TV Shows Like The Bear: Created by Cristopher Storer, The Bear ( 2022 – ) is one of the best TV shows currently available for you to stream. It takes us through the life and journey of a young chef, Carmen (played by Jeremy Allen White), who leaves his job at a fine dining restaurant in New York to attend to his family’s Italian beef sandwich place in Chicago after the sudden demise of his brother, Michael. Carmy (as he is lovingly called) is immediately challenged by the variety of operational, administrative, culinary, and staff-related issues at this new place, which he must juggle while dealing with this personal loss.
While Season 1 of The Bear focuses on the above-mentioned premise and gives us an insight into a professional kitchen, Season 2 takes us through Carmy’s efforts at revamping this joint into a sophisticated eating place, a restaurant. This season brings along the same maniac energy that the previous season harbored, leaving us feeling dizzy and (a little bit) anxious. It fleshes out the dysfunctionality of Carmen’s family and gives us a glimpse of the person that Michael was. Furthermore, the show’s latest season focuses on the high stakes of running a business, leaving the characters to upskill, understand and bring out their best professional selves.
If you binge-watched Season 2 of The Bear and are left craving similar content, we have curated a list of 6 shows to watch like The Bear for you below. These shows also belong to the category of television drama to varying extents and bring out the themes of the family’s dysfunctionality and its effects on an individual’s mental health. Not to forget, some of these suggestions will take you back to the kitchen space (mostly) like The Bear. Dive in now!
1. Severance (2022 – )
Directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle, this American TV show follows Mark (played by Adam Scott), a seemingly ordinary worker who becomes entangled in a conspiracy surrounding a mysterious project that the workers in his company are delivering. His company, Lumon Industries, also conducts a mindwipe on all its employees, splitting their consciousness into life inside and outside work. As the narrative unfolds, the show skillfully combines psychological thriller and science fiction elements to create a gripping and thought-provoking viewing experience.
Severance dives deep into the lives of corporate employees trapped in a mysterious, mind-bending workplace. It is the perfect workplace drama to watch if you like The Bear. It masterfully explores themes of identity, memory, and the blurred lines between reality and illusion among the company workers, just like The Bear gives us an insight into the individual psychology of each chef working at Carmen’s restaurant.
The latter features a host of chefs juggling their personal and professional lives, with themes ranging from dealing with imposter syndrome to underconfidence. Both shows keep the viewers on the edge of their seats, engaging them in understanding the nature of their purpose and the price of conformity in a high-stake workplace. Moreover, the protagonists of Mark in Severance and Carmen in The Bear are characters grieving due to personal losses and highlight their ways of dealing with the intensity of this loss.
2. Six Feet Under (2001 – 2005)
Created by Alan Ball, this American TV show revolves around the Fisher family, who own and operate a funeral home in Los Angeles. The show explores the complexities of life, death, and the human condition through the eyes of the Fisher family and their interactions with the deceased and their grieving loved ones. In fact, each of its episodes begins with the death of an individual and follows the characters as they navigate the emotional challenges of running a funeral home while dealing with their struggles and relationships. This landmark TV show advocates a blend of dark humor and poignant storytelling to tackle sensitive topics, from a coming-out narrative to female sexuality, in astonishingly nuanced ways.
Although the establishments at the center of both these TV shows are different – a funeral home and a restaurant – it is the involvement of the family in operating these places that give Six Feet Under a superficial similarity with The Bear. The families in both TV shows reek of dysfunctionality. The Bear keeps from detailing the dysfunctional family space (except in Season 2 Episode 6), showing us what it means to bring family trauma to the workplace instead.
Six Feet Under is centered on the human experience of living in a dysfunctional family space and how it shapes the mental health of its members. You could think that both shows treat the death of individuals as the catalyst for the characters to confront their struggles and aspirations. If you liked The Bear, you would surely appreciate Six Feet Under and its significant influence on the genre of television drama.
3. Sweetbitter (2018 – 2019)
Created by Stephanie Danler, this American drama TV show explores the life of Tess (played by Ella Purnell), a 22-year-old woman who moves to New York City and lands a job as a waitress at a renowned downtown restaurant. As she navigates the complexities of the restaurant industry, Tess encounters a colorful cast of characters, including her enigmatic coworker Jake (played by Tom Sturridge) and the charismatic bartender Simone (played by Caitlin FitzGerald). Through the trials and triumphs of her professional and personal life, Tess discovers her passion for food, wine, and the intoxicating allure of New York City.
