If you round the corner of your kitchen into your living room, you should probably shout, “Corner!” so you don’t crash into your family members as you head to the couch to watch TV’s most critically acclaimed show.
In just two seasons, FX’s “The Bear” has racked up 10 Primetime Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series, in a blatant case of “genre gerrymandering.” By competing in comedy categories, it has effectively stolen awards from actual sitcoms like “Abbott Elementary,” which cleverly roasted “The Bear” this season.
Now, Hulu has dropped all 10 episodes of Season 3, and after watching the first few episodes overnight, it’s clear that the writers have doubled down on the dramatic ingredients without much comedic spice for an overcooked third serving of stress.
Created by Christopher Storer, Season 1 introduced us to grieving ex-Manhattan chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), who inherited a Chicago sandwich shop after his brother Michael’s suicide. We watched him use fine-dining skills to transform the gritty joint into a success, including a hectic 18-minute tracking shot in the penultimate episode “Review,” followed by symbolic pasta-sauce cans in the background of the finale “Braciole.”
Season 2 renovated the restaurant as Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) gained more responsibilities as the talented sous-chef. The “Fishes” episode showed Carmy’s dysfunctional family with his manic mother (Jamie Lee Curtis), while “Forks” impressively showed character growth for cocky “cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), who finally developed some humility. Still, it ended with Carmy trapped in the fridge, offending his love interest Claire (Molly Gordon).
Now, Season 3 picks up where we left off with the upgraded restaurant reopening as The Bear, which might as well describe the moping Carmy, who can be quite a bear to his family, friends, coworkers and, yes, even TV viewers.
The first episode (“Tomorrow”) is a largely-silent montage of flashbacks showing Carmy as a New York chef just before his brother’s suicide. We actually see Richie knocking on Michael’s door to no response, Carmy receiving the news and flashes of the funeral. It’s all intercut with present-day action and important images from previous seasons set to brooding, atmospheric music. The filmmaking craft is sharp as always, but it’s so depressing.
The second episode (“Next”) at least opens with a few laughs of potty humor as Sydney and her dad (Robert Townsend) fight over the bathroom, followed by Carmy turning down a smoke break: “Are you thinking about your health?” “No, I’m thinking about the five minutes it’s gonna take me.” For a brief second, there is a glimmer of hope that Season 3 might break new ground before devolving into another shouting match between Carmy and Richie.
“Chef Carmen uses power phrases because he’s a baby replicant who’s not self-actualized, which is maybe why he repeatedly referred to me as a loser,” Richie says, teeing up Carmy’s character arc before jabbing him with a reminder of his Season 2 mistake. “Also, I respect your honesty and bravery from inside a locked vault.”
Score one for Richie, but eventually, I felt like Sydney, “Can you both shut the f*ck up, please?” If you’ve ever worked in the restaurant industry, you don’t want to be reminded of such chaos, and beyond that, the conflict is becoming too repetitive from previous seasons. As Richie says later in this same scene, “Seen it once, you’ve seen it a thousand times.” Where’s the comedy that Edebiri brought last year to “Theater Camp” and “Bottoms?”
I threw my napkin on the table after the third episode (“Doors”), which opens with another funeral and even plays the theme from “Raging Bull” (1980), which was actually funnier. That’s all I could stomach for one night, as a three-course meal was filling enough for one sitting. I will definitely keep watching and hoping that the next seven episodes offer something new, but I can’t stand such relentless heat, so maybe it’s time to get out of the kitchen.
If you crave comedy, head to the movies to watch June Squibb in “Thelma,” the hardest I’ve laughed all year.
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