Trivia / The Bear (2022)

• Award Category Fraud: The show was nominated for and won the 2023 Emmy for Best Comedy Series. Most fans would consider the series a Dramedy at best and its most critically acclaimed episodes ("Review" and "Fishes") involved very little laughs. Many viewers have speculated that submitting it in Comedy instead of Drama was a calculated move to avoid having the show go up against juggernauts such as Better Call Saul, The Last of Us and Succession (the eventual Best Drama Series winner).
• Celebrity Cameo: Prior to her onscreen role in Season 2, Gillian Jacobs made a Voice-Only Cameo as Tiff in Season 1's "Braciole", in the form of her voicemail message when Richie calls her from jail.
• Corpsing: In the first episode, when Richie is tearing into the gamers lined up outside the restaurant, Jeremy Allen-White is noticeably trying to stifle his laughter.
• Creator Couple: Series creator Chris Storer is the long-time partner of Gillian Jacobs, who has a recurring role as Tiffany.
• Descended Creator: Matty Matheson is one of the series' executive producers and plays Neil Fak. Rene Gube, a co-executive producer, appears as a maître d' in Season 2.
• Dyeing for Your Art: To prepare for his role, Jeremy Allen White took culinary classes and worked in the kitchen of a Michelin-star restaurant.
• Irony as She Is Cast: Matty Matheson is a professional chef, but doesn't play one of the cooks. Instead, he plays Fak, the restaurant's handyman. This was at Matheson’s behest, as he didn’t want to play a chef on screen.
• No Stunt Double: The show doesn't use hand or cooking doubles. Every cast member playing a chef was actually prepping and cooking on set. Even guest star Will Poulter, who made a one-episode appearance as Chef Luca, spent several weeks stage-ing at various London restaurants in preparation for his role.
• Only So Many Canadian Actors: Or Only So Many Chicago-Based Actors. As the series is shot on location in Chicago, guest roles are often filled by actors from Dick Wolf's One Chicago franchise.
• Orphaned Reference: During Carmy's flashbacks in the fridge in "The Bear", he briefly remembers an apparent incident in The Beef where he threw a pot at the wall, which attentive viewers will note hasn't previously appeared in the series. This is actually a scene from the original pilot for the show, which climaxed with Carmy having a meltdown from the pressure of the kitchen. When the show as picked up it was decided to move Carmy's meltdown to Episode 7.
• Playing Against Type: Joel McHale, known for playing a goofy Deadpan Snarker on Community, plays a cruel Mean Boss.
• Promoted Fanboy: Will Poulter was a huge fan of the show and begged the production for a role during its second season. Jamie Lee Curtis and Olivia Colman were also fans of the show and jumped at the chance to appear when offered roles.
• Sleeper Hit: The show didn't receive a major marketing push, but quickly developed a following thanks to word of mouth.
• The Red Stapler: The show went viral among men’s fashion fans for Carmy’s white t-shirt, which was eventually identified as coming from German brand Merz b. Schwanen.
• Those Two Actors: Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Richie) and Jon Bernthal (Mikey) previously starred together in The Punisher (2017) as David "Micro" Lieberman and the Punisher, respectively.
• Throw It In!: The one-take episode, "Review", had about four or five takes shot in total. The production prioritized getting the take that was the most immersive and intense, rather than if it could be considered the "perfect" take without any mistakes. A few goofs/quirks unique to the take used in the episode:
  • The spilled relish on the floor next to Carmy as he is eating the doughnut–apparently Gary Malouf's camera collided with a container of giardiniera. The mistake was left in because it matched the chaos of the space.
  • When Carmy knocks the doughnut out of Marcus' hand, Jeremy Allen White managed to hit it in such a way it landed right-side up.
  • Ayo Edebiri took an extra beat before Sydney walks out, which show-creator Christopher Storer found "really pushed it over."
• What Could Have Been: "Review" introduces Tina's son Louie, who has been having trouble at school, and Tina suggests Sydney could mentor him like she did her. That reasonably gets dropped because of the rush in order tickets, but Word of God says that before the decision was made to make the episode a one-take episode, Louie was supposed to have a larger role.
• Written-In Infirmity: Natalie's pregnancy in Season 2 reflects her actress Abby Elliott's real-life pregnancy during filming.