Two episodes in, and this show is so damn good. It debuted yesterday, I'd been seeing some high praise, and so far that praise is spot on. Just a really likable cast, tons of energy, and will make you hungry as hell, if not want to start cooking ASAP. It's pretty intense too, but in a fun way. I heard someone call it Uncut Foods (riffing off Uncut Gems), and that's not far off. More than anything, though, I just like hanging out in this kitchen/world, with these characters. All eight season one episodes are out now (half-hour each), and I don't see how I don't knock out the next six this weekend...


The Bear
Season 1 (8 Episodes)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14452776/
June 23, 2022
FX on Hulu Exclusive

I can't wait to watch this

Anyone else immediately think of this classic when they read the thread title?

How close is the lead to Lip from shameless?

I binged this while sick this week. Really enjoyed it.

I thought of this

Two episodes in and I love it - no doubt i'll finish it this weekend. I wish it was a weekly release.

Watched the first 2 episodes last night. I really like it, but the stress level of this show almost made me start smoking

Binged all of this last night - it was pretty great, definitely not getting the attention it deserves yet. The tension is off the charts in some episodes...enough to get your blood pressure up while watching it!

I liked the ending and think it sets up for a different and evolving next season....with equal if not more tension!


One thing though - in one of the episodes (I forget which - the one with the "new system") - I didn't really get it. Where were the orders coming from? At first I thought it was a glitch with their new system but then they got all panicky and tried to cook them all. But no one was taking orders and there was no lead in I recall about them taking online orders or anything (which would seem strange for that place). I get (from the previous scene/episode) why they might have a lot of orders...but just not how they were actually getting them other than them just being printed out left and right by the system when they turned it on.

Duncan Idaho said:

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How close is the lead to Lip from shameless?

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I've read it's like Shameless but if you removed the plots you don't really care about

Hard to believe a show about cooking is great.

aTmAg said:

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Hard to believe a show about cooking is great.

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There are some great movies about cooking. And I say cooking reality shows are better than most other reality shows.

I think they launched to allow online orders or orders through an app. They didn't turn off the ability to pre-order so they were slammed when they opened with a ton of pre-orders after the hype of the newspaper review.

Finished this last night. I loved it. Tension and stress is through the roof on several episodes, especially episode 7 which is done in the 'one-shot' style.

Side note - the bar next door, "The Green Door Tavern", which they talked about being closed during the show, is very much a real (and open) bar in Chicago that is a great place to hang out. Great beer selection and very good food. The Italian Beef Poutine is the best poutine I have ever had in my life. Seeing this show made me want to go back there, which I plan to do next week when I travel to Chicago for work.

Through episode six. Plan on watching the final two tonight. Can't wait.

gigemags-99 said:

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aTmAg said:

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Hard to believe a show about cooking is great.

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There are some great movies about cooking. And I say cooking reality shows are better than most other reality shows.

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I'd add that the whole show isn't entirely about cooking. Its a drama...family drama, workplace drama, etc. Cooking and the restaurant are the stage for the most part although "foodie" scenes do happen.

TCTTS said:

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Through episode six. Plan on watching the final two tonight. Can't wait.

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I had to take a breather between 7 and 8. 7 was pretty intense!

Started this morning before the family was up and it was pretty gripping. Not Old Man gripping, but enough to make me come back.

I love cooking but really don't watch many shows about it.

I'm not a big Joel McHale fan, but I wanted more of him in flashbacks.

Episode 7.

Holy sh*t, what a finale, to easily one of the best shows of the year.

Man.

Give me, like, ten seasons minimum.

I love this cast so much, especially Carmen and Richie. Absolutely incredible performances.

Just an amazing experience all around.

I have to be honest, until I read a recap of the finale I thought Mickey's letter to Carmen said, "I love your duck. Let it rip." As in Mikey was finally admitting that he liked Carmen's super fancy cooking. It was only when I read a recap did I realize it said, "I love you dude. Let it rip." Admittedly, I thought the former was super random, but strangely both are equally emotional.

How can i watch this?

I've searched high and low on Dish. Nothing on the guide and nothing on demand even through the FX channel directly.

What time does this come on? It looks to be a current show so I don't know why it's not offered on FX on dish.

