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CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION | ||
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Positive:
132
Mixed:
19
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews
Jun 23, 2023
Season 2 Review:
This roaring rager of a series—the “Succession” of chef shows—is better than ever as a blazing cast, led by Emmy-bound Jeremy Allen White, deepens the characters as they open a new Chicago restaurant and serve up TV at its brilliant, blistering best. It only hurts when you laugh.
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SlashfilmJun 22, 2023
Season 2 Review:
As the characters continue to evolve, to grow, to change, to become not different characters but more developed individuals, "The Bear" takes us along with us, guiding us through several courses, each more delectable than the last. There's no sophomore slump on this menu.
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Jun 22, 2023
Season 2 Review:
If the show has very plausibly presented Carmy’s professional success as an artifact of his trauma and isolation, it has also, to its credit, gently released his stranglehold on the story to make space for quieter players such as Marcus, Lisa and Syd. (And noisier ones, such as Richie.).
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Jun 22, 2023
Season 2 Review:
It takes everything that made “The Bear” distinctively alluring — not just the insane level of kinetic energy on display, but the wit of the writing, the off-kilter shifts in dramatic focus, and the contributions of a practically flawless ensemble cast — and makes it bigger and even more probing.
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Jun 22, 2023
Season 2 Review:
It is a true testament to the writers and actors that the series remains riveting and rhythmic amid the chaos. In lesser hands, the mayhem would be just that. In the hands of creator Christopher Storer and his writing team, it is a well-choreographed, foul-mouthed ballet.
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Jun 22, 2023
Season 2 Review:
The series isn’t a fluke. It’s as good as we thought it was last year and, maybe, even a little bit better. When you see the fulcrum at home, you’ll understand what pokes “The Bear.” In a word, it’s phenomenal. And the series is, too. It proves “every second counts.”
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Jun 21, 2023RogerEbert.comJun 21, 2023
Season 2 Review:
This season of “The Bear” is less rough around the edges. It relies on glossier, more elaborate visual statements—twirling cameras, canted angles, and vaster locales—along with a jukebox soundtrack of radio hits and a string of surprising cameos propelled by big star power.
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The GuardianOct 5, 2022
Season 1 Review:
The Bear is half-hour gobbets of kinetic, pressurised, propulsive brilliance with occasional moments of stillness that make you see how much has been done in order to serve up something so delicious. This is a show that has been meticulously prepped, simmered, reduced, balanced and eventually plated up to perfection by the creator Christopher Storer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo. Dig in.
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The TelegraphOct 5, 2022
Season 1 Review:
The Bear gets the balance between atmosphere and story, sour and sweet, just right. At a time when big budget TV, with things such as House of the Dragon or The Rings of Power, has decided that more is more, The Bear is a real palate cleanser. It’s a masterpiece in reduction - and the sauce has bite.
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Jul 13, 2022
Season 1 Review:
The Bear is horrifically stressful; it’s also thrilling, ambitious, funny, devastating. ... The show ends with a revelation that feels almost uncannily like magic. I didn’t begrudge it, because it seems to set up abundant questions and opportunities for a second season, and series that are this thoughtful—this sly and tender and artful—are rare enough to be relished.
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Jul 8, 2022
Season 1 Review:
Whatever beef I had with how The Bear made me feel, it was hard to let go of the fact that it had made me feel, and deeply. ... A show that instantly had a sense of place, had clear conflicts and character arcs, and did not seem to be following any particular Peak TV playbook.
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Jul 1, 2022
Season 1 Review:
[The restaurant, the Original Beef of Chicagoland] is in a state of complete chaos: filthy, undisciplined, and crushed by debt. All of this fuels Carmy’s mounting panic, which is matched by the series’ taut pacing, propelling us through each frenetic and poetic half-hour episode. ... The Bear is an ensemble production packed with prickly, vibrant performances.
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Jun 27, 2022
Season 1 Review:
The ensemble chemistry gels quickly on “The Bear,” as the frenzied atmosphere draws unedited thoughts and feelings out of the staffers. Once they start to recognize Carmy’s brilliance, and let go of his late brother’s disorganized ways, their banter and mutual support is even sweeter.
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The Daily BeastJun 24, 2022
Season 1 Review:
It nails the mayhem and the din of flaring short tempers that makes what happens at restaurants nothing short of a continuous miracle: something as delicate and crafted as a plate of food manages to come out of all that pandemonium. ... What it also captures, however, is the beauty that lies underneath: the drive behind people so overwhelmed by their passion for the field they chose and who are so committed to the skill and the art it requires that they’re willing to submit themselves to that kind of environment. ... There’s also something emotionally elegant about The Bear.
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Jun 23, 2022
Season 1 Review:
This is a show created by people who recognize that our lives are a group project. No person is an island and we have to accept that in order to get anything done. Sometimes that process can feel like rough edges forever jabbing at your soft spots. When regular people — not a special ops unit or a group of superheroes — figure out a way to work toward a common goal? There’s nothing better. It gets me in the gut.
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Jun 23, 2022
Season 1 Review:
Everyone on The Bear must always brace for the unexpected, and that is what makes this series so instantly compelling, tense, and beautiful all at once. These eight episodes may leave you breathless and a little dizzy. But when it’s over, prepare to say, “Thank you, chef.”
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Jun 22, 2022
Season 1 Review:
"Bear" is nerve-wracking and a delight. The frenzied pace and the shouty, freewheeling dialogue create an intense, stressful atmosphere that reaches out from the screen and practically tenses your shoulders. But it's also about (mostly) likable people trying to do their best, and that striving energy is as addictive and satisfying as a really good sandwich.
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Jun 21, 2022
Season 1 Review:
"The Bear" was created by Christopher Storer and has the winning menu item of people doing things well. Original Beef is a mess when Carmen gets there, but the cooking is lovely to watch once he gets things on track. What's even lovelier is the way Carmen's imposition of elevated standards changes the staff.
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IndieWireJun 16, 2022
Season 1 Review:
While “The Bear” may not be one of the best shows in the world, its own act of service is appreciated. Storer and Calo invite us into a fast-paced, high-risk world, hoping to entertain us; hoping we can empathize with those living in it; hoping their gesture is more than just a piece of filler in TV’s content machine. And it is, for those who enjoy a little heat.
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Jun 13, 2022
Season 1 Review:
Despite its eight-episode first season falling frustratingly into the tropes of the volatile, violent kitchen and the Genius Chef tasked with keeping it all together, The Bear manages to elevate its product with some strong performances and a deep well of relatable anguish in its characters.
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