From the moment The Bear first hit our screens in 2022, the high-octane cooking comedy-drama has been anything but predictable.
Following Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto, the award-winning chef who returns to Chicago to takeover his brother’s Italian sandwich shop, critics previously dubbed it ‘the best workplace drama since Mad Men’.
On top of sweeping up a whopping 21 Emmy Awards and five Golden Globes, the show has also become synonymous for its dramatic and shocking moments, such as that Christmas party in season two.
But, following the release of its third and fourth seasons, bizarrely, viewers turned on the series, citing poor writing and direction as a reason for it to end after the announcement of season five.
So, keeping in tune with the show’s unpredictable nature, maybe it should come as no surprise to fans that FX has dropped a surprise one-off episode of The Bear, which is available to watch on Disney Plus.
Following Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Mikey (Jon Bernthal) on a work trip to Gary, Indiana, the episode is already being hailed as ‘one of the best in the series’.
Writing on Instagram, one user called Christopher called it ‘just beautiful’, while Suzie said that it ‘destroyed me’.
Meanwhile, George said ‘everything felt so natural’ before adding: ‘In quality Bear fashion, this show is so much fun. until it’s not and it will break your heart.
‘I love the way this is shot. I love the way this is written. I love the way this is acted… This is awesome. It’s one of my favourite episodes.’
Acting as proof that the show’s creator Christopher Storer refuses to be pinned down in his creative vision, the episode sees the pair peel back the layers of their complicated friendship while offering crucial insights into Mikey’s mental state.
An official description of the series also claimed that the added emotional context ‘reframes their story from the very beginning’.
While Storer directed the episode, Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal co-wrote it.
Moss-Bachrach also announced the episode on his Instagram, highlight that it appears as ‘Gary’, instead of as part of ‘The Bear’.
Currently, there is no official release date yet for season five of The Bear, but it is expected to drop in June as all previous seasons of the series have dropped in that month.
It is also expected that season five will be the series’ last, despite no official announcement coming yet.
This comes after Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Carmy’s mother Donna, posted a photo of herself and co-star Abby Elliott from the set of Season 5 with the caption: ‘Finished strong!
‘Surrounded by an extraordinary crew and group of writers and producers and scene partners on the show that Chris Storer created, completing the story of this extraordinary family that we have all fallen in love with.’
In a later interview with Access Hollywood, Curtis then told a reporter: ‘Everybody’s confirmed the show is ending. I don’t understand why that’s such a [big deal].
‘Unless I’m gonna get a call from all the people saying, “You just told [everyone],” I think everybody understood that it was the last season of the show. If it isn’t, then I’ve completely blown it.’
Gary is available to watch on Disney Plus.
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