When it came to “The Bear,” there were a few things you could always count on: Being hungry after an episode, potentially being very stressed during an episode, great guest stars and more. But with its final season the FX series switched up it’s format, with the bulk of the season taking place over one single day — like “The Pitt.”
The first seven episodes of Season 5 all focus on the chefs getting ready for their first service after their doomsday clock has run out. They have no idea if they’ll survive past this service, and it’s an especially chaotic one, because Chicago is under a torrential downpour, so the restaurant has flooded. On top of that, the Bear is severely overbooked, and Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) doesn’t have the heart to cancel anyone.
Typically, a season of “The Bear” is more spread out, taking place over as long as they need, and switching to a storyline condensed into a day was certainly a challenge for the cast.
“Some days we were like, ‘What episode is this?’” Matty Matheson told TheWrap. “Like, it is a thing where it is, when you’re shooting some of this stuff — also, there’s two sets. There’s the dining room and the kitchen, kind of. And then the basement. But it really is, like, not even like ‘Groundhog’s Day’ — you really need to have a grasp on the context of what you’re saying and where it is.”
That said, maintaining that grasp was a bit easier with this timeline, according to series star Jeremy Allen White. While Lionel Boyce, who starred as Marcus for the show’s run, noted that it was a bit like Jenga trying to piece together everyone’s schedules, White admitted that the condensed timeline helped keep the story straighter.
“It’s really easy to find and keep that sort of continuity, and emotional continuity, when it is so clear that all this stuff is happening in that one evening,” he explained. “And I think, you know, our show has always been shot in this really like urgent, fast, but also very easy and flexible way, and I think it was easy.”
“There was like a bit of mirroring going on, which happens often I think, with our show,” he continued. “And also, knowing we were going to be saying goodbye at some point, but trying to remain very present and in the moment as ourselves and also as our characters, about to face the inevitable. So, yeah, I think it all worked out nicely.”
Of course, there was one other thing you could always count on with “The Bear,” and that was a new season every June. Every single year for the show’s run, a new season came out like clockwork, bucking the new trend of multiple years between seasons on streaming series. And according to the actors, the updated format for the final season did nothing to disrupt that.
“It’s cool, nothing was compromised for the sake of hitting the date,” Boyce said. “It wasn’t just for the sake of hitting the date. It was just like, we back into it, we know we can do it, and everyone will just rise to the occasion to make it happen.”
Boyce also praised the series’ consistency, opining that “it shows that you can make something at a high level at a consistent rate.” Ebon Moss-Bachrach agreed, and added that it was a comfort to have a very “routinized schedule.”
“I mean, that’s a testament to our writers and to FX, and everyone just sort of having a common vision,” he said. “And also, our shooting schedule is really pretty, not frantic, but energized. We go fast and furious, and I think that’s part of the show, so just having a little sort of condensed time and being up against all of the time, I think, lends itself to the story that we’re telling.”
“The Bear” Season 5 is now streaming on FX on Hulu.
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