Carmy and the crew are back for the hugely anticipated third season of critically acclaimed culinary comedy The Bear
After getting trapped in the refrigerator on the night of his big debut, Chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is once again on free foot, but as the third season of the runaway hit premieres, the tension felt in the season finale carries over into the new endeavour. “Carmy is continuing to do what he does best, which is be incredibly avoidant of all the issues that he has going on,” says White. “Carmy buries himself back into his work and really tries to challenge himself and in doing so, really challenges everybody around him and becomes quite challenging to be around, as well.”

The new season opens on an episode that takes the viewers through Carmy’s culinary history, good and bad. Co-written by producer and co-star Matty Matheson (who portrays handyman Neil Fak on the series), the real-life Canadian chef brought his own experience to the premiere. “A lot of people that have had amazing careers have worked under a lot of chefs, and there’s little pieces that you grab onto throughout your life, and that’s what makes you who you are,” he says. “In culinary school, I had this chef that told us this story about how 30 chefs made him who he was and told me this story about working under all these chefs all over Europe, learning these different trades. We wanted to tell a story of how Carmy was built in that way.”

In an attempt to share responsibility in the present, Carmy offers his second-in-command, Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) a partnership agreement. But the gesture meant to bring them closer professionally may have the opposite effect. “We deal with what that next step would mean for her relationship with Carmy, who’s somebody that she really has looked up to but now is in the thick of doing business with,” says Edebiri. “It’s a lot more chaotic than she might have idealized before they really started working together.” Carmy is also not the best at communicating his needs. “He will often make a grand gesture like that. That’s his way of reaching out,” says White. “But he’s got a lot going on in his mind all the time and people aren’t always aware of exactly what’s going on.”

The one place Edebiri gets to helm the kitchen is behind the scenes. The actress directs episode six, titled “Napkins,” exploring Tina’s (Liza Colón-Zayas) origin story.

“[Series creator Christopher Storer] was like, ‘Which scripts are you responding to?’ And I was like, ‘I would literally give you my firstborn child — who does not exist yet — if I could do the Tina episode, because I would love to work with Liza in that way,” says Edebiri, adding that she loved the experience. “It’s a dream to get to work with our crew as an actor. That feeling was only amplified [as a director]. I was so impressed and so moved every day. I got to direct some of my favourite actors in the world, and it just felt like a bit of a master class but also a gift. This is maybe the best job in the world?”

Liza is not the only one questioning their place at The Bear. Questioning his professional happiness is Richie, who after his experience at upscale restaurant Ever, was able to find pride and purpose in his work. But as he has to replicate that at The Bear, his growth is not so easily applied “Richie is in a place where he’s been exposed to maybe a more evolved way of being, and I think he sees a path to head towards,” says Ebon Moss-Bachrach. “But it’s one thing to see the path and it’s another thing to walk it. I think, like any kind of personal growth, it’s forward and back and there’s not a clear, one-direction path.”

As uncertainty rules in the kitchen, one thing is clear: there’s no romance brewing between Carmy and Sydney. “No, there was no talk in the rooms about any romantic implications,” confirms White. While there may not be romance in the cards, there is nothing but love behind the scenes of this tense show. “The workplace feels very safe and warm,” says Moss-Bachrach. “When you feel supported that way and taken care of, you feel entitled to dig deeper and share more personal things and take risks. It creates a far more dynamic story to tell. I probably speak for everyone when I say everyone has agency on our set. Everyone feels entitled to say how they feel, to collaborate, to contribute. It makes for a really exciting place to make a TV show.” “It’s true,” adds White. “It’s hard to leave. We wrapped a couple weeks ago, and we love our lives very much, but it’s really special to all be together for as long as we get to.”
The Bear, streaming Wednesdays on Disney+