The Bear season 4: key information
– No release date confirmed yet
– Reportedly filmed back-to-back with season 3 in early 2024
– No trailer unveiled yet, either
– Key cast members expected to return
– No official plot synopsis unveiled
– One of its stars hopes for five more seasons
When can we expect The Bear season 4? Well, when it comes to contemplating what’s next for Carmy and company, you’re in the right place. Season 3 was full of gastronomy and gripping moments but, when the words “to be continued…” appeared on screens in last season’s finale, fans let out an exasperated sigh. Why? Because there are plenty of story beats left unresolved as we wait for the hit FX show’s next chapter.
The Bear‘s next season, then, has a lot to resolve, but when will we get the answers served suitably hot from the kitchen? We don’t know, but there’s still a lot for us to sink our teeth into, including when it could be released on Hulu (US) and Disney Plus (internationally), its rumored cast ist, plot speculation, and more.
Full spoilers follow for The Bear season 3 as well as its predecessors. Potential season 4 spoilers are also discussed, so proceed with caution if you’re not caught up.
The Bear season 4 release date prediction
The Bear season 4 doesn’t have a release date, nor has it officially been announced by FX, the Disney-owned studio behind the highly-rated and multi-award winning series. However, rumors emerged in March that The Bear‘s fourth season is on the menu and that it was shot back-to-back alongside season 3.
While FX, Hulu, and/or Disney haven’t commented on season 4, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Richie, basically confirmed a fourth chapter was on the way, telling Mr Porter: “We shot about 18 episodes, but everything shifts. In the past, what was one episode on the page has been split into two. I just lose myself in the messiness and chaos of it”. If 18 episodes were filmed, that means eight are simmering on the back burner waiting to be served up as season 3 contained 10 entries.
Despite this positive news, FX boss John Landgraf revealed to Variety that season 4 isn’t quite done yet. “We couldn’t bring it back sooner because of all the film projects the actors are on right now,” he said. “We started a show with a team of great actors. Now we have a show with a team of movie stars. They do have to go back for a chunk of production. And we actually haven’t seen all the scripts yet.”
Historically, every season has dropped in June, starting with season 1 in mid-2022. If we take that into account, we could be looking at a June 2025 release date for one of the best Hulu shows and best Disney Plus shows‘ return. We feel pretty confident about, too, as Landgraf also told Variety: “I’m actually incredibly proud and grateful to the team at The Bear that have dedicated themselves – despite of all the other hoopla they’ve been dealing with – to bring this thing back annually. I can’t say for sure, but my guess is it’ll come back the same time next year.”
The Bear season 4 trailer: is there one?
Nope and we don’t expect there to be one until early 2025. That’ll only be the case if The Bear season 4 debuts in June 2025, too. We’ll update this section once one is released.
The Bear season 4 cast: likely and rumored
Full spoilers follow for The Bear season 3.
Here are the actors we’d expect to return in The Bear season 4:
- Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto
- Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard ‘Richie’ Jerimovich
- Lionel Boyce as Marcus Brooks
- Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina Marrero
- Abby Elliott as Natalie ‘Sugar’ Berzatto
- Matty Matheson as Neil Fak
- Ricky Staffieri as Ted Fak
- Edwin Lee Gibson as Ebraheim
- Oliver Platt as Uncle Jimmy ‘Cicero’ Kalinowski
- Chris Witaske as Pete
- Molly Gordon as Claire
There’s also the question of guest stars – both new and returning. The Bear famously welcomes big A-list names each season and we’d be surprised if season 4 didn’t continue to follow chef’s orders.
In season 3, we were treated to a plethora of actor cameos, including John Cena as Sammy Fak, Josh Hartnett as Frank, Gillian Jacobs as Richie’s ex-wife Tiffany and Frank’s fiance, Jamie Lee Curtis as Carmy and Sugar’s mom Donna, Will Poulter as Luca, Olivia Colman as Chef Andrea Terry, Sarah Ramos as Jessica, John Mulaney as Stevie, Joel McHale as Chef David Fields, and Jon Bernthal as Michael Berzatto. Many of these individuals could make small or large appearances as part of the present day plot and/or in flashback sequences, while Bernthal would only return in the latter died before the show’s story even began.
Season 3 also treated us to some guest appearances from members of the real world cooking, with chefs Grant Achatz, Chritina Tosi, Anna Posey, Rosio Sanchez, Wylie Dufresne, and Kevin Boehm all starring. Will any or all of them show up again? Perhaps but, given the secrecy around each season, we won’t know for sure until season 4 is actually released.
