Critic Reviews

An extraordinary show, not so much for the story it tells as how it tells it; you will have to go far to find another show so invested in and adept at portraying ordinary human speech and behavior, and even then you might not find one.

This is a show created by people who recognize that our lives are a group project. No person is an island and we have to accept that in order to get anything done. Sometimes that process can feel like rough edges forever jabbing at your soft spots. When regular people — not a special ops unit or a group of superheroes — figure out a way to work toward a common goal? There’s nothing better. It gets me in the gut.

The Bear is horrifically stressful; it’s also thrilling, ambitious, funny, devastating. ... The show ends with a revelation that feels almost uncannily like magic. I didn’t begrudge it, because it seems to set up abundant questions and opportunities for a second season, and series that are this thoughtful—this sly and tender and artful—are rare enough to be relished.

Infused with pain and empathy by White’s taut but tender performance. It is equally easy to root for his staff. ... Watching how the sausage gets made may not be pretty but in The Bear, it is impossible to look away.

The Bear is half-hour gobbets of kinetic, pressurised, propulsive brilliance with occasional moments of stillness that make you see how much has been done in order to serve up something so delicious. This is a show that has been meticulously prepped, simmered, reduced, balanced and eventually plated up to perfection by the creator Christopher Storer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo. Dig in.

The Bear gets the balance between atmosphere and story, sour and sweet, just right. At a time when big budget TV, with things such as House of the Dragon or The Rings of Power, has decided that more is more, The Bear is a real palate cleanser. It’s a masterpiece in reduction - and the sauce has bite.

In Season One, The Bear showed the promise of greatness. In Season Two, that promise is delivered.

It remains a magnificent achievement.

The Bear feels like a natural successor, joining that film [1996's Big Night] near the top of the pantheon of such stories—that of the character study of a restaurant.

The series isn’t a fluke. It’s as good as we thought it was last year and, maybe, even a little bit better. When you see the fulcrum at home, you’ll understand what pokes “The Bear.” In a word, it’s phenomenal. And the series is, too. It proves “every second counts.”