The Bear‘s ability to maneuver through truly great needle drops remains strong through the third season, although the show needed to make you hate Carmy before later regrouping to follow up on how his destructive ambitions continue to roll out within the group dynamic. Perhaps the collective Chefs will stage an intervention on non-negotiables?
I’m only halfway joking there, but we do know that FX will roll out a fourth season that will stream on Hulu. The fourth season has the task of following up on incredible episodes including “Napkins” and “Ice Chips” filled to the brim with life-affirming conclusions, but overall, the season clearly needs to clean up Carmy’s ways. He needs to make things right with the Chefs before possibly destroying the very soul of The Bear. In other words, plenty of loose ends await the fourth season, so let’s talk out what we can expect to happen.
Plot
To be perfectly frank, we’re still in the aftermath of the third season when viewers are digesting the show. What we do know, objectively, comes from Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who talked about season logistics and admitted that he feels like the show’s story will come to a close soon.
That is to say, The Bear could wind down earlier than viewers might have anticipated. Moss-Bachrach made that revelation to Mr. Porter, where the man who embodies Cousin Richie addressed rumors and reports on whether the third and fourth seasons shot back-to-back. He appeared to suggest that, yes, this did happen, even if it was not intentional:
“We were going to make one season, but that season was getting bigger and bigger and at a certain point it seemed like maybe we should write more, not feel constrained and turn it into two seasons. We shot about 18 episodes. But everything shifts. In the past, what was one episode on the page has been split into two. I just lose myself in the messiness and chaos of it. I like getting taken by a wave that’s bigger than you thought it was, tumbled around and spit out the other end.”
To connect the dots here, the third season’s ten episodes would mean that the fourth season would contain eight. Given what Moss-Bachrach stated about the show probably finishing its story soonish, could the fourth season be the end of The Bear? Hopefully, FX will weigh in on that subject soon.
As for where the show goes, we can only make some guesses.
As fans already know, the season finale ended with Sydney having a panic attack over whether to stay at The Bear or accept her new job offer as Carmy took his first look at the review that could make or break the restaurant. Uncle Jimmy had previously given a half-warning that he would pull the plug on his wallet if the review ended up being bad, and Carmy doesn’t yet know that Jimmy might have to pull the plug (due to his suddenly precarious financial situation) no matter what the review says. So, there will be a reckoning there unless Jimmy turns everything around, fast.
As for Sydney, she must either decide to put up with Carmy doing everything his way (despite their partnership agreement), which could mean that she’s staying with a sinking ship, or she could sign on the dotted line with Chef Adam, although she doesn’t know that he threw a berserker fit over smudges, so perhaps he’s as toxic or worse than Carmy.
On the personal side of the show, we will find out whether Claire (Bear) decides to give Carmy another chance (even though he doesn’t deserve it), which would probably be the only shot he has at achieving a sliver of work-life balance. The show also pointedly stirred up vibes between Luca and Sydney and Richie and Jessica, so perhaps movement will happen there. Hopefully, nobody will decide to date Joel McHale’s Mean Chef now that we know that he truly exists, and now, this romantic discussion is simply being silly.
Cast
Is it too much to ask to see Joel McHale’s Mean Chef again? Perhaps. For sure, we will see Jeremy White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, along with Abby Elliott, Liza Colón-Zayas, Lionel Boyce, Matty Matheson, Oliver Platt, and Molly Gordon. No season of The Bear would be complete without a flashback from Jon Bernthal, and we need more Jamie Lee Curtis and Will Poulter, too. Cameos, as always, should be in plentiful supply.
Release Date
Since The Bear is nearly unparalleled in the streaming world in achieving annual releases, summer 2025 will likely be the next time we see Sydney, Carmy, Richie, and fam.
Trailer
Nope. So, here is a clip of the first time that Sydney quit, which will make us wonder even more if she will quit again. That donut sure must have tasted good, though.