Hulu

Jason_InfinityRoofer said:

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How can i watch this?

I've searched high and low on Dish. Nothing on the guide and nothing on demand even through the FX channel directly.

What time does this come on? It looks to be a current show so I don't know why it's not offered on FX on dish.

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It's currently an FX exclusive on Hulu. I think they put them on the FX channel outside of Hulu like 90 days after release, but I may have the timing wrong.

Jason_InfinityRoofer said:

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How can i watch this?

I've searched high and low on Dish. Nothing on the guide and nothing on demand even through the FX channel directly.

What time does this come on? It looks to be a current show so I don't know why it's not offered on FX on dish.

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It's an "FX on Hulu" exclusive, meaning it's streaming only on Hulu.

I watched the first episode. I had no idea what was going on. Am i just dumb?

We're almost supposed to be disoriented at first, as if we've been thrown into the middle of the kitchen/action ourselves. All you really need to know, though, is that Carmen, the main guy and literally one of the best chefs on the planet, has come home to take over the restaurant formerly run by his brother, who recently committed suicide. Any backstory/motivations/relationships/details will be filled in as the story goes from there.

walton91 said:

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Watched the first 2 episodes last night. I really like it, but the stress level of this show almost made me start smoking

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you ever seen Burnt with Bradley cooper?

cooking entertainment is STRESSFUL lol

The one thing this show almost did bad was Sydney's character. It's really hard to pull off the "young person comes in and tells all the old people what to do" trope. But I think they mostly succeeded in this part. They gave her some backstory and emotion and there was a lot of exchanges between her and the other characters that really helped build her character without making you hate her. I found her character enjoyable to root for most of the time since they didn't stick her with a poor attitude...unlike Tina's character who thankfully (and predictably) eventually came around.

Given the groove the cast got in at the end I'm curious what they'll use to make up for some of that tension in the next season. From the last episode part of that I think is obvious, but I think they'll either invent some new tension between the characters and/or add some new characters to the cast. Carmy himself is certainly a big source of tension in the show that I hope never goes away.

Very well said. Loved her character and how they handled her, considering the level of difficulty in pulling off that whole dynamic.

TCTTS said:

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Jason_InfinityRoofer said:

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How can i watch this?

I've searched high and low on Dish. Nothing on the guide and nothing on demand even through the FX channel directly.

What time does this come on? It looks to be a current show so I don't know why it's not offered on FX on dish.

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It's an "FX on Hulu" exclusive, meaning it's streaming only on Hulu.

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Got it on Hulu. Gonna give this a watch tonight.

As soon as I figure out how to provide people with a single sign on subscription service offering seamless watching of all other streaming services, im going to be filthy rich.

This Tx exclusive on Hulu bull crap is for the birds.

In the show, Matty Matheson wears a power trip shirt ,who was one of the best metal bands to ever come out of Texas. Unfortunately, their vocalist, Riley gale, passed away not too long ago. He was a great guy. Just thought I'd bring this back full around to Texas.

Jason_InfinityRoofer said:

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TCTTS said:

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Jason_InfinityRoofer said:

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How can i watch this?

I've searched high and low on Dish. Nothing on the guide and nothing on demand even through the FX channel directly.

What time does this come on? It looks to be a current show so I don't know why it's not offered on FX on dish.

---

It's an "FX on Hulu" exclusive, meaning it's streaming only on Hulu.

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Got it on Hulu. Gonna give this a watch tonight.

As soon as I figure out how to provide people with a single sign on subscription service offering seamless watching of all other streaming services, im going to be filthy rich.

This Tx exclusive on Hulu bull crap is for the birds.

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It's super confusing. When 20th Century Fox (which includes FX) was bought by Disney in 2018, Disney eventually kind of sort of "merged" FX with Hulu, which Disney also owns. And for some insane reason, under that deal, FX now has shows that premiere exclusively on FX, then go to Hulu the next day, but then they have FX shows like The Bear that *only* premiere on Hulu and *not* FX. Then, to make it even more complicated, there are of course Hulu shows that have nothing to do with FX, that only premiere on Hulu.

In other words, these companies really need to streamline their branding.