‘The Bear,’ Starring ‘Shameless’ Breakout Jeremy Allen White, Tackles Restaurant Chaos With Empathy: TV Review

variety.com:

Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticOne of the greatest delights television has brought me over the years is any show that knows how to lovingly film a plate of beautiful food, turn the sound up to 11 to hear it sizzle, and trace its origins to the family dinner table from whence it came.

Few things can bring people together like food, and few pleasures in this world like taking a bite of something so delicious it makes your eyes water just to know it exists.“The Bear,” FX’s new series about talented young chef Carmen (Jeremy Allen White of “Shameless”) going home to run his dead brother’s sandwich shop in Chicago, is highly attuned to what makes a gorgeous dish. “The Bear” also details exactly how much frantic, eye-watering pressure every restaurant kitchen is under to make it — and as such, is one of the most stressful shows I’ve seen in a hot minute.

If you’re looking for so-called “food porn,” this isn’t where you’ll find it. But if you’re at all curious about how the sausage gets made, the passion that goes into it, and the sacrifices people make in order to get it from the stove to your table — as well any food-loving person should be — this series (out in its entirety today on Hulu) should be on your radar.

From Christopher Storer (“Ramy”) and Joanna Calo (“Hacks,” “BoJack Horseman”), the series adopts a grounded cinema verité aesthetic to make the kitchen at Chicago’s Original Beef feel palpably crowded, greasy and, occasionally, alluring enough to justify why its employees keep going back day in and day out (much to the increasing frustration of Carmy’s sister, played by Abby Elliott, who wants nothing more than to forget their brother’s restaurant ever existed).The old guard, who worked under Carmy’s brother Mike.