Hailed as one of 2023’s best TV shows (and received countless award nominations to prove it), The Bear has quite literally served up audiences with a visual reverence for food and the chefs plating it up. But slopped on the side is the high tension constantly on the boil in this clever, yet anxiety-inducing dramedy.
While not based on a true story by any means, the show is heavily influenced by pivotal moments in co-creator Christopher Storer’s life. As per Esquire, Storer grew up in Park Ridge, a suburb of Chicago, where he became friends with Chris Zucchero, whose father owned the restaurant that inspired the series. Storer wrote most of the show in the Mr. Beef dining room, noting that a lot of the nitty-gritty details of the show came from the restaurant’s own experiences and casual interactions.
AU: available to watch on Disney Plus.
The Bear’s first season, which premiered in June 2022, received critical acclaim in the form of 10 Primetime Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series and top gongs for leading actors Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri in their respective categories. It would be remiss not to mention the massive success of the second season too, with the show breaking its own record for being the most-watched single season of a comedy series in FX history and garnering even more award nominations.
The show perfectly captures the intensity of Kitchen Nightmares (without Gordon Ramsay), combined with the delicate craftsmanship of Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories — and you’ll definitely walk away hungry for more. But unlike the former, The Bear deals with sensitive subject matters among the complexities of running a restaurant, which almost feels too much like real life than a work of fiction.
In The Bear, we follow along as Michelin-star chef Carmen “Camry” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) returns home to run his family’s sandwich shop, The Original Beef of Chicagoland (The Beef for short), that he inherits after his brother Michael passes away. He takes on a new sous chef (Ayo Edebiri) as the crew works on reigniting the restaurant’s spark.
The Bear is rounded out by a stellar cast that also features real-life chef Matty Matheson and includes Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Andor), Lionel Boyce (Loiter Squad), Liza Colón-Zayas (In Treatment), Abby Elliott (Saturday Night Live), Edwin Lee Gibson (Marshall), Corey Hendrix (Fargo) and Oliver Platt (Fargo). The Bear also features some killer guest stars, like Joel McHale, Olivia Colman, Jamie Lee Curtis, John Mulaney, Sarah Paulson and Molly Ringwald.
Where to watch The Bear online in Australia
The easiest and most affordable way to stream The Bear in Australia is on Disney Plus, where the first two seasons are available to watch in their entirety (and where the recently slated third season will debut in June).
Disney Plus doesn’t offer a free trial period, and plans start at AU$13.99 p/m for two simultaneous streams in HD with no ads. You can opt for an annual subscription of AU$139.99, which is a little cheaper than paying monthly. Additionally, from 5 March 2024, Disney Plus in Australia will roll out a new premium tier that will offer four 4K simultaneous streams for AU$17.99 a month or AU$179 per year.
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