The Bear season 3: Release date speculation and latest news

With production on the new third season now firmly underway in Chicago, the cast have been tight-lipped about major plot points, but White revealed his hopes for Carmy in the future, admitting he would hope his character gets a "happy ending".

He told Deadline: "I think that’s all I really hoped for. That he learns how to understand himself a little bit better and appreciates what he has and then finds some peace.”

He admitted that, for him, the series is about navigating loneliness "and how to combat that," adding that it's about "how to find belonging, how to communicate and how to connect. I hope those who watch it and enjoy it feel less alone. I think a lot of the show is about found family and the connection we all are always searching for”.

With The Bear notching up the major wins so far this year, fans will be delighted to learn that the series will stick to its usual July release window and launch in the US this summer.

FX boss John Landgraf said at the TCA event (via Deadline): "We all watched the first season and it wasn’t lost on me or anyone else who worked on the show that it’s a little anxiety-inducing to watch that show and anxiety-inducing are not the adjectives typically associated with hit television shows and Emmy awards.

"So we made a decision that we would drop the whole thing because for those of you who saw it, it has a really beautiful, very uplifting ending."

Announcing The Bear's renewal back in November 2023, FX Entertainment president Nick Grad said: "We're so proud to partner with Christopher Storer, Joanna Calo, Josh Senior, and the rest of the creative team, as well as the brilliant cast led by Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

"What they and the crew have done is truly remarkable, and we and our partners at Hulu and Disney Plus join fans in looking forward to the next chapter in the story of The Bear."

With that, read on for everything we know so far about The Bear season 3 – but be warned as there are major spoilers ahead.

The Bear season 3 release date speculation

The Bear season 3 has now been confirmed for a release in the US on FX in June 2024.

FX boss John Landgraf confirmed (via Deadline) that the series would return in that month and all episodes would still be released at once.

Landgraf said: "The way that Chris makes it, even though the episodes are separate, there’s a whole vibe to every season so we decided not to change what we had already set in motion and I have no doubt that we’ll keep doing it because we did it in the past. Even if we could, I don’t think we’d change it now."

While a UK release date for the series has yet to be confirmed, we don't expect to be waiting too long from the US release. We do know, though, that it's likely that The Bear will launch on Disney Plus in the UK as with previous seasons.

The Bear season 3 cast speculation

Across its two seasons, The Bear has become synonymous with Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) so it's safe to say that there would be major uproar if the series leads weren't returning for more. We can anticipate that both White and Edebiri will reprise their roles, along with Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie, who undertook some serious character development in season 2.

We'd expect the rest of the gang to make a return for season 3, especially as the last we saw of the team was all of them bandying together to make sure the opening of The Bear went off without a hitch. We'd expect to see Lionel Boyce return as pastry chef Marcus, Abbey Elliott as Carmy's sister and The Bear manager Natalie (aka Sugar), Liza Colón-Zayas as keen learner Tina and real-life chef Matty Matheson as Neil Fak.

After that season 2 ending, it remains completely uncertain whether Carmy will be able to rekindle things with Claire (Molly Gordon), but it could be likely we'll be seeing a return of his romantic interest.

The second season was positively star-studded, with the Fishes episode boasting the likes of Sarah Paulson as cousin Michelle, John Mulaney as her partner Stevie, Jamie Lee Curtis as matriarch Donna Berzatt and Bob Odenkirk as Uncle Lee.

As if that wasn't enough, Olivia Colman made a surprise appearance in Forks as Chef Terry as well as Will Poulter starring as top Copenhagen chef Luca. So, could we see any of these faces return?

Well, according to White (via Deadline), the actor would love to see a season 3 episode where “we can get as many [guest stars] to come back for one day,” a la “Fishes”. White also told Deadline that he'd love to see Colman’s Chef Terry come back and also would love to see Curtis return as Momma Donna.