Although Sweetbitter delves into the highs and lows of coming of age in a vibrant and unforgiving metropolis, it is a perfect show to watch if you like The Bear because it offers a captivating glimpse of the behind-the-scenes of the culinary industry. Both shows lay bare the truths of this industry, the challenges of fine dining, and the working conditions and experience of working professionals at the backend of a restaurant.
You also encounter characters in this high-stake business because of their passion for food and wine. Tess and her quest for self-knowledge and identity will remind you of the young and inexperienced Sydney (played by Ayo Edebiri) from The Bear when she first joined Carmy’s team as the sous chef and how she upped her skillset to dive headlong into the nitty gritty of the restaurant business by the end of The Bear Season 2.
4. Kitchen Nightmares (2007 – 2014)
This list would have been incomplete without featuring one of American celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay’s crusades through the restaurant business. It was one of the first times we got a glimpse into all the different elements that make a restaurant business successful. In this reality TV show, Ramsay visits a struggling restaurant to help turn it around and bring it back to success. If you would like to revisit the throbbing tension that The Bear brings on screen, this should be on your watchlist.
Armed with his expertise and no-nonsense approach, Ramsay tackles various issues, including poor management, unsanitary conditions, subpar food quality, and lackluster service. He works closely with the restaurant owners and staff, pushing them to confront their shortcomings and make changes where necessary. Ramsay also assesses the menu, helps revamp the restaurant decor, and provides intense culinary training to the chefs and kitchen staff.
Throughout the process, tensions run high as Ramsay faces some resistance and the harsh realities of the failing establishments. If this reminds you of the constant work that the staff at The Bear put in to revamp their restaurant and make it a place fit for fine dining in the second season, then you will be instantly charmed by this show. Carmen’s character is not reminiscent of Ramsay’s harshness, but both reflect the solitary dedication to establishing a successful restaurant.
5. Family Business (2019 – 2021)
Created by Igor Gotesman, this French TV show seeks to blend comedy and drama to tell the story of the Hazan family and their unconventional interest in opening a marijuana coffee shop. Joseph Hazan (played by Jonathan Cohen) is a failed entrepreneur who convinces his family – including his parents, wife, and sister – to join him in transforming their failing kosher butcher shop into the country’s first marijuana coffee shop. As they navigate the challenges of the cannabis business, the Hazans find themselves entangled in hilarious and often absurd situations, pushing the boundaries of both legality and their family dynamics. If you liked The Bear, you would warm up to Family Business and its eccentricities.
Family Business, like The Bear, finds the protagonist trying to do something new and engaging with the help of their family. In Season 2 of The Bear, Carmen’s sister, Natalie, joins as a project manager while his brother’s best friend, Richie, has been overseeing as the restaurant manager since the first season. Both shows also give us a glimpse into the administrative hustle and duties of building an establishment or business from scratch. In this case, both establishments are related to the F&B business. In fact, Joseph’s character reflects the same entrepreneurial spirit as Carmen and his passion for getting a job done well. Unlike the anxiety-inducing TV-watching experience of The Bear, this show is full of witty dialogues, spritely characters, and a healthy dose of humor.
6. I Know This Much is True (2020)
Directed by Derek Cianfrance, this American miniseries is based on Wally Lamb’s bestselling novel by the same name. The story revolves around the lives of identical twin brothers Dominick and Thomas Birdsey, both roles played by Mark Ruffalo, living in the small town of Three Rivers, Connecticut. Dominick is a hardworking man who is seen struggling to care for his mentally ill brother, Thomas, who is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. While Dominick fights to protect and support Thomas after the latter commits an impulsive act, he is also forced to confront his memories and come to terms with long-held secrets from the newly-translated memoirs of his grandfather. If you liked watching The Bear and would like to explore a similar dynamic between two brothers, then this show is for you (although it has nothing related to restaurant business operations).
The Bear is also the story of two brothers, Carmen and Michael. The latter has committed suicide, the reasons for which are only speculative. He left the failing restaurant to Carmen, who left his job in New York and moved to Chicago for the same. Both shows engage with the complexity of mental illness sensitively. To understand the relationship between the brothers, both the shows take us through family history, mental illness, and shared trauma that have all culminated in shaping the characters’ current states of being. The silent but poignant display of love in the face of adversity between the two brothers in both shows may make you want to grab some tissue paper during their runtime.
