Hands! After five breathless seasons, dozens of beautiful plates of food, and countless “Yes chef!” pop culture references, The Bear is about to hang up its apron. Thankfully, this final season of the FX comedy serves up an exhilarating last supper — one last chance for critics to unleash every food pun in the menu. (It’s delicious TV.)
The Bear became an almost instant hit when Season 1 premiered in June 2022, and Season 2 kept that momentum going, delivering a great run that included one of modern TV’s best-ever episodes. Seasons 3 and 4, however, faced some critical backlash as the show drifted from the qualities that originally made it so compelling. In short, it was a series that needed to regain its focus and go out strong in order to secure its place in TV history — and Season 5 feels like it might do the trick.
Focus is definitely not a problem this time, as there’s a crystal clear simplicity to this season: The first seven episodes take place over the course of one day, specifically, the day after the Season 4 finale, in which Carmy announced that he was leaving the food industry. The chefs have one goal — to complete one last great service, even if that night might be the very last time The Bear opens its doors. All that’s standing in their way is an overloaded reservation calendar, a lack of ingredients on the shelves, a kitchen staff that’s still not totally in sync with each other, and a building that’s falling apart around them.
Structurally, Season 5 of The Bear is a manifestation of that adage once often spouted by showrunners: It’s not a TV show, it’s a 4.5-hour-long movie — the first seven episodes range from 23-28 minutes, with one 39-minute episode and one 52-minute episode in the mix.
The “[BLANK]-hour-long movie” adage became an annoying cliche several years ago, largely because it came off as a way for creators to imply that no matter how great prestige TV might be, film is still an inherently superior medium, and that their work should be judged on that level. In this case, what it means is that each episode flows right into the next, the momentum of the story building with each new episode as the food starts to run out, the diners pile up, and the pressure to create the meal of a lifetime mounts.
It’s not the most episodic season in the world, but considering that FX will be releasing it as a binge, that works in its favor. And it still manages to track multiple characters in the microcosm of this day, letting each one get at least one big moment to shine.
One of the best aspects of The Bear’s popularity is the boost it gave to its talented cast, career-wise. Jeremy Allen White graduated from “that kid with the big eyes from Shameless” to major big screen roles. Ayo Edebiri’s career has also exploded. Ebon Moss-Bachrach joined the damn MCU. Liza Colón-Zayas has an Emmy. Edwin Lee Gibson got to play around on Fallout Season 2. And Lionel Boyce helped save the world in Project Hail Mary.
These episodes do an elegant job of showcasing all of them, even in the chaos of this one-night-only season — White perhaps has a slightly reduced presence, but that’s a reflection of Carmy’s new role in the kitchen, per his decision to step back. Meanwhile, Edebiri, Boyce, and Colón-Zayas in particular get to own the spotlight, with an able assist from Will Poulter, increasingly one of those guys who improves any project that casts him.
The cinematography is as kinetic as ever, the editing moving at a breakneck pace. This is notably the first season of The Bear where there’s no cause to create a music guide, as this time the show eschews pre-existing songs for a fresh score produced by Hans Zimmer. It’s a driving, thriving soundtrack which brings the same intensity Zimmer created for F1 last year, the perfect spice for this dish. (Yeah, we’re not yet done with the food puns.)
All this praise does come with one caveat: FX did not send critics the series finale, so as of writing the ultimate fate of these characters remains unknown. However, the quality of what came before remains a triumph — there’s always the possibility that the show won’t stick the landing, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where the last episode will ruin things. Unless, perhaps, the finale reveals that this was all a dream, Michael’s in the shower, and The Beef exists only inside Tommy Westphall’s snowglobe.
At its core, The Bear has never shied away from treating its chefs like artists, and letting their struggles and triumphs reflect the basic meaning of what it means to be creative in any avenue of life. And it continues to find ways to surprise: A payoff involving a candle in the seventh episode, “Caramel,” reduced me to the kind of sobbing that just can’t be explained, can only be felt.
In small and large ways, the season also celebrates the beauty of community and consideration made possible by any kind of restaurant, fine dining or otherwise. The Bear premiered right when we were all just starting to get used to the idea of leaving our houses again, and Season 5 feels like the show The Bear has always wanted to be, the final form it was always hoping to achieve.
In the first episode, one character compares the opportunity “to do something you love with people you love…” to winning the lottery. It feels like a meta-commentary from creator Christopher Storer about saying goodbye to the show after five seasons. However, outside of that context, it also generally captures how profound and special a feeling it is, to find something you’re not just good at doing, but love to do. There’s being alive, and then there’s truly living. At its best, The Bear reminded us of the difference, and this season was the perfect final bite.
The Bear Season 5 premieres Thursday, June 26th at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT on FX and Hulu on Hulu. Check out the latest trailer below.
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