, her fullness of character is convincing enough for their connection to move you. Finally, he finds some happiness after a period of grief, anxiety and misery, the origins of which are examined in the cameo-stuffed flashback episode Fishes. Jamie Lee Curtis even turns up, in what's perhaps her finest performance to date, as the family matriarch Donna. Fishes is the most stressful hour of television this critic has ever seen, matched only by the heart-tearing finale.

Although the first season was an impressive feast of a show, season two is an eclectic, hilarious and delicious buffet. The writing cuts deeper, the dialogue is snappier, and the visuals are so detailed and intimate it’s as if you’re feeling into the characters’ souls as they chatter, bicker and relate.

The cinematography plunges into Chicago with askew and rotational perspectives – slightly surreal, capturing the season’s tone of aligning order from chaos. The close-ups are works of art in themselves, complementing the emotional depths of the performances, especially in the quieter scenes between Carmy and Claire. All of this is bolstered by insane, rapid editing and astounding needle-drops that include AC/DC, Brian Eno, The Ramones, Taylor Swift and Weezer, with REM’s Strange Currencies recurring like a poignant motif for Carmy.


Left to right: Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Sweeps (Corey Hendrix), Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), Fak (Matty Matheson) and Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas). Photo: Disney

And the food? Delectably, aesthetically presented in bountiful cooking montages that make your stomach growl. The dishes are creations, plate-paintings that often reflect the psychologies of their makers. But none of this is achieved without the meticulousness, the care, and the rage inflamed in the kitchen. This season examines the culture more closely in the training excursions that chefs Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), Ebraheim (Edwin Lee Gibson), Marcus (Lionel Boyce), and even Richie take to hone their skills.

Like the sauce-smothered cash injection at the end of season one, The Bear reaches its full potential with a better budget and then surpasses its sophomore hype to an unprecedented zenith – one that’ll be hard to topple for the rest of the year. It's an intense, breathless surrogate family drama that simmers in your mind and on your tongue.

The Bear season 2 is available on Disney+ from Wednesday 19 July.