The Bear season 4: everything you need to know before the highly-rated show returns (release date, trailer, cast, and plot)
– Set to be released on June 25 / June 26
– Will air on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally)
– All 10 episodes will drop on the same day
– Trailer released in mid-May
– Key cast members expected to return
– Story synopsis unveiled
– Unclear if a fifth season will be made
The Bear season 4 is almost here. The culinary comedy-drama is due to be released in its entirety on June 25 or 26, depending on where you live, so there’s no better time than the present to get the complete lowdown on it.
Below, I’ve rounded up the biggest news and rumors about The Bear‘s fourth season. That includes its confirmed cast, story specifics, and the restaurant-based series’ future on Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally).
Major spoilers follow for The Bear seasons 1 to 3. Potential spoilers for The Bear season 4 are also discussed, so proceed at your own risk.
The Bear season 4 release date
The Bear season 4’s release date was announced in mid-May – and, as I mentioned in this guide’s intro, it’ll launch on Wednesday, June 25 or Thursday, June 26 depending on which country you’re based in. My The Bear season 4 release schedule article provides more details on when you’ll be able to stream it.
With The Bear‘s fourth season being back on the menu and being shot back-to-back with its forebear, there was no reason to suspect this season wouldn’t air sometime in 2025. And, like seasons 2 and 3, one of the best Hulu shows and best Disney+ shows‘ next entry will comprise 10 episodes, which drop simultaneously on launch day.
The Bear season 4 trailer
The Bear season 4’s first trailer arrived one week after its official launch date was announced. And, while it suggested this could be the hit series’ last installment, it also indicated it’ll be a far more upbeat season than its predecessors were. Yes, chef!
Before that teaser dropped, The Bear season 4’s first footage was revealed last November. However, it was part of a wider Disney+ sizzle reel trailer, so there wasn’t much, if anything, we could glean about its plot.
The Bear season 4 confirmed cast
Full spoilers follow for The Bear season 3.
Based on an FX press release and The Bear season 4’s trailer, here’s who you’ll see in its next chapter:
- Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto
- Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard ‘Richie’ Jerimovich
- Abby Elliott as Natalie ‘Sugar’ Berzatto
- Lionel Boyce as Marcus Brooks
- Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina Marrero
- Matty Matheson as Neil Fak
- Oliver Platt as Uncle Jimmy ‘Cicero’ Kalinowski
- Molly Gordon as Claire
- Ricky Staffieri as Ted Fak
- Edwin Lee Gibson as Ebraheim
- Chris Witaske as Pete
Alongside the above returning cast members, The Bear has famously welcomed A-listers each season in cameo roles. We’d be surprised if season 4 didn’t treat us to more of the same on the returning and new guest star front, then.
Jamie Lee Curtis is the only guest star confirmed so far, with Curtis reprising her role as the Berzatto family’s troubled matriarch – indeed, Donna can be seen in the season 4 teaser. Jon Bernthal, who’s played Carmy and Natalie’s deceased older sibling Michael during flashback sequences/episodes, might appear if season 4 throws things back to the past, too.
There were plenty – and we mean plenty – of actors who had cameo and supporting roles in season 3 as well, including John Cena, Olivia Colman, John Mulaney, and Sarah Paulson. Don’t be surprised if they and many others reserve a table to appear in season 4.
The Bear season 4 story synopsis and speculation
Full spoilers follow for The Bear seasons 2 and 3.
Here’s the official plot synopsis for this installment: “Season 4 of The Bear finds Carmy, Sydney, and Richie pushing forward, determined not only to survive, but also to take The Bear to the next level.
“With new challenges around every corner, the team must adapt, adjust and overcome. This season, the pursuit of excellence isn’t just about getting better – it’s about deciding what’s worth holding on to.”
If that story brief sounds more optimistic than past seasons, it’s intentional. Speaking to Brazilian outlet Omelete.br, co-showrunner and executive producer Joanna Calo teased: “Unlike the others, this one will be more joyful – not as down as the others, you know?”, which implies things will look brighter for Carmy and company moving forward.
Before a rosier picture is painted for the titular restaurant and those involved in the business, though, there’s the small matter of last season’s dangling plot threads to address. We want The Bear season 4 to answer these five big questions from its predecessor, including that cliff-hanger ending.
