After two very successful, critically acclaimed, and award-winning seasons, The Bear may not have a lot of room for growth despite that demand, and the first reviews of season 3 reflect those high expectations. Whether the series plateaus or begins to fall in the latest season, however, is up for debate. The restaurant-set comedy/drama 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. Instead, at this point in a show’s life, it’s easier to find faults in its sameness or changes, or in its attempts to repeat or outdo itself.
Here’s what critics are saying about The Bear: Season 3:
Is this still one of the best shows on TV?
The Bear retains its place as one of the best shows out there.
— Matthew Jackson, Looper.com
It’s proof that the smash sensation is as audacious and assured as ever.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
You know a TV series is at its peak powers when it can recall big-time guest stars Olivia Colman, Will Poulter, Joel McHale and Thomas Keller and scatter them in an episode of hazy flashbacks in which they’re never on screen for more than 20 seconds.
— Wenlei Ma, The Nightly
Now, with the arrival of season 3… The Bear is just a TV show. It’s a very good TV show, still, with first-rate portraiture, a spiky backstory that continues to unfold, some of the best acting on TV right now, and scripts that manage both light banter and heavy confrontation beautifully.
— Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
This remains a tremendously creative, audacious show that is full of pleasures both expected and unexpected.
— Linda Holmes, NPR
This remains one of the best shows on TV right now, but season 3 can’t quite replicate the recipe that made seasons 1 and 2 so stellar.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm
The Bear is still compulsively watchable, but its third season is frustrating.
— Tara Bennett, IGN
(Photo by FX)
Does it improve on season 2?
It doesn’t get any better than these 10 episodes. The Bear season 3 is the pinnacle of Storer’s work.
— Akos Peterbencze, Paste Magazine
Creator-writer Christopher Storer doesn’t strain to outdo himself this time out so much as maintain the intensity of last year’s tone and expose the reverberations from what happened then. The results are consistent, eye-opening in terms of restaurant culture, and at times moving if not next level.
— Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
From the intensity of the performances and the rhythm of its writing and direction to the fact it actually cares about character development, The Bear is a masterclass on how serialized screen storytelling can sustain its quality over time.
— Wenlei Ma, The Nightly
The previous seasons of The Bear both had what I’d consider to be “special” episodes… Season 3, in turn, feels like it’s almost entirely made up of “special” episodes, as if Storer and company are attempting to take big, unconventional, unexpected swings with one episode after another. This is both rewarding and frustrating.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm
The Bear season 3 doesn’t quite strike the right balance (like the previous season did), but it serves up enough suitable side dishes to satiate diners until things really get cooking again.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
Depending on your perspective, it will either be audacious or unforgivable how many things from season two are still unresolved at the end of the third season.
— Daniel Feinberg, Hollywood Reporter
(Photo by FX)
How is it different?
This is a more abstract season than what came before, running on vibes and moods and atmosphere.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm
Season 3 lacks a similar focus… Without a fixed destination, the main narrative itself can get bogged down with repetition and stunt casting before the season ends with most storylines unresolved.
— Alison Herman, Variety
Is it still intense?
It’s still so stressful it might give you an ulcer while you watch.
— Kelly Lawler, USA Today
If you’re hoping to see things progress at an adrenalized rate, this is a season in limbo that reflects its main characters and their respective holding patterns.
— Daniel Feinberg, Hollywood Reporter
As the third season dawns, The Bear reminds us all that chaos was never the show’s true secret ingredient… [It] has always been a character drama first — a show that, like a great chef, always knows when to offer a hint of sweetness and comfort amid the frenzied experimentation and heat.
— Matthew Jackson, Looper.com
Positing pandemonium and tranquility as two sides of the same creative coin, The Bear’s serene downtime is as gripping and moving as its demented delirium.
— Nick Schager, The Daily Beast
(Photo by FX)
How is the comedy?
The humor that’s here to relieve the admittedly heavy drama is tuned to perfection. The Fak brothers were always bonkers and entertaining, but their chemistry, timing, and delivery have never been better.
— Akos Peterbencze, Paste Magazine
The banter [is] particularly amusing this season, as the Fak brothers become the show’s kooky chorus.
— Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
Deploying the Fak brothers (Matty Matheson and Ricky Staffieri) for comic relief quickly wears thin.
— Alison Herman, Variety
Its melancholic humor has not dimmed.
— Matthew Jackson, Looper.com
This is the most melancholy the show has ever been — it might get billed as a comedy during awards season, but season 3 is fairly humor-free.
— Chris Evangelista, Slashfilm
And the acting?
The performances are staggering, even outshining the writing at times, with no exception.
— Akos Peterbencze, Paste Magazine
The elements that make the show strong remain strong, particularly the performances, which are intense and compelling as the camera often lets the cast’s worried faces fill the entire screen.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
Jeremy Allen White’s performance is top-tier as always and devastating as he runs the gamut of emotions this season.
— Therese Lacson, Collider
Edebiri’s performance remains phenomenal, but she notches one of season 3’s biggest victories behind the camera.
— Tara Bennett, IGN
Let’s start the “Thomas Keller for guest actor in a comedy” Emmy campaign now because the French Laundry proprietor and chef has one monologue that convinced me he’s got a career as a wisdom-spouting character actor if that whole cooking thing doesn’t work out for him.
— Daniel Feinberg, Hollywood Reporter
(Photo by FX)
What does this season do best?
Where season 3 really succeeds is in the ways it seeks to build out its characters after season 2’s triumphant conclusion.
— Matthew Jackson, Looper.com
One of the best things about The Bear remains fully intact. We continue to learn the specific reasons that the folks working at the Bear are in the restaurant business in the first place.
— Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe
One of the best installments of season 3 revolves around Tina… The Bear has so many complex and interesting characters that the show has lovingly cultivated that looking into Tina’s past feels right for the show.
— Therese Lacson, Collider
The Bear continues to excel at assembling episodes based on the needs of their particular stories, rather than adhering to the TV status quo.
— Tara Bennett, IGN
Cracking along with its usual mix of slow-burns and fast-spurts, the balance in season three is just right… Everyone gets a moment or two to shine.
— James Mottram, NME
The Bear’s greatest strength [is] despite its success, the show is creatively restless, always.
— Linda Holmes, NPR
And what could it do better?
Unfortunately, a third serving of The Bear doesn’t move Carmy forward: He and everyone around him are still stuck in that fridge, metaphorically speaking. It results in a season that opens with some inventive episodes but the overall progress of the narrative treads water.
— Tara Bennett, IGN
There are, of course, things in the season that don’t work quite so well, though most of them feel less like failure than like excess. There is a little too much of the Fak family… We are also getting diminishing returns by the end of this season from the frequent appearances by real chefs.
— Linda Holmes, NPR
The Bear writers could have taken one or two elements off season 3’s plate.
— Kelly Lawler, USA Today
Season 3 is too comfortable reliving the past instead of facing the future. A certain amount of self-reflection is healthy, but too much, especially on TV, causes stagnation, and The Bear drags out too many questions for its own good.
— Ben Travers, IndieWire
Storer focuses too much on the industry and forgets that the people who fell in love with this show weren’t memeing “yes, chef” TikToks because they wanted to work in a restaurant; it’s because they loved the complex characters he created..
— Therese Lacson, Collider
93%
The Bear: Season 3
(2024)
premiered on Hulu on June 26, 2024.
Thumbnail image by ©Prime Video
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