“Yes, Chef!” Before the launch of The Bear two years ago, not many viewers knew that phrase.
Now fans yell it from the top of their lungs whenever they see the show’s star, Jeremy Allen White, going for a litre of milk.
Disney+ didn’t expect much when the comedy-drama dropped for the first time in 2022. There were, after all, no big-name stars attached. But the quirky story about a top-of-the-line chef forced to return to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop won 10 Emmys in its first year and has been hitting it out of the park ever since.
Season three is set to begin on June 28 and we’ve got everything you need to know ahead of the release date here.
Stream The Bear now on Disney+ with a mth-to-mth no lock-in contract. Subscribe here.
Before the premiere, we learnt some more about the show’s stars.
Jeremy Allen White (Carmy)
With his fitted t-shirts, motley tattoos and mop of greasy hair, Carmy Berzatto cuts a frazzled figure as he tries to salvage his family’s sandwich business. Behind the scenes, actor Jeremy, 33, has also had his share of, well, interesting times. Thanks to The Bear, his popularity is soaring – he’s scooped a glittering array of awards and has Hollywood at his feet. On the downside, his marriage to actor Addison Timlin, 32 – mum to their daughters Ezer, five, and Dolores, three – ended last year. “It’s been insane,” says Jeremy of the past couple of years. “A lot of high highs and a lot of terribly low lows.”
The star, who got his big break playing Phillip “Lip” Gallagher in all 11 seasons of Shameless, says he feels grounded by his family and took his mum as his date to the 2023 SAG Awards.
Ayo Edebiri (Syd)
After stand-up comedian Ayo, 28, landed the role of sous chef Sydney Adamu, she immediately enrolled in cooking classes so she would appear to know one end of a kitchen from the other. “When we finished the pilot, everybody was like, ‘Well, this was clearly too enjoyable of an experience and thus the actual show will not be good and we will never see each other again,’” she laughs.
Of course, the opposite happened. This year, Ayo landed the awards season trifecta with a Golden Globe, an Emmy and a SAG. “I feel very fortunate and still I don’t really believe it or understand it.” Since The Bear took off, she’s had little time for her hobby of “putting together 3D sushi puzzles”. She explains, “I have a lot of taste. I don’t know if I have good taste or bad taste, but I have a lot.”
Oliver Platt (Uncle Jimmy)
Veteran actor Oliver, 64, is currently starring in Chicago Med and when he was sent the script for The Bear, he couldn’t help but notice it was going to be shot on the same studio lot where he goes to film the medical drama. He agreed to guest star as the shadowy Uncle Jimmy “Cicero” Kalinowski in the first season, then was invited back for season two and is also acting in season three.
“A couple of times during season two, I would start the day as a kindly psychiatrist and then step down out of the trailer, walk about 200 yards, and become a sketchy, mysterious neighbourhood character,” he grins.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Cousin Richie)
“Just don’t call him a dirtbag,” jokes Ebon, 47, of his irascible character Richie Jerimovich. “I get a little sensitive. My feelings get hurt.” Ebon’s not exactly new to fame – he’s been in Marvel’s The Punisher and played Star Wars’ Andor, but it’s The Bear that has pushed his career to new heights.
At home in New York with his photographer wife Yelena, 54, and daughters Sasha, 17, and Mirabelle, 13, Ebon is an enthusiastic cook, striving to master the classic French omelette and baking bread. But when he’s away in Chicago shooting The Bear, he likes to build an insipid pallor consistent with his role as Richie. “I probably drink more than I should.”
Liza Colón-Zayas (Tina)
Stepping into untrained cook Tina Marrero’s shoes has been a “pinch-me” experience for Liza, 52. The actor was just 20 when she wrote, produced and starred in Sistah Supreme, a one-woman show about growing up Latina in New York. The years since have included “thousands of rejections” and she says it’s been “exciting and wonderful” to get recognised once again for her talents. Despite her character’s handiness with a spatula, Liza admits cooking isn’t one of her skills.
But even more scary things have been asked of her on The Bear, including singing a haunting rendition of Freddy Fender’s ballad Before the Next Teardrop Falls. “I was terrified,” she admits. “The first and last time my friends pushed me up to sing karaoke was many years ago and somebody threw a lemon at me!”
Where can I watch seasons 1, 2 and 3 of The Bear in New Zealand?
Need to catch up before season 3 is released? Both seasons 1 and 2 of The Bear are available to stream now exclusively on Disney+.
Stream The Bear now on Disney+ with a mth-to-mth no lock-in contract. Subscribe here.
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