Yes, Chef
FX’s ‘The Bear’ is no let down…
There’s something so unassuming about a 30 minute show. In the era of bingeable streaming and increasingly drawn-out movies, such short, episodic content feels fleeting. Almost like the ephemeral message of the medium. It can’t be true art, right? Yes, it can. The Bear is proof.
It has been a few weeks since we finished the almost comically short — again, by streaming standards — show on FX (watched through Hulu, without ads, naturally). And it’s still there, lingering in my head. I, of course, wish it were longer. But at the same time, I think a good portion of its power comes from its length. The creators nailed their format.
One important thing to note: most everything you’ll find online actually bungles the runtime of the show. To state it here clearly for my own sanity:
- Episode 1 — “System” — 27 minutes
- Episode 2 — “Hands” — 31 minutes
- Episode 3 — “Brigade” — 29 minutes
- Episode 4 — “Dogs” — 30 minutes
- Episode 5 — “Sheridan” — 25 minutes
- Episode 6 — “Ceres” — 30 minutes
- Episode 7 — “Review” — 20 minutes
- Episode 8 — “Braciole” — 47 minutes
You’ll note that each episode is not actually 30 minutes. Two are, but the other six are not. Of those, four are less than 30 minutes. And just two are more. The key is the last two episodes. 20 minutes. And 47 minutes.
This is important because it’s not about trying to squeeze a show like The Bear into a 30 minute mold, sitcom-style. While Hulu humorously lists The Bear as a “Comedy”, it’s definitely not. To be clear, at times, it’s very funny. But it’s definitely not a comedy, let alone a sitcom.¹
To be fair to Hulu/FX, it’s hard to categorize what exactly The Bear is. It’s a drama, but it’s short. Very few dramas are 30 minutes long because you need time to build tension and backstories. But actually, The Bear proves that maybe you don’t. A lot of dramas build through various scenes at different locales with different people. The Bear has its main cast almost always in the same locale — the kitchen — except for a few tangential sets. In many ways, it’s almost more like a play — something I kept thinking while watching it.
Anyway, those two last episodes. “Review” is a tour-de-force of filmmaking, regardless of the format. The entire thing is one shot and take. And it’s intense. Both in style and substance. And the fact that it’s only 20 minutes long is perfect. Any longer and it would be overkill. It would feel gratuitous. After the first couple episodes of The Bear, I called it “an absolute firecracker of a show” — this penultimate episode is more like a fist to the jaw.
Followed by “Braciole”, which is honestly just beautiful. Again in substance and execution. And it’s given time to cook — again, 47 minutes, nearly double the average episode. It doesn’t feel long. A perfectly plated dish.
All of that is to say, in a very Gandalfian way,² that every episode feels exactly as long as it should be. Not shorter and not longer for any unnatural reasons.
Anyway, I loved The Bear. It was entirely unexpected. And entirely original. I saw the runtimes and thought it would be a mindless throw-away show you can watch in the background, but I was so wrong. The creators nailed this format. It has a great energy throughout. And they do a masterful job of leading you towards an ending that is both surprising and not, which is just about the best compliment you can give to such content.
Again, they stuck the landing.
A few more little tidbits. Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto is a great character but only because of Jeremy Allen White. I think if you give that role to two dozen other actors, they fuck it up. Sydney Adamu as played by Ayo Edebiri is wonderful. She’s funny but in ways that are entirely non-obvious. And she’s poignant in ways that are entirely non-obvious. Lionel Boyce as Marcus, Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina, Abby Elliott as Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto. Um, Oliver Platt? Just great.³
But it’s Richard “Richie” Jerimovich, as played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, that steals every scene he’s in. He’s someone you both want to punch in the face and hug around the neck at the same time. It’s really something else. Perhaps because I grew up in an area not far from where The Bear takes place — the crown jewel of the midwestern US: Chicago — I feel like I know Richie. I grew up with a few Richies. He’s someone you can’t put your trust in, but can put your trust in knowing you can’t put your trust in him. And you love him because he’s so fucked up and you know that he knows he’s so fucked up, which is revealed in his calls with his family.
His heart is in the right place, it’s just not where it should be.
We haven’t even talked about how great the music is. From closing the first episode with Pearl Jam, to closing the last episode with Radiohead, this is fully my jam. The final shot sync’d with said Radiohead song “Let Down” is the stuff of pure goosebumps. From:
The emptiest of feelings
Disappointed people
Clinging onto bottles
And when it comes it’s so so disappointingLet down and hanging around
Crushed like a bug in the ground
Let down and hanging around
To the cresendo of:
You know, you know where you are with
You know where you are with
Floor collapsing, floating
Bouncing back andOne day I am gonna grow wings
A chemical reaction
(You know where you are)
Hysterical and useless
(You know where you are)
Hysterical and
(You know where you are)
Let down and hanging around
Crushed like a bug in the ground
Let down and hanging around
The show is obviously everyone dealing with the loss of Michael and coming to terms with it over the course of the eight episodes. It’s intense, sad, funny, and inspiring all in one pot.⁴ I would like more of it, but like even the best dishes, I’m slightly worried that more won’t necessarily be better. Which again, is a huge compliment to the chefs here.
And, to be fair, I also would have never imagined a show of this length could work in our streaming era. I was wrong. Very wrong. Yes, Chef. Let it rip.
I’ll note here that I think a show like The Office nails the 30-ish minute timeframe because again, it’s largely in one locale and so breezy and contained. Related: I think Ted Lasso, while also breezy, should be longer because it’s all over-the-place, quite literally, and just feels crammed into episodes that short. Double it up!
² “A wizard is never late, Frodo Baggins. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he means to.”
³ Also great, the creators use of Jon Bernthal as Michael. A true less-is-more in an almost Jaws-like manner with Steven Spielberg holding back his shark. Michael can and should largely exist in your mind, through what you learn of him through others.
⁴ All the references to actual famous restaurants and chefs — is Joel McHale as “Executive Chef” meant to be Eleven Madison’s Daniel Humm, or is it just me? — could have gone sideways here. But it works, largely thanks to the use of cookbooks.
