Season 3 of ‘The Bear’ is ‘the best one yet’ [Review Round-Up]

On June 26, 2024, FX on Hulu released the third season of its Emmy-winning comedy series “The Bear.” In the season-opener titled “Tomorrow,” Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) apologizes to Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) for abandoning the team, commends her for her stewardship of the kitchen, and promises never to make the same mistakes again. He also calls Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) to apologize for his tirade. Marcus (Lionel Boyce) learns his mother has died and flashbacks recount Carmy’s time working for renowned chefs at various restaurants, as well as Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) death and subsequent funeral. 

This latest season holds fresh at 93% on Rotten Tomatoes with the critics consensus reading, “Having set an exceedingly high standard of excellence for itself, ‘The Bear’ spends its third season simmering, stewing, and giving off an aroma that whets the appetite.” Read our full review round-up below.

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Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter praises the series, stating, “On an episode-by-episode basis, the third season of ‘The Bear’ is as good as anything the show has ever done. Possibly better?” Adding, “While the ghost who still haunts The Bear is Jon Bernthal’s Mikey, the comic relief Fak siblings (Matty Matheson’s Neil and Rick Staffieri’s Ted), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern figures to be sure, spend the entire season wandering around talking about ‘hauntings,’ a family tradition for prolonging disagreements or resentments. Plus, the season has multiple funerals, one literal and one for a beloved restaurant. Death fuels ‘The Bear’ and death is never easy to move past, yet it’s a season of anxious birth, with the restaurant’s opening and the ongoing pregnancy of Natalie (Abby Elliott).”

Akos Peterbencze of Paste Magazine writes, “Even judged against the high standards ‘The Bear’ has set for itself, Season 3 is the best one yet. Every ingredient that made the series what it is today is in perfect balance here, creating an exquisite harmony between chaos and quiet, sadness and joy.” Noting, “As you begin to watch the premiere episode of ‘The Bear’ Season 3—a calm, melancholy, and meditative masterclass of an opening—you immediately sense that something has changed. Make no mistake, it’s the same show you fell in love with two years ago, but creator Christopher Storer has taken the advice offered by one of his chefs this season seriously: always try to get a little better than you were yesterday.”

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Brian Lowry of CNN notes, “The cast remains splendid and the storytelling moody and lyrical, in a way that both challenges the audience and rewards them for paying attention to small details. What ‘The Bear’ has lost is the element of surprise that greeted its arrival.” Concluding, “By now there’s less novelty in its fly-on-the-wall access to what goes on inside a kitchen, and once your leading man has become a marquee Calvin Klein model and high-level celebrity cameos (some new, others familiar) start piling up, it’s harder to position the show as a plucky underdog.”

Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair was less impressed, stating, “The central premise of the show has not been developed enough to support all this messing around. Storer seems more eager to show us what he can do on a technical level than he is in holding ‘The Bear’ together as a cohesive, discrete series.” Continuing, “The standalone experiments are the strongest parts of season three. The eighth episode, ‘Ice Chips,’ is essentially a two-hander between side characters—Abby Elliott’s Sugar and Jamie Lee Curtis’ difficult matriarch Donna—as they navigate a major life rite in tight closeup, bickering and reconciling. The acting is big, but it works; it’s the highlight of the season. Episode six, ‘Napkins,’ is another standout, a gentle look back at one character’s origin story (sort of) that features graceful performances (especially from the great Liza Colón-Zayas) and credibly lived-in writing. The episode was deftly directed by series co-star Ayo Edebiri.”

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