Everything To Know About The Bear Season 2

Centered on a young chef’s quest to transform his family’s Chicago sandwich shop, FX’s The Bear premiered on Hulu last summer. It follows culinary wizard Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Shameless alum Jeremy Allen White), who returns to Chicago following his brother Michael’s death by suicide. Through his grieving process, he clashes with his family and the rest of the Original Beef of Chicagoland’s kitchen crew, blending drama with comedy.

The series struck a chord with viewers, and on July 14, Hulu announced that The Bear was renewed for Season 2. “The Bear has exceeded our wildest creative, critical and commercial expectations,” said Eric Schrier, FX entertainment president, in a statement, per Deadline. “We deeply appreciate the brilliant work led by creator and co-showrunner Christopher Storer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo. Jeremy Allen White’s lead performance is spectacular, as are those of his co-stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Abby Elliott, Lionel Boyce and Liza Colón-Zayas. We can’t wait to get to work on Season 2.”

In the early days of its release, The Bear received largely positive reviews from critics. Variety’s Caroline Framke wrote that the Christopher Storer-created series “should be on your radar,” citing the performances, directing, steady episode pacing, and the show’s “thoughtfulness” among her reasons. Meanwhile, NPR’s Glen Weldon counted The Bear among the small handful of shows over the past few years that had made him “want to shout about them from [his] virtual rooftop,” and The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg wrote that the series “captures the modern kitchen’s chaotic bedlam and precarious sense of family better than any show [he’s] ever seen.”

Here’s everything else to know about The Bear Season 2.

The Bear Season 2 Cast

On April 26, Variety reported that Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk would be joining the cast for Season 2 for a guest role. Shiva Baby’s Molly Gordon will also be along for the ride.

Need a recap of everyone who starred in Season 1? Joining White in the main cast for The Bear was: Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Richie), Ayo Edebiri (Sydney), Abby Elliott (Sugar), Lionel Boyce (Marcus), and Liza Colón-Zayas (Tina), with Edwin Lee Gibson (Ebraheim) and Matty Matheson (Neil) in recurring roles. In addition to appearing as the resident handyman, Matheson is actually a real Canadian chef who joined the series as a co-producer to make the show’s culinary components as accurate as possible.

The actors also did their parts by undergoing intensive culinary training at schools across the globe. Though White told USA Today that his “interest level in cooking was pretty much nonexistent’ prior to securing the role, he nonetheless completed a two-week “crash course” at the Institute of Culinary Education in Pasadena, California, and worked at two Los Angeles restaurants and with chef David Waltuck. Rating his knife skills as “pretty good,” the actor told the outlet that he now feels “pretty comfortable” preparing about a dozen dishes, including filet au poivre and short ribs.

The Bear Season 2 Plot

By the Season 1 finale, Carmy was still shouldering a great deal of grief surrounding Michael’s death, while Sydney and Marcus’ walk-out left the restaurant short-staffed. After suffering another panic attack, Carmy read a letter from Michael that led him to discover a hidden stash of cash. Instead of putting the funds into The Original Beef, however, he decided on a fresh start with The Bear instead.

“Carmy is going home and facing a lot of the things he’s been running away from for a long time,” White told Complex of Carmy’s Season 1 arc. “That’s what really struck me about the character and the show, which is really interesting to me. A character has just gone through the most traumatic [moment] of his life and then has to come home and face all these ghosts. It makes for a really great drama, and comedy as well.” Expect more of the same in the future.

Hulu shared a more specific look ahead in a new synopsis ahead of Season 2, teasing “transformational journeys” for Carmy, Sydney, and Richie as they work on their new sandwich shop. “Of course, it turns out the only thing harder than running a restaurant is opening a new one,” the synopsis continues, “and the team must juggle the insane bureaucracy of permits and contractors with the beauty and creative agony of menu planning.”

The Bear Season 2 Premiere Date

On May 8, Hulu announced The Bear Season 2 will premiere on June 22, and all 10 episodes will be ready to stream that day.

This post will be updated as more details about The Bear Season 2 become available.