The cast we'd expect to make a return for The Bear season 3 are as follows:

• Jeremy Allen White as Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto
• Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard 'Richie' Jerimovich
• Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu
• Lionel Boyce as Marcus
• Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina
• Abby Elliott as Natalie 'Sugar' Berzatto
• Edwin Lee Gibson as Ebraheim
• Matty Matheson as Neil Fak
• Oliver Platt as Jimmy Cicero
• Molly Gordon as Claire

More recently, fans have been left wondering whether Will Poulter could be making a return to the series as he was spotted by a fan working in the kitchen of Michelin star French bistro Pasjoli in Santa Monica, California. Under the tutelage of head chef Dave Beran, Pasjoli was the very same kitchen that White trained in to prepare for season 1 so could it be more than a coincidence?

The spotting of Poulter in the restaurant has led to all kinds of Reddit fan theories and speculation about his potential role in season 3, seeing as his character Luca worked with Carmy once upon a time. Some fans have floated the theory that Carmy could take some time off from the restaurant and call in Luca to help but as of now, nothing has been confirmed.

What could The Bear season 3 be about?

Speaking at the recent SAG Awards, Matty Matheson revealed production “is going really well; better than usual” and that the cast is keeping their “heads down and hearts full" for season 3.

He added: “We’re back in Chicago. The weather is kind of nice and [we have] big scripts and big scenes. Cameras are on and we’re ready.”

As for what those "big scenes" will comprise of, there's plenty to speculate about. The final episode of The Bear season 2 saw the opening of the titular restaurant go off with one major hitch, namely with Carmy being locked in the fridge and while in there, admitting that he doesn't need to be in a relationship, saying that he's "the best" without any of the distraction.

But he shouts about this to Tina, who doesn't respond and instead, it's Claire – who has left Carmy a voicemail professing her love for him – who tearfully walks out of the restaurant.

As for where this'll leave the pair, White admitted to Deadline after his Golden Globes win: "I truly have no idea, but as Jeremy, a reader of scripts and watcher of show, I think she deserve an apology at the very least. So I hope there’s some version of that when I read scripts again.”

As for the kitchen scenes of season 3, we can expect more of a "functioning kitchen atmosphere", like the tense first outing of the series. White told Variety: "I’ll tell you the truth, which is I think they’ve written a couple scripts. I have not read any. I do know in January I’m going to spend a fair amount of time getting together with some chefs. There’ll be a menu set, I believe, that’s going to be for the restaurant in the third season.

"And I know that I’m going to start putting together that menu with different chefs and cooking and just trying to get prepared to do more of that stuff on camera. We all did a lot of preparation before the first season. I went to culinary school and I spent a lot of time in restaurants and stuff.

"And then, for the second season, so much of it was about putting the restaurant together, so there wasn’t that much cooking. But now, in the third season, I think we’re going to go back to that functioning kitchen atmosphere that we had in the first."

That season 2 finale also saw Syd and Marcus navigating some serious awkwardness after Marcus tried asking Syd out earlier on that fateful day, but things took a sad turn at the end of the episode, as we see that Marcus has missed a slew of calls from his sick mother's nurse, likely meaning she could have died, and the impact of such an event will surely have major repercussions on his character in the new series.

More recently, an eagle-eyed fan on X (formerly known as Twitter) shared a filming notice for the location of Marcus's mother's street in the series, potentially confirming the sad theory that she could have died in the final season 2 episode.

While things seem to have been patched up for Marcus and Syd, the finale also saw a major turning point for Syd, as she led the kitchen in Carmy's absence and won the approval of her doubtful father, played by Robert Townsend. Speaking about her character's season 3 future, Edebiri said: “I love the idea of Sydney finding more confidence and belief in herself, but it’s also fun getting to play someone who’s flawed and kind of a mess."

As of now, there's been no word on whether Curtis will return as Carmy and Sugar's mother Donna, but after skipping the family and friends opening night at the restaurant over the fear of ruining it, it seems as though there's plenty to be reconciled there.

She also unknowingly learnt of her daughter's pregnancy, which she hadn't been told about, so we would think – depending on where season 3 picks up – that Sugar's pregnancy plays somewhat of a part in the restaurant plans in season 3.

Is there a trailer for The Bear season 3?

Not yet! As the new season is currently in production, we can expect more season 3 updates to come as well as a trailer in due course. We'll be sure to keep this article updated when one does drop.

The Bear seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream in the UK on Disney Plus – sign up to Disney Plus for £7.99 a month or £79.90 a year now.

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