The Bear

You do know Poulter is British?

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

No I didn’t

He sure is & he has a very nice voice as we heard in the show.

Yes, he does. Prior this show, I had only seen him in Meet the Millers which he effortlessly stole from Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston. Best thing about the movie.

I’ve seen him in something else, but can’t remember what.

I have not read through the posts commenting on Season 3, since I want to avoid spoilers, but I'm halfway through it now and it feels narratively inert to me. I don't see the stories moving the plot forward. This feels like kind of a lost season to me so far. For those that have seen the full season, is this how it feels for the whole season, or does it improve?

They filmed 3 & 4 at the same time. Its supposed to be one whole storyline. Season 3 is setting things up for season 4.

I enjoyed season 3.

Just finished Season 3. In my opinion, it was the worst season by far. I enjoyed Seasons 1 and 2, but didn't really enjoy this one. I understand that it is a set up for what may be the final season, but to me it felt like very little of the storyline of the season moved the plot forward at all. In my opinion, each season should tell an engaging story that stands on its own, and I don't think this one did.

I like this show overall, but I have to confess, I do find it to be wildly overpraised and over awarded. In two seasons of the Emmys, it's gotten 36 Emmy nominations and 10 wins. I'm wondering, for those that love this show, or even those that may not, but think they kind of understand what might be driving this, why has this show been so successful in this regard? What is it about this show that is particularly strong compared to other shows that they could have awarded in these years, or historically, as I believe it's the among the most nominated of any show in history. Is there an aspect of this show that is so far superior to its competitors? What are they doing in this show that is making it stand out this much? Why is it so well liked by the Emmy award bodies? If anyone has any ideas on this, I'd love to learn more, because although I think the show is good, I'm not getting the reason for all of this critical acclaim.

Because more than any horror, drama, or action series this show hits so hard and nonstop, it's completely merciless in its pacing. Then there's the human element when you are allowed to see under the seemingly steel exteriors that most everyone is broken, and only the constant obsession of restaurant work is able to distract them from it. In real life this is how it is, but worse because of the alcoholism and drug addiction which permeates the industry. That hasnt been touched on though as much.
I've never been so exhausted by any tv series like I have with The Bear. Only some of the most perfectly crafted films have ever been able to do that with me.
I'm sure others here can articulate it better.

I feel the same way as you. Who even heard of Jeremy Allen White before this show?

I do enjoy the show, but there are shows I like better. Poor Severance on Apple TV had one season & is struggling to get season 2 on air. Excellent show.

Tongo, this is a very informative response. One of the things I dislike most about it is how much yelling and screaming, tension, and conflict is depicted in the show. What I'm hearing from you is that these are purposeful and make the show stand out as being particularly well done. You feel that this is true to life to how it is to work in the industry (how do you know this? What's the basis of this conclusion)? You also feel that the stressful environment that it depicts and the exhausted feeling or feeling of discomfort that watching that elicits in the viewer are a large part of its appeal, and that evoking that takes a lot of skill and is difficult to achieve. What does everyone else think about reasons this show is so well regarded by awards groups?

Stirchley, I've never seen it, but Jeremy Allen White is one of the main actors in "Shameless", which was a very popular show and long-running show on Showtime, so this isn't his first hit show.

True. I knew someone would bring it up though I never saw the show.

The depiction of a workspace on film has never resonated like this. Probably safe to say a lot of people have experience in food service and they can relate. The stress / drama / personalities / palace intrigue / characters / over-estimation of self-worth is spot-on.

I like the show, but never got past season 1 because it’s a lot. Not something to watch before bed, which is when 95% of my viewing occurs.

This. I saw the first episode and felt I'd been thru a hard day at work. Though compelling, it exhausted me. After a few weeks I decided to go back to it knowing what I was getting myself in for. The rest is history at least for what you see from my posts here.
I've worked in restaurants but nothing to the tempo that these kitchens display. I also too am in Florida, the restaurants were in Bradenton and Sarasota. That's a faaaaar cry less intense than Chicago, or what you'd see in London from Gordon Ramsays Boiling Point.

I would agree that the Bear does successfully depict a stressful, high pressure environment very well and it is exhausting to watch, which both of our commenters here have mentioned. Is this the only reason that it is so highly praised?

If there’s one person I cannot stand it’s Gordon Ramsay. Such a show pony.