The Bear

The Bear flips the script on the familiar adage “you are what you eat,” viscerally highlighting the food service industry’s all-consuming capacity to eat its laborers alive. Created by Christopher Storer for FX on Hulu, The Bear follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a young chef from the upscale world of Michelin-star dining, as he returns to his hometown of Chicago to manage the rundown sandwich shop that his older brother ran into the ground before dying by suicide. As Carmy struggles to navigate his own grief along with his family’s trauma, his dead brother’s unpaid debts, and the disorderly conduct of his burnt-out kitchen crew, he becomes obsessed with the idea of transforming the shop into a fine-dining establishment. In the process, viewers are drawn into the relentlessly chaotic, high-stress world of small restaurant ownership, as Carmy builds a loyal staff who share his vision and, by necessity, his addiction to a high-pressure game of day-to-day survival—in business and in life.  For its searing portrayal of culinary ambition on a knife’s edge, we recognize The Bear with a Peabody award.