Debapriya Bhattacharya
Created by Christopher Storer for FX, ‘The Bear’ follows Carmen Anthony Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), an award-winning chef de cuisine based in New York City. Following the death of his older brother, Michael (Jon Bernthal), Carmen returns to his hometown of Chicago to run the family’s struggling Italian beef sandwich shop, The Original Beef of Chicagoland. He deals with a rundown kitchen, unruly staff, and his brother’s unresolved debts, all while processing his own grief and trauma. Later, he closes the shop to relaunch as the titular fine dining restaurant, The Bear.
Far removed from the sparkling world of Michelin stars, Carmen is confronted with the crushing realities of owning a small business at the beginning of ‘The Bear.’ Even though he turns the place around with the help of his workers-turned-family, the dedicated chef finds himself in a never-ending quest for balance between perfection and innovation. In case you are left craving more, here is a list of shows similar to ‘The Bear’ that is sure to help satiate your hunger.
12. Chef! (1993-1996)
‘Chef!’ by Peter Tilbury stars Lenny Henry as Gareth Blackstock, a talented yet rude chef who owns Le Château Anglais, a gourmet restaurant in the English countryside. A tyrannical task master, he never fails to come up with a creative insult for his staff, customers, as well as almost anyone else he encounters. While his establishment has two Michelin stars, Gareth’s ignorance about the cost attached to seeking refined perfection results in the restaurant always flirting with financial collapse. Just like Carmen in ‘The Bear,’ Gareth and his wife Janice (Caroline Lee-Johnson) took ownership of the restaurant at the beginning of the first season. The ordeal they go through in the aftermath soon starts affecting their personal life.
11. Midnight Diner (2016-2019)
Based on the manga ‘Shinya Shokudō’ by Yarō Abe, ‘Midnight Diner’ by Joji Matsuoka follows a middle-aged man referred to only as “Master” who owns the titular 12-seater establishment in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The diner is popularly referred to as such because it remains open from midnight to 7 am. Master serves as the chef and bartender, with his menu comprising only tonjiru, sake, beer, and shōchū. However, he offers to cook any dish his customers may crave, provided he has the necessary ingredients and knows the recipe well. The diner welcomes a wide range of clients, from salaried workers to yakuza and prostitutes. Unlike ‘The Bear,’ the plot of ‘Midnight Diner’ usually revolves around a drama focused on a particular client in every episode.
10. Julia (2022-2023)
Daniel Goldfarb created ‘Julia’ based on the life of chef, author, and television personality Julia Child, who popularized cooking shows on TV in the 1960s. Sarah Lancashire stars in the titular role in the series that captures the production of Julia’s show, ‘The French Chef,’ at WGBH-TV in Boston, Massachusetts. It highlights Julia’s struggles to make her space in a male-dominated industry. She is supported in her endeavors by her husband, Paul Child (David Hyde Pierce), and close friend, Avis DeVoto (Bebe Neuwirth). While the context of their struggles differs, both Carmen in ‘The Bear’ and Julia overcome trials to prove their worth to all.
9. Kitchen Confidential (2005)
David Hemingson’s ‘Kitchen Confidential’ is based on the eponymous memoir penned by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain. Bradley Cooper stars as Jack Bourdain, inspired by Anthony Bourdain, who finds great success as a young chef but soon hits rock bottom because of his adventurous lifestyle. While working at a tacky restaurant to pay his bills, Jack gets a chance to turn his life around out of the blue by becoming the head chef of a premium restaurant in New York. However, he faces the challenge of staffing his kitchen and welcoming 300 customers within just 2 days. Jack’s struggles are mirrored in Carmen’s life in ‘The Bear.’
8. Pasta (2010)
From the mind of Seo Sook-hyang, ‘Pasta’ centers around La Sfera restaurant, where Seo Yoo-kyung (Gong Hyo-jin) has been working as a kitchen assistant for three years. When Choi Hyun-wook joins the establishment as the head chef, he fires the female chefs one by one until only Yoo-kyung remains. While Hyun-wook tries multiple times to get rid of her, Yoo-kyung manages to keep her job and gets a permanent position after winning a blind taste contest. Things turn worse for Hyun-wook, however, as the restaurant owner hires celebrity chef Sae-young to be the co-head chef. The two dated during their time at an Italian culinary school and did not end things well. The chefs toiling in the kitchen while sharing a charged dynamic among them is reminiscent of the story of ‘The Bear.’
7. Master of None: Season 2 (2017)
Created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, ‘Master of None’ follows Dev Shah (Aziz), a 30-year-old actor who is struggling to figure out what he exactly wants from his personal and professional lives. ‘Master of None: Season 2’ opens with Dev working as an apprentice pasta maker in Modena, Italy. After staying there for over three months, he returns to New York City and bags a gig hosting a food competition show, ‘Clash of the Cupcakes.’ The plot moves forward with great upheavals in Dev’s personal life, as he fails to settle down with just one woman. While it highlights the niches of the food industry, ‘Master of None: Season 2’ strikes a considerably lighter-hearted tone than ‘The Bear.’
