It’s hard to believe that The Bear is already through four seasons. Season 1 premiered on Hulu in June 2022, introducing the world to the Berzatto family, which owned a beef restaurant in Chicago. The youngest son, Carmen, returned home after his older brother, Michael, tragically passed away. However, since Carmen had experience in some of the nicest restaurants in the world, he changed how things worked at The Original Beef of Chicagoland. The employees didn’t appreciate his attitude at first, but they came around over time and learned to take pride in their work, especially after the establishment became The Bear.
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The Bear Season 4, which is streaming now on Hulu, is less about the quality of the work and more about a race against time. The titular restaurant’s primary investor, Uncle Jimmy, tells Carmy and Co. that they must show progress in the financial department, or the doors are closing in a few months. The chefs and front-of-house staff push themselves to keep the lights on, but the series doesn’t make it clear whether it’s enough or if another season that will provide answers is on the way.
How Does The Bear Season 4 End?
The timer in the kitchen is dangerously close to running out in the penultimate episode of The Bear Season 4. The staff can go ahead with one more service, and after learning that Marcus is going to be featured in Food & Wine magazine, spirits are high. Everything goes off without a hitch, but Carmy can tell Sydney isn’t happy with him in the finale. She reveals that Pete told her about the change to the partnership agreement that made it so only she, Sugar, and Jimmy had any skin in the game. Sydney confronts Carmy because she thinks he’s planning to leave, a bombshell he confirms minutes later.
Richie joins them outside, and he and Sydney begin berating their friend for making such a foolish decision. Carmy explains that he’s tired of the rat race and wants to figure out what kind of person he is when he’s not working in a kitchen. He promises to get them out of debt before he leaves, but Richie and Sydney don’t want to hear it. Everyone shares their feelings, and Sugar walks outside to find a somber scene. However, instead of piling on, she embraces her brother, knowing that he’s making the most difficult decision of his life. The Bear Season 4 ends there, with the timer running out and Carmy having one foot out of the door. That sounds like plenty of drama for a fifth season to sink its teeth into, but FX is apparently in wait-and-see mode.
Is The Bear Returning for Season 5?
Despite Season 4’s major cliffhanger, The Bear has yet to be renewed for Season 5. Reports claim that the cast is under contract for another season (via Variety), but creator Christopher Storer isn’t ready to pull the trigger. Availability is complicating things, as stars Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are all much busier than when the show started. There’s also the matter of scripts. While Storer knows where he wants to go in Season 5, the pen isn’t being put to paper, and it may be some time before it is. It’s hard to believe that a show that released four seasons in three years is staring a major delay in the face, but that’s the risk that comes with making great shows these days.
The Bear is streaming on Hulu.
What did you think of the end of The Bear Season 4? Do you want to see the show return for a fifth season? Let us know in the comments below!
