FX on Hulu's dramedy "The Bear" returned for its fourth season with a feast of ten brand-new episodes on Thursday, June 25, and it left fans of the acclaimed hit on a bit of a cliffhanger — can The Bear (the restaurant) go on without the Bear (the chef)?
Yes, the final episode of season four (it goes without saying, but spoilers ahead, folks!) saw Jeremy Allen White's Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto — the perpetually brooding but preternaturally talented chef at the help of the show's chaotic but ambitious restaurant — announced his decision to step away from The Bear, leaving it in the hands of its capable chef de cuisine Sydney Adamu (Ayo Edebiri).
To the shock of both Sydney, Cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and sister Natalie (Abby Elliot), Carmy reveals that he's lost his joy for cooking and is happy to transfer his ownership stake in the restaurant to the three of them.
It's a decision that's been brewing all season, but while it provides much-needed catharsis for Carmy, it does seemingly leave the future of not only The Bear, the restaurant, but "The Bear," the show, up in the air. Will we get more "The Bear" or, as Uncle Jimmy's (Oliver Platt) clock menacingly counted down all season long, has time run out?
As of press time, FX on Hulu has not announced a fifth-season pick-up of the Emmy-winning show. (For reference, seasons 3 and 4 were filmed back-to-back, with the fourth installment greenlit while the third was already in production.)
Back in July 2024, FX chairman John Landgraf spoke about the show's post-season 4 future, saying: "We really don't know," per Variety. "These decisions are really creative decisions," he continued. "It’s about how much more story does [creator Christopher Storer] have to tell? I mean, obviously, I’m hoping he has more ... You just have to follow the creative."
That does sound positive, with Storer getting new episodes should he want them, but the real question is how the powers that be are going to wrangle its increasingly booked-and-busy cast members for a fifth installment of the show.
Jeremy Allen White will, of course, play Bruce Springsteen in the upcoming biopic "Deliver Me From Nowhere." Ebon Moss-Bachrach is going the superhero route, making his Marvel debut as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, in "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." And Ayo Edebiri has a live-action "Barney" movie, an Apple TV Plus rom-com series ("Prodigies") and a Luca Guadagnino film, "After the Hunt," with Julia Roberts.
It's quite a packed calendar for "The Bear" cast. However, the principal actors are contractually obligated to return, should a fifth season get announced.
Tom's Guide will keep you posted on all things related to the future of "The Bear," including whether it returns for a fifth edition or not. In the meantime, you can catch up on all of the kitchen drama by streaming the first four seasons of the show on Hulu.
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