The Bear on FX: aka HEARD! aka YES CHEF! aka Ketamine Gene Wilder cooks for u

Also I don’t understand the economics behind it, they have like 14 tables in there and 20 people working - apparently 12 hours a day - I know it’s to heighten drama but it feels overcooked.

Like per example: on season 1 making the meat sandwiches or whatever are a super time consuming thing to make and yet on season 2 they are apparently still selling them during the day and it’s brushed off as the side business that anyone can fill

Not sure I’d really be down with a show about a well run service, I mean the point is that these folks create their own drama.

I do like it whenever they visit somewhere that is well run, though. It's a nice contrast. It reminds me of the episode of Happy Endings where one of them starts dating someone who has a group of normal friends, not sitcom friends, and they just can't handle how ordinary and helpful and undramatic the other group is.

Idk season 2 worked better for me precisely because it expanded outside the dramatically stressful joint. The best ones were the family reunion, and the marcus and cousin focused episodes.

Season 1 is cool but it kept making me anxious. Like get your shit together, there’s like 10 of you and you’re selling fucking meat sandwiches

I’m sure they’re amazing sandwiches and all but this dude comes from a three michelin star restaurant and can’t handle a meat sandwich joint?

But yeah it’s true if the drama wasn’t as exaggerated there wouldn’t be a show… still those episodes were a nice change of pace and an interesting addition… the family reunion one did feel organically stressful and the other two were a much needed sort of wholesome break.

Thought this was a great, imperfect season. The sidequests and flashbacks were all amazing but they didn't quite leave enough space to see the restaurant/team come together - it went very quickly from "the roof is falling in" to "there's staff and a menu and it's ropey but basically there".

I feel it's important to point out that Claire is Triple-A from Booksmart.

Thought the season started slow, and the Safdiesque yelling scenes in episode 6 went on a little long for my taste, but I still left the final episode feeling blown away by the season. beautiful acting and character moments, gorgeous imagery, but even some of the stuff I see criticized upthread like the music, the sentimentality... it all just worked for me. I think this show has a lot in common with Halt and Catch Fire, which is probably in my top 5 drama shows: flawed people building something amazing together

I wouldn't have thought to compare this to H&CF since they're stylistically worlds apart, but that makes a lot of sense actually.

i hadn’t thought of the two shows in contrast like that but yeah, that’s a great comparison

I do feel that S2 felt a little less inspired, more contrived and "TV-like" than S1, but still a fantastic show.

season 2, episode 7 - special episode. honestly shocked by how much i grew to care for richie, after wishing that i was the one who stabbed him in season one

What I love about the richie and the Copenhagen episodes is that they were just shamelessly positive in a way that seems so rare these days. I mean yeah the show is corny and it has plenty of episodes filled with cringe worthy moments of humiliation or whatever, but those were just two lovely episodes showing dedication, craft, education etc. Kept waiting for some other shoe to drop in those and they never did.

otm

Richie's transformation a bit unbelievable - he was only there a week, right? But it was impossible not to cheer for his change. at the beginning of the season I kept thinking that his days at a high-end restaurant would be numbered. as entertaining and dramatic as the group dynamics in this show are, I loved all three of those "solo" episodes (Sydney's eating tour, Copenhagen, forks)

I agree that Richie's turn does seem a little abrupt, but its grounded in aspects of his character that were always there, and the finality of his separation from his ex provides a relatable jump start. He realizes that going on the way he has is untenable. I found it believable enough.

They physically converted a Chicago takeout place into a theoretically Michelin-quality dining experience in three months, way more unbelievable than Richie's personal growth IMO.

Even with being able to pay off inspectors, I spent too many days sitting in my truck waiting for a fire inspector to show up right at 4:45 to believe that.

Nothing in this show was more unbelievable than the hours the shop was open in season 1.

I want a show which is just the Copenhagen episode, repackaged each week with Marcus and dreamy boy shooting the shit on the daily news, intermixed with close ups of the desert making process in low blue lighting. Just a treat to look at.

