Word to the wise: Readers who’ve worked in restaurants might experience flashbacks streaming The Bear. A busy kitchen where the food on sizzle is always on call and cooks on the line under constant stress is tension enough for casual viewers. For current and former floor managers, bussers, cooks, servers, and the like, The Bear may induce restaurant nightmares — staff stuck at work even in their sleep.
Despite possible PTSD, raw reality is always compelling. High temp cooking drama has propelled The Bear to number one among all streamed shows. The show set in The Original Beef of Chicagoland kitchen exceeds even today’s interest in supernatural thrillers, shady lawyers, and CIA officers on the run. As expected, on July 14, FX announced The Bear TV show will return for a second season.
“The Bear has exceeded our wildest creative, critical and commercial expectations,” FX Entertainment president Eric Schrier said during the announcement. “We deeply appreciate the brilliant work led by creator and co-showrunner Christopher Storer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo.”
With all eight episodes released on June 23, streaming fans will likely have to wait until June 2023 to catch unfolding events and Giardiniera-topped action. How should viewers fill screen time in the interim? Excellent question.
Using the ingredients that meld to create the craveable Bear show — kitchen dramatics, family complications, a Midwest sensibility, male relationships, rave reviews — The Manual offers up some shows and films that can sufficiently supplement the craving viewers have for The Bear on FX for more tense interactions leavened by the incomparable post-rush high.
Careful. These films might induce late nights and early mornings in the kitchen. Or maybe just allow a deeper appreciation of a quality out-to-dinner evening.