Wall Street Journal Review

‘The Bear’ Review: Food Fight at the Sandwich Shop

Hulu’s new dramedy turns a top chef’s takeover of his family’s struggling Italian sandwich place into something special

By John Anderson

There are no furry woodland creatures on the menu at the Original Beef of Chicagoland, the centerpiece of “The Bear,” Hulu’s delicious eight-part dramedy that viewers will consume like a tray of hot hors d’oeuvres. Being set in a restaurant qualifies the show as a family story—everyone is distinctive, everyone has a role, everyone has a history, but all are bound together by a central purpose that not only defines them, but occasionally—no, frequently—makes them ferocious.

The bear of the title is metaphorical shorthand for the complicated inheritance of Carmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White, “Shameless”), a star in the fine-dining world of New York who comes home to Chicago after his brother kills himself and leaves Carmen the family’s Italian beef sandwich shop. Along with the eatery come side orders of emotional turmoil, ornate Berzatto history, irascible employees, the usual resentments expressed toward a successful prodigal’s reluctant return to the fold, and Carmy’s readjustment to the crustier side of Chicago. He immediately wants to make the place better. But “better” is subjective, especially in a restaurant—it barely qualifies—that can’t afford much, least of all the alienation of a faithful base. And where Carmen’s aspirations outstrip the possibilities at what is, at root, a fast-food joint.

Brilliantly photographed by Andrew Wehde—the kitchen is probably bigger than it ever would be in such a place, but he makes it jammed, crammed and frantic—“The Bear” was created by Christopher Storer and has the winning menu item of people doing things well. Original Beef is a mess when Carmen gets there, but the cooking is lovely to watch once he gets things on track. What’s even lovelier is the way Carmen’s imposition of elevated standards changes the staff. Tina (Liza Colón-Zayas), the longtime prep cook, is reflexively resistant to change, but once she starts tasting Carmen’s food, she’s transformed. Marcus (Lionel Boyce), who’s been content with baking mediocre sandwich buns, is inspired by yeast, buttercream and Carmen’s professionalism, to the point that his doughnut creations begin getting in the way of his job. The way Carmy insists that they all call each other “Chef” gives everyone a renewed sense of self-respect; amid the chaos of small business, the food business and the indebtedness business, they feel like they’re on a unified mission.

The outlier is Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who was best friends with Carmen’s brother, Michael, until the latter blew his brains out. Richie is the naysayer about everything that Carmen tries to do, sprinkles his repartee with homophobic epithets, basically gets in the way, but was the one who held Original Beef together while Michael was hitting the skids. Michael never let Carmen work in the restaurant for reasons unknown, but in a stirring soliloquy late in the series, Carmen spells out how Michael’s rejection drove him to become the chef he is. And it’s not the only showcase of actorly talent: Richie’s phone conversation early on with his 5-year-old daughter shows how well Mr. Moss-Bachrach can do heartbreaking as well as abrasive. Mr. Storer seems determined to give each performer a moment, whether it arrives in an aria or a duet.

One of the best is a late-inning, late-evening conversation between Marcus and Sydney (the spectacular Ayo Edebiri) that is so natural it seems unscripted, which is a credit to both the actors and the writers (who include Mr. Storer and his co-executive producer, Joanna Calo, both of whom direct different episodes). The characters often behave in ways that seem extreme, but the tone of “The Bear” emanates from the precarious position the shop is in, the clash of cultures in the kitchen, and street-level violence that seems at all times imminent. Then someone like the meat chef Ebraheim (a terrific Edwin Lee Gibson) says something dryly hilarious and the pressure is released from the cooker.

Sydney? “The Bear” is arguably her show. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, she arrives at Original Beef with hopes of working beside the celebrated Carmen, but her options elsewhere seem limited. She progresses quickly from helpful to intrusive to obsessive—she writes a business plan for Carmen, replete with binder, all of which makes perfect sense, though her sense of timing doesn’t. Very young, she already has a track record of micromanagement that’s led to business failures and dismissals. But she is, like Carmen, a culinary genius. Which he recognizes. As does Richie. Let the food fight commence.