I found Claire’s continuous resting “I’m in love with you and I know how pretty I am” face used in literally EVERY SHOT she was in a bit much. Like there has to be some other emotion you possess other than loving desire? Someone tell me I’m not just projecting here pls

Some of us are cursed with Resting Adoration Face, don't be a hater.

she was shot like the love interest in a 2012-ish indie romantic comedy, mumblecore after they moved up from camcorders

Lol otm. I felt like I was inadvertently watching that zoey daschunhouse (or whatever the hell her name is) and other starlight indie boy In the elevator talking about the shins or the smiths or whatever movie: like come on, I went my whole life trying to avoid this gunk and you hoist it upon me unawares in the middle of my safdie cooking show! Needed a trigger warning

I haven’t finished S2 yet, have the finale to watch tonight

The family episode was incendiary. The previous season’s stressful 20 minute episode was amazing. Also: this show makes absolutely no sense on any level

Show idea: the bear prequel where all the kids are in primary school together and bob odenkirk is the teacher trying to somehow get control of the classroom. Mikey and richie are screaming over each other about who farted, sugar is sobbing in the corner saying she’s never farted in her life, Carmy is desperately staring at Clair, trying to communicate with his eyes that even though he was the one that farted, it’s only because of his family and he can’t help it and he’ll change but he won’t. Meanwhile odenkirk is screaming over all of them, daring Mikey to fart again and see what happens (he will poop his pants)

the bear in the big blue (sad kind) house

The Cubs: A The Bear Origin Story

I like Zooey Deschanel a lot and I also disliked 100 Days of Summer. But I like her for She & Him and being on Rupaul's Drag Race and being thrifty with money when her divorce filings were made public and a lot of other stuff.

I asked my husband if he liked the Claire character. He said he wanted to, but he was told so much by the show that he wasn't supposed to like the Claire character that he guesses he doesn't like Claire. I felt it too. Odd choice.

I felt like the show was very pro Claire and that the message was that Carmy was a fool for not taking their relationship more seriously.

But have you asked Cicero and the Copenhagen ghost cat what they think of Claire?

They nodded toward "Carmy's shirking by hanging out with her," frustrating Sydney but they didn't really spend enough time on Sydney/Carmy friction to make it stick either way. (And even then she's not the bad guy.)

All tied into the unrealistic buildout timeline - if he'd promised Uncle Jimmy to be open in four months he could have had a couple of days to properly fall in love.

Uncle Jimmy pressuring Carmy to drop her seemed like a symbol of his corrupt influence over the entire venture

the discussion of claire kinda overlooks carmy as the manic depressive dream tattoo chef, rough around the edges but sensitive, abusive but only up to a point, just needs to be softened slightly to be perfect.

That plus a shit ton of therapy

those dreamy therapy monologues

I want to give you an award for “manic depressive dream tattoo chef”, omar

lmao that is top shelf omar shit <3

yeah i feel like claire isn’t framed as anything exactly, like she is to us a normal woman person - the disconnect is how she’s framed by the family/“cousins” & kinda carmy

The Thom Browne apron felt like a commercial — not sure someone in that world would care much about that brand, if they recognized it at all. Similar to Marcus in S1 wearing an Aime Leon Doré-branded shirt. (And I loved the show overall — those moments just didn’t work for me.)

Finale didn’t work for me, mostly because I have high expectations I guess. Food looked good tho!

What was “Terry’s” restaurant btw? Whiney ate there iirc? The most stars I’ve consumed was two at Corton over a decade ago

It was shot at Ever, which opened in 2021 and is aiming for three stars (currently has two, and is owned/operated by a team that created closed three-star Grace). The Denmark kitchen scenes were also filmed in Ever’s pastry kitchen.

Story-wise, it’s modeled on Alinea: been open 12 years, named World’s Best Restaurant on the Top 50 list. Having Olivia Coleman as Terry was such a good choice, rather than someone who looks like Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert, Grant Achatz, etc.

god that was such great casting

After her dizzying array of parts I am lowkey certain that you could drop Colman into literally any role and she would quietly own it. She could do Hitler and I'd buy it.

Finale also didn’t work for me, and also because I had high expectations (I blame certain posts in this thread). Episodes 4-7 the real golden run of this season

Yeah I would pay-subscribe to watch Isabella Rossellini and Olivia Colman in a video series of just them peeling veg and chatting

Very briefly scanned that as "a video series of just them peeing."

lol @ HP's Muppet Babies spinoff pitch.