The Bear Showrunner Says Season 2 Is Where The Story Really Begins
"The Bear" took audiences by surprise in the summer of 2022 with its stressful and emotionally moving first season. Consisting of eight episodes, the story of Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) and his journey from prestigious chef to running his deceased older brother's sandwich shop is returning for a 10-episode second season. The emotional highs and lows of "The Bear" ended with a cliffhanger that saw Carmen discover an absurd amount of money his brother had hidden in tomato cans of all places. With cash and a new goal in mind to open up a new restaurant, season 1 ended on an optimistic note for Carmy and his crew.
However, according to executive producer and co-creator Christopher Storer, the nerve-wracking first season was only something of a prologue. As he would say during the Television Critics Association press tour (via TVLine): "It almost feels like season 1 was sort of, 'Let's catch up,' and season 2 is sort of like where the show properly begins, once we've met everyone and seen their backstory."
The first season of "The Bear" was excellently paced, making viewers feel as overwhelmed as Carmy is in the new high-strung situation of running an out-of-control sandwich shop. Coming to terms with his emotional state following the loss of his brother and reconnecting with his family was only the beginning for Carmy. As Storer would say, "Season 2 it's about balance in a lot of ways, between time and what it means to start fresh and how you can start in a healthy direction."
A new set of struggles
Moreover, while things may look up for the restaurant, it doesn't mean new challenges won't present themselves for the staff. Characters like Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who Storer specifically brought up, will go through their own unique struggles in the upcoming season: "I think finding where he [Richie] fits in is what he's looking for in season 2." A large part of Richie's identity in the first season was with the Sandwich Shop, and his set-in ways were a constant point of contention with Carmy. The dynamic of those two characters was a highlight of the show, and seeing how that will evolve as the restaurant changes will no doubt be a source of some compelling (and stressful) television.
Storer also teased one of the more significant problems Carmy and his staff would face going into "The Bear" season 2, indicating that the show wouldn't lose the nerve-wracking atmosphere it so intricately created:
"They think they're starting from a healthy place, but a restaurant, like many other businesses, just creates the same amount of problems and headaches every day. So we see them have to step up in certain ways, in some ways regressing, but hopefully coming back together to open this thing by a very specific date."
Perhaps alluding to what he said about Richie's arc in season, Storer also teased the in-fighting that will come as a result of this drastic change in restaurant style:
"Winning is losing. The minute you feel like you've won something, there's immediately the next challenge... They are trying to execute a finer level of dining, but it doesn't mean it's easy. It doesn't mean everyone thinks it's the right thing to do. So obviously, there is inner turmoil."
While the second season looks to bring drastic new changes to the characters and setting, it will undoubtedly recapture that same chaotic energy as the first season when it premieres in Summer 2023.