At some point in the future (maybe), FX's The Bear will cease to be great. But we aren't quite there yet.
Perhaps the downgrade in quality will occur in season 5 as, according to Deadline, FX is renewing the dramedy. But what many fans might be asking is "why?" Or, "Do I want to know what happens next?"
First off, you know you do. Just like with any great piece of TV or streaming series, you will keep tuning in until the show appears to simply be trying to take your money without giving you the same enjoyment it once did. Hopefully, The Bear will never do that, just as Squid Game knew when to call it quits on Netflix.
The Bear could overstay its welcome with season 5
But for those who have watched all of the recently released season 4 episodes (and spoiler alert ahead for those who haven't), you know that the big reveal at the end is that Jeremy Allen White's Carmy is quitting the restaurant business. Not just his restaurant, but every restaurant everywhere.
He does not divulge what he might do, though. Perhaps as Samuel L. Jackson's Jules says he will do in Pulp Fiction, Carmy will simply wander the Earth as Caine does in the Kung Fu franchise. But there is some potentially good news that will not be the case.
White is expected to return in season 5 (The Bear without White would be difficult), and while his role could be limited to appearing in flashbacks, that would be unlikely. The next season of the series will probably drop in late June 2026, as the series has historically done, so there won't be that much time between season 4 and season 5.
The problem is that the finale of season 4 would have seemed like the most fitting ending for a show that has always kept us just off-balance enough before it reels us back in. Season 5 might be the reeling back in.
Of course, few shows have ever been as daring in the chances they take as The Bear does. Carmy could only be a secondary character, and the series instead focuses on Ayo Edebiri's Sydney and Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Richie, but why do that? The show would still keep some good quality, but not Bear-quality.
Carmy leaving after seemingly leaving Richie, Sydney, and Abby Elliott's Sugar in charge would have been unfulfilling, but that would have been the brilliance of it all. Great shows don't always resolve their endings, and instead leave what happens next up to the imaginations of fans (just as Mad Men viewers).
But The Bear isn't doing that to us. Creator Christopher Storer is giving us more. Let's just hope we don't see the show digress in 2026.
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