7 Shows You Need to Watch If You Liked The Bear

From Shameless to The West Wing, these are some shows you need to binge if you enjoyed FX’s The Bear.

FX’s comedy-drama has been enjoying a fantastic awards season, winning all six of its Emmy nominations and three Golden Globes—and for good reason. Audiences have raved about the show, making it a binge-favourite show for many, and it currently holds a 93% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The first two seasons are available to watch on Disney+ Hotstar here in Thailand and Season 3 is slated to start production at the end of the year according to Deadline. But if you’ve finished binging all two seasons and there’s a Bear-shaped hole in your heart, consider these shows that could perhaps tide you over until the inevitable arrival of the third season.

[Hero image: FX]

Shows like The Bear you need to binge right now

Hell’s Kitchen

No other kitchen could rival the tension of Carmy’s but the aptly named Hell’s Kitchen. Gordon Ramsay yells and swears at his legion of “idiot sandwiches” as they try and prove they’re worthy of being called “chef”. Some succeed; most fail disastrously and hilariously. The Bear is fictional but Hell’s Kitchen proves that the tension depicted in Carmy’s kitchen is pretty spot on. 

Shameless

If for some reason you still can’t get enough of Jeremy Allen White after watching The Bear, seeing him make the rounds in all the awards shows, and having that Calvin Klein ad on perpetual replay, then this show is your next binge. Here, White plays one of the Gallagher children, whose patriarch, played by William H. Macy, is an absentee alcoholic. Much like The Bear, this show is rife with family drama, and it also takes place in Chicago. This time though, the Gallaghers are Irish-American instead of the Berzatto’s Italian-American.

The West Wing

What does a show about a US President and his staff have in common with The Bear? I’ve actually written about how the Aaron Sorkin show paved the way for shows like the award-winning kitchen comedy-drama, but the sense of camaraderie among noble yet very flawed characters is something that both shows have and depict very well. Watch an episode of either of these shows and you’ll find yourself wanting to have friends like Josh and CJ or Richie and Sydney, friends who have your back no matter what but who also won’t hesitate to call you out on your crap.

The Newsroom

Evidently, Aaron Sorkin has a thing for flawed noble characters working together for a common purpose. He trades the White House for a news channel this time around as this HBO show, which premiered back in 2012, follows the journalists who work there. The show makes use of real events, like the assassination of Bin Laden and the BP oil spill back in 2010, while also mixing in some hilarious personal drama in true Sorkin fashion for a little levity. Much like Carmy and co., it’s hard not to fall in love with this group of misfits. 

Succession

The Bear has become famous for its frenetic energy and high tension balanced by humour and heart. If you’d like to lean into the tension with a generous helping of awkwardness and absurdity, Succession is the show you’re looking for. This comedy-drama, which had a great night at the Emmy Awards, gives audiences a front-row seat to the scheming, manipulating, and sheer disconnected-ness of the Roys, an absurdly rich family who are only looking out for themselves. Unlike The Bear though, don’t expect likable characters here. And if you do end up liking them, consider therapy.

Beef

I can’t count how many times I’ve yelled at my TV after Carmy does something incredibly stupid (like at the end of Season 2, for example). With this show, you may end up doing that all the way through. Steven Yeun and Ali Wong star as two people involved in a road rage incident that spirals from being a bad day into a fiery feud. It’s funny, it’s tense, and it involves a lot of bad decisions similar to Carmy hurting Claire. He better apologise in Season 3 or I swear…

The Chef Show

If Sydney’s utterly delectable omelette sprinkled with potato chips, Marcus’ chocolate ganache cake, and Mikey’s iconic family spaghetti got you hankering for more food-related entertainment, look no further than Jon Favreau and Roy Choi’s adventures. After making the 2014 film Chef, Favreau, who directed and starred in the film, and Choi, who served as consultant and co-producer, made this show where they make various dishes while also inviting some of their friends. It’s really enjoyable and mouth-watering. It may even inspire you to get into the kitchen. 

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia Bangkok