DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. I'm TV critic David Bianculli. "The Bear" is back. This week, the Hulu streaming service launched season 4 of the intense and astoundingly excellent series about a talented chef trying to launch a successful high-end restaurant in Chicago. Jeremy Allen White stars as Carm, who returns home after his brother Mike's death to save the family's beef sandwich shop, then expand it into something more grand.
The creator of "The Bear" is Christopher Storer, who won an Emmy for directing the show's hectic holiday dinner flashback episode called "The Fishes." The series has an especially talented cast and even a deep bench, with lots of guest actors and regulars racking up Emmy nominations and wins. At the most recent Emmys, "The Bear" won 11 awards, the most ever for a comedy series in a single season. And that beat the awards set by "The Bear" at the previous Emmys, where it won 10. That's an amazing accomplishment.
It's also a somewhat bizarre one because - and I say this every time I review this show - "The Bear" is not a comedy. I've seen all 10 episodes of the new fourth season, and the first genuine comedy-style dialogue exchange didn't happen until episode 5. But that's my one and only complaint about "The Bear" - that it should be winning all these Emmys as a drama, not a comedy. But the quality and the artistry and the ambition - those are givens.
Most impressive, perhaps, is that Christopher Storer and his writing staff are playing the long game and have a clear idea where they're going. Last season ended on a cliffhanger, with the restaurant staff awaiting its first influential review. This season charts the staff's ups and downs, but as much off the job as on it. And there are constant callbacks to everything from a chicken wishbone to the movie "Groundhog Day" and its intentional monotony.
The restaurant staff is working to meet and exceed expectations, while the show's writing and production staff is working just as hard to defy them. So much happens to so many characters in this season of "The Bear," dealing with the past as well as the future, that I don't want to play any excerpts that could reveal any secrets. Rest assured, though, that this season includes one expanded episode that finds a reason to reunite the show's extended cast of guest players, including Bob Odenkirk, John Mulaney, Brie Larson and Sarah Paulson.
And as this season gains momentum, there are shared scenes between key characters that once again are sure shots to gain Emmy nominations - scenes between Jeremy Allen White as Carm and Jamie Lee Curtis as his mom, and between Carm and Ayo Edebiri as his head chef, Sydney. Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie, Liza Colon-Zayas as Tina, Jon Bernthal as Carm's late brother, Mike - all of them already are Emmy winners for their work on this show, and all of them shine brilliantly once again.
But the only season 4 taste of "The Bear" I'm willing to present is from the very first scene of the very first episode. It's a flashback with Carm and his brother Mike in a kitchen, stirring some tomato sauce and talking about food, as a radio plays in the background. Carm is visiting after working successfully at a Michelin-starred California restaurant and is explaining to his brother why he's so passionate about his chosen vocation.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE BEAR")
JEREMY ALLEN WHITE: (As Carm) Look, every one of our good memories - they happened in restaurants, right? Like Homer's Ice Cream after baseball - you know, Omega after that weird birthday party with Mom.
JON BERNTHAL: (As Mike, laughing).
WHITE: (As Carm) You know, when we couldn't stop laughing?
BERNTHAL: (As Mike) Yeah, fine.
WHITE: (As Carm) Look, like, all this good [expletive] - it happened to us in restaurants 'cause, I don't know, restaurants are special places, right? And people go to restaurants to be taken care of, right? They go to restaurants to celebrate, to relax, to not have to think about anything else for a minute. You know, people go to restaurants to feel less lonely.
BIANCULLI: This new season of "The Bear" is all about turning Carm's new restaurant into just such a place. There's a lot of pressure, financial and otherwise. And it's all depicted, so you feel every bit of it. Sometimes, there are rapid-fire montages of food prep. Other times - lots of times - there are lengthy dialogue scenes between two people shot in extreme close-up. I should mention how unusually emotionally real all of these characters seem and how much you end up caring about them. Abby Elliott is Carm's sister, Oliver Platt is his uncle, and even some new cast additions, like guest star Rob Reiner as a potential investor. Finally, the choice of music on the soundtrack is inspired. Songs by Paul Simon and Lou Reed, Van Morrison and R.E.M., Bob Dylan and The Who are played in ways and in spots that make you respond to the lyrics in a new context.
Call "The Bear" a comedy if you must, but I won't. Watching this new season, I cried more times than I laughed. Yet however you characterize it, "The Bear" right now is the best series on television.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOMETHING SO RIGHT")
PAUL SIMON: (Singing) You got the cool water when the fever runs high. You got the look of love light in your eyes. And I was in crazy motion till you calmed me down. It took a little time, but you calmed me down.
BIANCULLI: To keep up with what's on the show and get highlights of our interviews, follow us on Instagram at @nprfreshair. On Monday's show, Terry talks with Jeffrey Seller, who played a key role as a producer of the Broadway musicals "Rent," "Hamilton," "In The Heights," "Avenue Q" and the revival of Sondheim's "Sweeney Todd" that starred Josh Groban. His new memoir, "Theater Kid," is about his life and offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it's like to produce a Broadway musical. I hope you can join us.
FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Sam Briger is our managing producer. Our senior producer today is Thea Chaloner. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham, with additional engineering support by Joyce Lieberman, Julian Herzfeld and Adam Staniszewski. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Phyllis Myers, Roberta Shorrock, Ann Marie Baldonado, Lauren Krenzel, Therese Madden, Monique Nazareth, Susan Nyakundi and Anna Bauman. Our digital media producer is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Hope Wilson is our consulting visual producer. For Terry Gross and Tonya Mosley, I'm David Bianculli.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing) We're not trapped in time, whoa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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