The Bear
Disney | ★★★★✩
Reviewed by Josh Howie

The hype. I am as susceptible to it as the next person. At last year’s debut of The Bear, shown here on Disney+, the gravity of the programme pulled me in as strongly as it did every other TV aficionado.

Once in its orbit, though, I escaped after a few episodes somewhat disappointed and baffled at its inclusion in the Emmy’s comedy category.

Season 2 has just rocked up, and again five stars abound, so I went back to the start. Was it different this time?

You could call the setting original: no gangsters or cops or superheroes, just a kitchen.

The Bear season 2 2

Ayo Edebiri as Sydney and Adamu Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto (Photo: Chuck Hodes/FX)

And we are in Chicago, which feels fresh in itself, for in relation to its bi-coastal cousins, this is an often overlooked major city. Whole segments play out as a love letter to the place.

The series starts with one of it's sons returning, after the death of another. Carmy Berzatto has established himself as one of the best chefs in New York when his older brother kills himself, leaving him the family restaurant, The Beef, a much-loved but rundown Italian sandwich joint.

Mired in grief, Carmy tries to save the shop by transforming it. This is an act of redemption for the brother he couldn’t save.

Of course mayhem ensues, as Carmy and his talented sous chef try to tame the longtime staff, particularly his unruly front-of-house manager cousin.

If this sounds like the set-up for a broad sit-com, well it could be. But the reality is lots of shouting, fighting, swearing and emoting.

They’ve got the cast for it, especially in the lead Jeremy Allen White. Evoking Seventies character-actor stars such as Pacino and De Niro — self-consciously? — there’s no denying his charisma and pouting skills.

The late brother Mickey, seen through flashbacks, is my ever favourite Jew-de-jour Jon Bernthal. And another member of the tribe Ebon Moss-Bachrach plays cuz Richie.

It’s James Caan in Godfather all over again. Ayo Edebiri as the talented obsessive protégé, does a great job of countering all this testosterone.

The other star is of course the dishes, and while that doesn’t do much for this non-foodie, there’s still interest in the goings-on of this particular sub-culture.

Think of it as a companion piece to Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. There’s even a photo of him on the wall.

These are short episodes and there are only eight in the first season, so you may as well start again.

The second season continues straight on, digging deeper into the supporting cast, and complicating Carmy’s mission to establish his own restaurant with a potential love interest.

But the themes stay the same; healing, passion, change, growth.

Chuck in some challenging of casual antisemitism — I’d never heard the expression “Jewish-lightening”, for starters — and I will say I am glad I came back for a second helping.