In the final moments of last season’s finale, Carmy looks wildly at his phone as The Chicago Tribune’s review of The Bear finally went live. Everyone had spent the latter part of last season worrying about said review after the paper secretly dined at the culinary establishment.
However, Carmy’s attentions were drawn elsewhere for much of season 3 episode 10. Indeed, not only did he attend Chef Terry’s retirement party, but he also bumped into David Fields, aka the chef responsible for emotionally and mentally traumatized Carmy years earlier. It isn’t until Carmy, when walking home alone from Terry’s retirement do, sees numerous missed calls and texts from Cicerco and Nick ‘Computer’ Marshall, aka the latter’s numbers-cruncher, that he remembers.
We know this review will decide the very fate of the restaurant, with Cicero telling Carmy if there’s a single bad review, he’ll pull the restaurant’s funding and lead to its permanent shuttering. Unfortunately, while were painstakingly close to an answer, we don’t know what the review said, so season 4’s opening episode will need to address this ASAP.
If The Bear scores well and stays open, Carmy still has other problems to deal with. Adam Shapiro, who is starting his own place after Chef Terry’s restaurant Ever (where he worked) closed, wants Sydney to join his next endeavor as its head chef.
It’s an offer Sydney surely can’t refuse, but she’s yet to tell Carmy about it. Whether she’ll accept the offer is unclear but, given how Carmy has (perhaps unintentionally) treated her over the past two seasons, she might jump ship and work for a firm that could rival The Bear on the Chicago food scene. This season’s first trailer implies Sydney will stick it out with The Bear but, if she doesn’t, it could set up a fascinating culinary conflict between Carmy and his protégé-turned-equal.
There’s plenty of other unresolved trauma, both in the kitchen and outside, for Carmy and company to deal with. Carmy and Richie’s constantly strained relationship, Richie’s ex-wife set to marry Frank (and Richie’s role in their new-look family), Carmy still not apologizing to Claire from what he said in the season 2 finale, Sydney’s panic attacks, Tina’s struggles to find new places to source the restaurant’s expensive ingredients from, and Natalie becoming a new mom (and who’ll take over her position as chief financial officer) are just the tip of the iceberg.
The Bear has also taken time to offer insights into other character’s lives, such as the season 2 episode centered on Marcus and season 3 episode 6, titled ‘Napkins’, that focused on Tina.
Viewers learnt how the latter met Mikey and ended up working at The Original Beef of Chicagoland, as well as about her home and family life outside of the kitchen. So, there’s the potential for this upcoming season to do a similar thing with other characters who haven’t had much light shone upon them.
Where can I watch seasons 1 to 3 of The Bear?
Every episode of The Bear is available on FX via Hulu (US) and Disney+ (internationally) via the latter’s Disney+ Star section.
You’ll need to sign up for a subscription for either service, though, to watch them, so find out how much Hulu costs and/or the price of a Disney+ membership while you’re here.
Will The Bear get a fifth season?
While The Bear seasons 3 and 4 were reportedly filmed back-to-back, there’s no word of whether a fifth installment will be made. But, there’s always conversations around whether more outings are in the pipeline.
For one, Liza Colón-Zayas spoke to RadioTimes.com and expressed her interest in more seasons, saying: “I would love to see the show potentially continue for at least another five years, but only if that’s… there’s that line that Richie had in the beginning, like, ‘It is a delicate ecosystem’. And I think that as long as that is inspired and nurtured then we’ll have the magic that we have. So, that’s more important. Five more seasons, please!”
That said, there’s a sense of finality to The Bear season 4’s trailer that indicates it could bring the story to a close.
Speaking to Variety in mid-2024, FX chief John Landgraf couldn’t provide a definitive answer, either, saying: “We really don’t know [if it’ll end after four seasons]. These decisions are really creative decisions, And so it’s really [co-showrunner] Chris [Storer’s] decision.
“It’s about, how much more story does he have to tell? I mean, obviously, I’m hoping he has more than one more season of story to tell. But, not to the extent that if there was one great season or three mediocre ones, I’d rather have one great one. You just have to follow the creative”. We’ll find out if a fifth season is a possibility once we’ve dined on season 4.
For more Hulu/Disney+ coverage, read our guides on Alien: Earth, Only Murders in the Building season 5, Shogun season 2, and Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
