Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmen 'Carmy' Berzetto in "The Bear."
When asked to describe the third season of The Bear, the cast responded with a series of words that included, “elevation, “precision,” “perfection,” “challenges,” and “non-negotiable.”
The last phrase, “non-negotiable,” seems to be a big theme of the season as evidenced by the trailer, which shows how that thinking plays into what’s happening throughout the narrative.
This season The Bear, which is about food, family, and the insanity of life in general, focuses on Carmy pushing himself harder than ever as he tries to succeed in the restaurant business. To do this, he demands excellence from his crew, and they respond by doing their best to match his intensity. While their quest for culinary perfection propels them to new levels, it puts a strain on the bond that holds them together.
Starring Jeremy Allen White as Carmy, The Bear also features Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott and Matty Matheson.
The series is a critical darling, picking up a slew of awards including Emmys for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for White, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy for Edebiri, as well as awards for writing and directing.
Coming off of winning so many accolades, White says, “the pressure is very real.”
But, then he gestures to the other cast members and says that, “after a couple weeks of getting back around these guys and our beautiful crew, everything kind of falls into place, and it all feels possible again.”
Edebiri adds that, “I think we feel very fortunate, but I don't feel like we make this with [awards] in mind.”
“We talked a lot about this going from season one to season two,” says White. “We were really curious if we'd be able to find our own little bubble again after the first season had the success that it did. We were able to do season one without any expectations whatsoever, and we were a little bit uncertain if we'd be able to find that place again, and I think we did in season two. We were able to find that creative space with each other very separate from all of the other things, which I think we're really lucky to be able to do over and over again.”
One the connecting threads of the show, says Edebiri, is grief, with Moss-Bachrach explaining, “I would say that it’s even one of strengths of the show. I think [it’s] the river that runs through all of us, and that is the one of the only common things that we all share in the human experience.“
While the series does have a degree of darkness to it, with a mixture of family drama amid the chaos of running the restaurant, that doesn’t mean the actors don’t have fun, says White. “The set is a joyful place. Everybody does laugh so frequently, that even if you have to go a dark place in the morning, two hours later, you'll be hanging out and watching a scene and really, really laughing and enjoying the company.”
White then takes a moment to call out the work of Matty Matheson, who plays Neil on the series. Matheson, who in real-life is an extremely accomplished chef, has seen his on-screen role expand through the seasons, first beginning as a minor character who mostly provided comic relief, to becoming a major part of the team working to open the new restaurant, and keep it running.
“Mattie had never acted before the show,” explains White, “and it turns out he can be so funny and lovable. And so I think [showrunner Christopher Storer] wanted to work with him more and more. And also, I've never seen Chris be more joyful than when he's directing a scene with Mattie, throwing lines at him.”
Matheson, who is also a writer on the series, gives a little insight about the trajectory of the show, saying, "In culinary school, I had this chef that told us a story about how about 30 chefs made him who he was, just learning all of these different trades, and it is a trade, so I think picking up these little skills along the way, you never stop learning who you are made of with the people around you. And [with this in mind] we wanted to tell a story of how Carmy was built in that way.”
This season also features Edebiri stepping behind the camera to direct an episode, about which she says, “I really loved it. It's like a dream. I got to direct like some of my favorite actors in the world. It just felt like a bit of a master class, but also like a gift. It was really, was really wonderful.”
She also has some thoughts about the model of making all episodes of The Bear available at once, as she says, “It's like, nobody's forcing you to watch it all at the same time. You can pace yourself, which I think is what’s nice about it. I find myself this way with shows that are released weekly — sometimes I wait until the end, and then I pace it out myself. So, I think you have that choice.”
All episodes of season three of ‘The Bear’ will be available for streaming on Wednesday, June 26th at 9pm ET / 6pm PT on Hulu.
