The bear is coming to an end.
The fifth and final season of the series premieres tonight (Thursday, June 25) at 9 p.m. ET. All eight episodes of the season can be streamed on Hulu and on Disney+ for international viewers.
The Emmy-winning series stars Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrachand Abby Elliott.
The fifth and final season of FX’s The bear “picking up the morning after Sydney (Edebiri), Richie (Moss-Bachrach) and sugar (Elliott) discover that Carmy (White) have left the food industry and left the restaurant to them. With no money, the threat of a sale and a storm on the way, the team must band together to achieve one last service. Ultimately, they learn that what makes a restaurant ‘perfect’ may not be the food, but the people.”
But what do the critics say?
The packaging says: “Will a stronger-than-expected last season be enough to change the narrative on that The bear fell off? Probably not. It’s not so good that it erases the memory of the show’s lowest moments — and because those moments were because the show was too much of itself, the problems can’t be unseen just because they’ve been reduced.”
THR says, “Drama? Comedy? Whatever it is, the first six episodes are broad and the seventh is comprehensive.”
IndieWire gave it a B+ and wrote: ” The bear did the work to stay in our lives consistently for five years and it’s paying off in the final season. Perhaps our love for Syd, Carmy and Co. changed, but it is still there. So don’t be embarrassed to say ‘Yes, chef’ one last time.”
Time says: “The seven episodes provided for review (all but the finale) pick up the story just hours after Carmy’s bombshell and all take place on the same day. More than painting the restaurant as a triumph or tragedy, Storer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo seem to focus on completing each character’s emotional arc. By this measure and others, the season is better than its latter half, but rarely the second half as sublime. of Season 1 and Season 2.”
Roger Ebert says, “In many ways, The bear is and always has been an aspirational fantasy. As Cheese often notes, restaurants are a terrible business; they close, they close for one reason or another, they twist the emotional, financial and physical well-being of the people who run and work for them. But what Storer’s story presupposes is that there is something worth doing and family to be gained in the close community of chefs who work for a place.”
Mashable says, “Unfortunately, The bear takes its final season as a chance to throw everything at the wall, its sound and fury often drowning out the season’s simpler joys. The storm is the biggest culprit here, an overly on-the-nose plot device that externalizes the restaurant’s inner turmoil to an exhausting degree. Each episode begins with the rumble of thunder to remind us of the chaos raging within the Bear. Trust us, we know!”
Black says: “The show continues to lean on its favorite crutches: phrases like Mikey’s old adage ‘let it rip,’ clichés about the redemptive power of feeding others, and a dull sentimentality that began to rattle as the spell wore off. But for those who have held on to The bear through its low point — and anecdotally, I know many one-time fans who haven’t — these final episodes can cement a memory of the show that’s more than its worst moments.”
The New York Post says, “Ultimately, The bear had some riveting glimpses of what restaurant work is like, the cost of excellence, and flawed people trying to connect. It’s a shame that this story overstayed its welcome and took on a more baggy and shapeless format than it should have.”
See it stars of the show at the final season event.
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