6. Family Business (2019-2021)
‘Family Business’ by Igor Gotesman revolves around struggling French entrepreneur Joseph Hazan (Jonathan Cohen), who is desperate to leave his father’s kosher butcher shop. After learning that France will soon be legalizing marijuana, he becomes determined to open the first marijuana coffeeshop in the country. However, things are easier said than done, as he soon discovers the finer details of owning such a business. It includes growing and processing the marijuana, bringing him into conflict with local gangs. While on another level, the challenges faced by the team in ‘The Bear’ find themselves reflected in the uphill battle that Joseph and his family face.
5. Gentefied (2020-2021)
Helmed by Marvin Lemus and Linda Yvette Chávez, ‘Gentefied’ is set around three Mexican-American cousins, Erik Morales (J.J. Soria), Ana Morales (Karrie Martin Lachney), and Chris Morales (Carlos Santos). Living the American dream in Los Angeles, they run the family taco shop owned by their immigrant grandfather, Casimiro “Pop” Morales (Joaquín Cosío). As the threat of gentrification looms over the neighborhood, the three scramble to save their family business while also pursuing their own dreams. Similar to how ‘The Bear’ captures the food culture of Chicago, ‘Gentefied’ stays true to the essence of LA while depicting the struggle to save the family food business.
4. From Scratch (2022)
Attica Locke and Tembi Locke created ‘From Scratch’ based on the latter’s memoir of the same name. It stars Zoe Saldaña as Amy, a law student who arrives in Florence, Italy, to pursue her true calling as an artist. There she meets and falls in love with Sicilian chef Lino (Eugenio Mastrandrea). Their fairy tale romance moves fast, as within the next couple of years, Lino moves to Los Angeles to be with her, giving up his job as a top chef in his country. Together, they make a fresh start at their dream careers, get married, and adopt a daughter, until Lino’s health starts to give way. The story of ‘From Scratch’ feels personal, like ‘The Bear,’ as it flourishes around high-end Italian cuisine.
3. Sweetbitter (2018-2019)
‘Sweetbitter’ is created by Stephanie Danler based on her eponymous novel, which is inspired by her time working at the famous Union Square Café in New York City. The plot centers around Tess (Ella Purnell), a 22-year-old who arrives in NYC with no great ambitions other than to land a job. After getting invited to train at a celebrated downtown restaurant, she gets caught up in a whirlwind of drinks, drugs, and fine dining. She finds family among her co-workers, who help her appreciate the gruelling lifestyle. Tess’ experiences may be similar to what Carmen has been through in ‘The Bear,’ since he earned his stripes as a chef by working at a high-end place in the same city before moving back to Chicago.
2. Feed the Beast (2016)
Adapted by Clyde Phillips from the Danish series ‘Bankerot’ by Kim Fupz Aakeson, ‘Feed the Beast’ follows best friends Tommy Moran (David Schwimmer) and Dion Patras (Jim Sturgess). A former sommelier and functional alcoholic, Tommy is a single father who dreams of opening an upscale Greek restaurant in the Bronx. His dream is shared by Dion, who has been to prison and has debts with the Polish mob. The duo navigates the underbelly of New York, comprising petty criminals, corrupt officials, and violent mobsters, as they attempt to turn their wish into reality. Like ‘The Bear,’ the series highlights the indirect struggles that restaurateurs go through to get their establishments up and running.
1. Boiling Point (2023-)
Created by Philip Barantini, James Cummings, and Stephen Graham, ‘Boiling Point’ is a continuation and standalone sequel of the 2021 film with the same name. The series opens six months after the events of the movie, with Carly (Vinette Robinson) running her own restaurant, Point North, with her former boss Andy’s (Stephen Graham) staff. While steadfast on her mission to transform Northern English dishes into five-star cuisine, Carly is seen struggling on all other fronts. It includes her personal life, the funding and food supply for the restaurant, as well as the staff. She is far from alone in facing hardships, as Andy fights with alcoholism, and the staff deals with poverty, mental and physical health issues.
The plot of ‘Boiling Point’ closely resembles that of ‘The Bear.’ Both shows depict the behind-the-scenes story of getting fine dining restaurants off the ground. The painstaking process of making every single element and personnel work seamlessly together to provide a premium dining experience requires utmost dedication as well as strong financial support. Carmen and Carly both work towards keeping the spirits high and face challenges head-on that stand in the way of their dreams. The shows also include the highs and lows of the lives, both professional and personal, of the individuals associated with the establishments.