The Bear season 4 plot rumors
Full spoilers follow for The Bear seasons 2 and 3.
The Bear season 4’s story brief won’t be unveiled for some time, but there’s plenty it’ll need to address from minute one.
For starters, in the finale’s last scene, Carmy looks wildly at his phone as The Chicago Tribune‘s review of the titular restaurant finally went live. Carmy and company spent the latter part of season 3 worrying about said review after the paper secretly dined at the culinary establishment. However, with Carmy’s attentions drawn elsewhere – not only did he attend Chef Terry’s retirement party, but he also bumped into David Fields, who emotionally and mentally traumatized him years prior.
It isn’t until Carmy, when walking home alone from said party, sees numerous missed calls and texts from Cicerco (aka Uncle Jimmy) and Nick ‘Computer’ Marshall, the latter’s numbers-cruncher, that he remembers. We know this review will decide the very fate of the restaurant, too, with Cicero telling Carmy that if there’s a single bad review, he’ll pull the restaurant’s funding, which will result in its doors shutting for the final time. Unfortunately, despite being painstakingly close to the answer, we don’t know what the review says. Hopefully, this’ll be addressed as soon as season 4’s premiere is released.
If The Bear scores well and stays open, Carmy still has other problems to deal with. Adam Shapiro, who is starting his own place after Chef Terry’s restaurant Ever (where he worked) shuts down, wants Sydney to join his next endeavor as its head chef. It’s an offer she surely can’t refuse, but she’s yet to tell Carmy about it. Whether she’ll accept the offer is unclear but, given how Carmy has (perhaps unintentionally) treated her over the past two seasons, she might jump ship anyway and work for a firm that could rival The Bear on the Chicago food scene. If she does, it could set up a fascinating culinary conflict between Carmy and his protégé-turned-equal.
There’s a lot of other unresolved trauma, both in the kitchen and outside, for Carmy and other members of The Bear to deal with. That includes Carmy and Richie’s increasingly strained relationship, Richie’ ex-wife set to marry Frank (and Richie’s role in their new-look family), Carmy still not apologizing to Claire from what he said in the season 2 finale, Sydney’s panic attacks, Tina’s struggles to find new places to source the restaurant’s expensive ingredients from, ‘Sugar’ becoming a new mom (and who’ll take over her position as chief financial officer), and so much more.
The Bear has also taken time to offer insights into other character’s lives throughout its three-season run, such as the season 2 episode centered on Marcus and season 3 episode 6, titled ‘Napkins’, that focused on Tina. Viewers learnt how the latter met Mikey and ended up working at The Original Beef of Chicagoland, as well as about her home and family life outside of the kitchen. So, there’s the potential for this upcoming season to do a similar thing with others.
Nevertheless, “to be continued…” surely tells us one thing – The Bear season 4 will pick up where the finale left us, arms outstretched like Oliver Twist, waiting for another serving. We hope it doesn’t make us sick with worry over the restaurant’s fate for too long.
Where to watch The Bear
Every episode of The Bear is available on FX via Hulu in the US, and Disney Plus internationally. You’ll need to sign up for a subscription for either service, though, to stream them. Find out how much Hulu costs and/or the price of a Disney Plus membership while you’re here.
Will The Bear get a fifth season?
While The Bear seasons 3 and 4 are said to have filmed back-to-back, there’s no word of whether a fifth installment will be made. But, there’s always conversation to be hand, especially with the show’s stars, around whether they want to return for more outings.
Liza Colón-Zayas, for one, spoke to the RadioTimes.com expressing her interest more seasons, I would love to see the show potentially continue for at least another five years!” she said. “But only if that’s… there’s that line that Richie had in the beginning, like, ‘It is a delicate ecosystem’. And I think that as long as that is inspired and nurtured then we’ll have the magic that we have. So, that’s more important. Five more seasons, please!”
With the fallout of season 3 and the future of The Bear season 4 still not fully confirmed, there’s plenty more story to tell, from the potential of Syd leaving, the unanswered questions around tension-ridden relationships, and the very fate of the restaurant hanging in the balance.
It could be that season 4 brings the story to a close, too, with FX’s John Landgraf telling Variety: “We really don’t know [if it’ll end after four seasons]. These decisions are really creative decisions, And so it’s really [showrunner] Chris [Storer’s] decision. It’s about, how much more story does he have to tell? I mean, obviously, I’m hoping he has more than one more season of story to tell. But, not to the extent that if there was one great season or three mediocre ones, I’d rather have one great one. You just have to follow the creative.”
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