Get back in the kitchen! Hulu’s The Bear quickly had viewers talking when it premiered — and it wasn’t long before that attention got the show renewed for season 2.
The series follows Carmy, a talented chef who explores the food industry.Jeremy Allen White), who returns to Chicago to run his older brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) restaurant following his death. The Bear shows Carmy’s attempts to help the sandwich shop thrive as he deals with his own grief over his brother’s suicide.
White said that Carmy’s transformation was in large part due to his own personal struggles. “We kind of found each other at a similar place. He knew he’s really gifted at this thing, but he could be painfully insecure about his abilities as well,” the actor told GQThe transition to a new leadership role after his tenure Shameless. (He starred as Lip Gallagher in the Showtime series between 2011 and 2021.
The New York native shared details about the extensive background work that went into this job.
“I learned a lot. I spent a lot time in kitchens and talked to many chefs. Before I began my journey to understand kitchen culture and try to understand chefs better, I first saw a young man who was so obsessed with being a chef and his success. That felt familiar to me,” he told ColliderThe same month. “Not as much today, but as a younger man and a younger actor, I felt like my identity was incredibly wrapped up in my job, as an actor and as a performer.”
He continued: “That’s a very vulnerable position to be in because, if you have success, that success is wonderful and you have glory, and you feel like you’re on this high, but if you’re not having success, it can be the end of the world. I was familiar with that feeling, and I think that’s what Carmy is about, when you meet him. Everything is so high stakes and everything seems so life or death for him.”
Ahead of the show’s renewal, White hinted at the larger story that could be explored in season 2. “To me, the whole first season feels almost like a prelude to what the show actually is,” he explained to GQCarmy opening his own restaurant is the real journey, he says.
For the Homecoming alum, getting to see how fans reacted to the first season was what really got him thinking about the show’s future. “What I find attractive in people is a determination. If you’re truly good at something, that’s incredibly attractive,” he shared about his character. “I understand people having a crush on Carmy. I think I have a bit of a crush on Carmy.”
At the time, White also weighed in on the idea that Carmy potentially isn’t interested in love or sex. “Carmy’s, like, the least sexual person. In playing him, I was aware that he had no room for love,” White added to GQ. “So I appreciated that [an article] was aware that Carmy does not f–k.”
Scroll down to see everything we know so far about season 2.
