Recommendations of the Editorial team
Just one day after the surprise prequel drop, FX has officially confirmed long-standing rumors: The Bear’s fifth season will be its last. All eight new episodes arrive on Hulu on June 25th – and will also run on FX over the summer, spread across June, July and August.
At the end of season four, Chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) had thrown out the restaurant, leaving it in the hands of his crew. The new season begins immediately afterwards. “The fifth and final season of ‘The Bear’ begins the morning after Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie and Natalie ‘Sugar’ (Abby Elliott) learn that Carmy has turned his back on the restaurant industry and left the restaurant to them,” the official description reads. “With no money, the threat of a sale and a violent storm in the way, the new partners must stick together and complete one last service with the rest of the team in the hope of finally winning a Michelin star. In the process, they learn that what makes a restaurant ‘perfect’ may not be the food, but the people.”
There hadn’t been an official signal that “The Bear” was coming to an end this year for a long time – until Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Carmy’s mother Donna Berzatto, leaked the news on Instagram in February. “FINISHED STRONG!” she wrote. “Surrounded by an extraordinary crew, wonderful writers, producers and acting partners in the show created by Chris Storer – the story of this remarkable family we all fell in love with is now fully told.”
Jamie Lee Curtis spills the beans
A few weeks later, she spoke candidly to the press on the red carpet for the premiere of the Prime Video series “Scarpetta.” “Everyone has confirmed the show is ending!” she told Access Hollywood. “I don’t understand why this is such a big deal – unless I’m getting calls now from everyone saying, ‘You gave it away.’ I think everyone knew it was the last season. If that’s not the case, I’ve just screwed up badly.” (There was little doubt about Curtis’ statement – FX had simply refused to comment until now.)
The surprise prequel episode, recently released and titled “Gary,” follows Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and “Mikey” Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) as they travel together to Gary, Indiana, before the events of the first season – the season set in the shadow of Mikey’s death.
“COUSINS! PRIMOS! CUGINI!!! Get ready for GARY!!!! We’re so excited to finally share this little adventure with Richie and Mikey,” Moss-Bachrach wrote on social media. “Written by me and [Bernthal]. Directed by the one and only Christopher Storer. Making this episode was a dream. Thank you to the wonderful people of Gary, Indiana – and as always, Chicago, Illinois.”
