Comedy or not, The Bear isn't really about food

This article has been republished from our Rewind newsletter.

You may have already heard about (or seen) FX’s award-winning (and alleged) comedy The Bear, which has garnered widespread attention and acclaim since its debut in 2022. Led by an ensemble that includes Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edibiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and more, the series follows a beleaguered restaurateur in Chicago. 

More often than not, The Bear is unafraid to wax lyrical about the sense of purpose and community that can be found through cooking and food. The secret ingredient behind the series’ success though? It’s that it’s actually not about either of those things, and the fourth season of The Bear really tips the series’ hand in that regard. 

For all that the show has earned acclaim for its depiction of what’s happening behind the scenes in the service industry, the fact that it has resonated with more than just foodies is because you don’t have to be a chef to relate to Carmy and his obsessive and often toxic attitude to work. 

The line between his devotion to his craft and professional drive and a disturbed state of mind is a pretty blurry one. You don’t even have to work in the service industry to come to that conclusion because The Bear is ultimately a show about our relationship with labour - be it emotional or professional.  

Maybe I’m just someone in my thirties, but Carmy’s struggle to recapture the relentless drive that fuelled him through his twenties is very easy to relate with. When you’ve been working in the same industry for long enough – be it media or fine dining – it’s easy to get nostalgic about the person you were in the past.  

However, the reality is that being that passionate about anything, no matter how much you think it matters to you, isn’t sustainable in the long run. Nor is it compatible with a life that involves family, friends and the pursuit of happiness elsewhere.  

And where earlier seasons anchored themselves around Carmy and his desire to achieve the cutting-edge culinary feats he expects of himself, the fourth season finally lets the series’ protagonist turn the page and let go of the person he used to be. 

With a fifth season of the series in the oven, The Bear’s titular restaurateur might be finally ready to call time on his bad relationship with work. However, if you thought watching Carmy try to run a restaurant was tough to watch, just wait until he tries to find the version of himself that lives outside of that sisyphean struggle. The restaurant industry isn’t easy, but realising you need to fix your heart is a whole other kind of hard.

How to watch The Bear in Australia

Fans of the series already know that The Bear is strictly exclusive to Disney Plus in Australia, but you might not know that you can get it cheaper than ever if you can handle a few ad breaks.  

Recently, Disney Plus joined the rest of the major streamers in introducing a cheaper, ad-supported plan for $9.99 per month. At the same time, Disney raised its Standard and Premium plans to $17.99 and $24.99 per month, respectively. So at the time of writing, watching a few ads (which honestly sounds awful in a show as tense as The Bear) will save you $8 per month.

	Plan	Price	Details
Disney Plus	Disney Plus Standard with Ads Standard with Ads Full HD streaming · 2 devices at once Ads included From $9.99/mth View Plan	From $9.99/mth	View Plan
Disney Plus	Disney Plus Standard Standard Full HD streaming · 2 devices at once Ad-free Annual: $179.99/yr (Save $35) From $17.99/mth or $179.99/yr View Plan	From $17.99/mth or $179.99/yr	View Plan
Disney Plus	Disney Plus Premium Premium 4K UHD + HDR · 4 devices at once Ad-free Annual: $249.99/yr (Save $49) From $24.99/mth or $249.99/yr View Plan	From $24.99/mth or $249.99/yr	View Plan

	Plan	Price	Details
AMC+ Bundle	AMC+ Bundle TV 7-day free trial TV 7-day free trial HD 1080p · 5 devices at once AMC+, Shudder & Acorn TV Annual: $83.88/yr (save $24) From $8.99/mth or $83.88/yr View Plan	From $8.99/mth or $83.88/yr	View Plan
Disney+	Disney+ TV + movies + sport TV + movies + sport 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: From $179.99/y (save up to $49.89) From $9.99/mth or $179.99/yr View Plan	From $9.99/mth or $179.99/yr	View Plan
Amazon Prime Video	Amazon Prime Video TV + movies + more 30-day free trial TV + movies + more 30-day free trial 4K UHD · 3 devices at once Remove ads for $2.99/mth Annual: $79/yr (save $40) From $9.99/mth or $79/yr View Plan	From $9.99/mth or $79/yr	View Plan
Netflix	Netflix TV + movies TV + movies 4K UHD · 2 devices at once Deal: Get free Netflix Standard with Optus From $9.99/mth View Plan	From $9.99/mth	View Plan
Binge	Binge TV + movies + sport 7-day free trial TV + movies + sport 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: From $79/yr (save up to $85) From $10.00/mth or $79/yr View Plan	From $10.00/mth or $79/yr	View Plan
Crunchyroll	Crunchyroll TV + movies 7-day free trial TV + movies 7-day free trial HD 1080p · 4 devices at once Annual: From $119.99/yr (save up to 16%) From $11.99/mth or $119.99/yr View Plan	From $11.99/mth or $119.99/yr	View Plan
Apple TV	Apple TV TV + movies 7-day free trial TV + movies 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 6 (with Family Sharing) Annual: $129/yr (save $62.88) From $15.99/mth or $129/yr View Plan	From $15.99/mth or $129/yr	View Plan
Kayo Sports	Kayo Sports Sport 7-day free trial Sport 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 2 devices at once Deal: 1 month for $1 From $29.99/mth View Plan	From $29.99/mth	View Plan
DAZN	DAZN Sport Sport HD 1080p · 2 devices at once Annual: From $149.99/yr (save $223.89) From $31.99/mth or $149.99/yr View Plan	From $31.99/mth or $149.99/yr	View Plan
Foxtel Now	Foxtel Now TV + movies + sport 10-day free trial TV + movies + sport 10-day free trial HD 1080p · 2 devices at once Annual: Save 30% on Sports + Movies package when you sign up for 12mths From $35/mth View Plan	From $35/mth	View Plan
Paramount+	Paramount+ TV + movies + sport 7-day free trial TV + movies + sport 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: From $70.99/yr (save up to $55.89) From $7.99/mth or $70.99/yr Link not supplied	From $7.99/mth or $70.99/yr	Link not supplied
Stan.	Stan. TV + movies + sport TV + movies + sport 4K UHD · 4 devices at once From $9.99/mth Link not supplied	From $9.99/mth	Link not supplied
HBO Max	HBO Max TV + movies TV + movies 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: From $119.99yr (save up to $43.89) From $11.99/mth or $119.99yr Link not supplied	From $11.99/mth or $119.99yr	Link not supplied
BritBox	BritBox TV 7-day free trial TV 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 4 devices at once Annual: $139.99/yr (save $27.89) From $13.99/mth or $139.99/yr Link not supplied	From $13.99/mth or $139.99/yr	Link not supplied
MUBI	MUBI Movies 7-day free trial Movies 7-day free trial 4K UHD · 2 devices at once Annual: $119.88/yr (save $60) From $14.99/mth or $119.88/yr Link not supplied	From $14.99/mth or $119.88/yr	Link not supplied

Fergus Halliday

Digital Content Editor

Fergus Halliday is a journalist and digital content editor at WhistleOut Australia. He’s written about technology, telecommunications, gaming and more for over a decade. He got his start writing in high school before interning at magazines like CRN Australia and freelancing for publications like the AU Review, Gizmodo, Kotaku, GamesHub, Press Start, ScreenRant, Superjump, Nestegg, and more.

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