Binge the new season of ‘The Bear’? Or savor it? Here’s what the cast says:
To binge or not to binge?
In 2024, that is the question television fans must ask themselves all the time.
On Wednesday, the third season of the restaurant drama “The Bear” - which stars Jeremy Allen White as a young chef trying to turn his late brother’s Chicago restaurant into a Michelin-star destination — dropped on Hulu and Disney+. If you haven’t yet watched this series, you must be one of those current or former restaurant workers I’ve heard about who are too traumatized by the show’s too realistic description of kitchen mayhem to watch. If you aren’t one of those people and you’re remotely interested in restaurants or the culinary arts, you must watch.
But how should you watch?
“The Bear,” like many series, dropped all 10 of its Season 3 episodes at once on Wednesday. That means that hardcore fans like me who have been waiting a full year to see if Carmy ever gets out of the walk in have a tough decision to make.
Should we binge the series and watch one episode after the other this weekend? Or should we space it out and savor it slowly, like a fine wine, the way we used to have to before the dawn of streaming?
I’m a bit of a binger, but not by conscious choice. I tell myself I’ll space my favorite shows out so they’re not over too quickly, but then the cliffhanger at the end of each episode gets me, and I have to keep going. “Just one more!” I shout to no one in particular, and the next thing I know, it’s 3 a.m. and I have to get up for work in a few hours.
Much like I respond to a pan of brownies or a carton of ice cream, I have very little self control when the thing I love is just — sitting there. But, like with chocolate, when I consume it all in a single day, I’m filled with remorse and regret.
Earlier this week, the cast of “The Bear” sat down for a live virtual press conference with members of the entertainment media, and I was invited to attend.
It was fun listening to all the cast members answer questions from reporters across the country, and one asked them to give their opinion on the binging question.
Is Season 3 of “The Bear” best snarfed or savored?
“Binge is tight,” said Matty Matheson, the real-life Canadian chef who plays restaurant employee Neil Fak and serves as a consultant and executive producer for “The Bear.”
But the decision as to whether to dump all the episodes of “The Bear” or space them out over the weeks, like other shows such as “The Crown” did — “That’s above my pay grade,” Matheson said.
Ayo Edebiri, who won an Emmy last year for her portrayal of sous chef Sydney, had a more practical response to the question.
“...It’s like, nobody is forcing you to watch it all at the same time,” she said. “Like, you can pace yourself, which I think is nice about it. ...I find myself this way with shows that are released weekly sometimes: I wait until the end and then I sort of pace it out myself. So, I think you have that choice as a viewer. You have autonomy.”
Do I, though?
As I write this, I’ve been helping to take care of a relative who just had surgery and haven’t had time to get started on Season 3.
Once I do, though, I predict I’ll have some serious issues with portion control.
