Jeremy Allen White stars as Carmy Berzatto, an award-winning chef who returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage the chaotic kitchen at his deceased brother's Italian beef sandwich shop.

The supporting cast includes Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ayo Edebiri, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, and Matty Matheson.

[10][11] A talented young chef named Carmen "Carmy" Anthony Berzatto inherits his family's Italian beef sandwich shop after the suicide of his older brother, Michael.

Chefs and restaurateurs Grant Achatz, Christina Tosi, Kevin Boehm, Wylie Dufresne, Will Guidara, Genie Kwon, Malcolm Livingston II, Anna Posey, and Rosio Sanchez appear as themselves in season 3.

Some of the songs featured on the show include Chicago-based Wilco with "Spiders (Kidsmoke)", "Impossible Germany", "Via Chicago", and "Handshake Drugs", Radiohead's "Let Down", Van Morrison's "Saint Dominic's Preview", Pearl Jam's "Animal" and "Come Back", Sufjan Stevens' "Chicago", John Mayer's "Last Train Home", Refused's "New Noise", The Breeders' "Saints", Erasure's "A Little Respect", The Replacements' "Bastards of Young", Counting Crows' "Have You Seen Me Lately?

The website's critics consensus reads, "Like an expertly confected sandwich, The Bear assembles a perfect melange of ingredients and stacks them for optimal satisfaction—and thankfully keeps the crust-iness for extra flavor.

The site's critical consensus reads, "Instead of reinventing the menu, The Bear's second season wisely opts to toss its lovable characters into another frying pan of adversity, lets 'em cook, and serves up yet another supremely satisfying dish.

[50] The Bear appeared on many publications' lists of the best TV shows of 2023, including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Hollywood Reporter, and People, among others.

"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.

"[34] The website also reported that the season was "as audacious as ever" and it "still seems to continue delivering compelling and often intense television with performances that are so dependably brilliant that they're not even mentioned in most of the reviews.

[35] The classification of The Bear as a comedy in certain award ceremonies, specifically the Primetime Emmys, has attracted media attention, given its dramatic style and focus on heavy topics.

[124][125][126][127] JustWatch, a guide to streaming content with access to data from more than 20 million users around the world, estimated that The Bear was the second most-streamed series in the U.S. during the week ending July 3.

[139] Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the more than 25 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, announced that The Bear was the eighth most-watched streaming original television series of 2023.

[142][143] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, calculated that The Bear was watched for 1,233 million minutes from June 24—30.