For four seasons, FX on Hulu’sThe Bearhas left viewers on edge, with its latest batch of episodes leaving us eager to see where season 5 will take the series' titular restaurant and its troubled staff. Created by Christopher Storer, who also serves as co-showrunner alongside Joanna Calo, the series focuses on young chef Carmy Berzatto’s (Jeremy Allen White) efforts to turn his recently passed brother’s sandwich shop into a successful restaurant. Carmy’s mission is even more difficult duringThe Bearseason 4as he grapples with personal troubles and anxieties.
Across its first four seasons,The Bearhas been a critical hit, earning widespread acclaim for its handling of its cast’s personal trials and struggles, as well as its portrayals of the hardships of working in a restaurant. Seasons 1, 2, and 3 earned scores onRotten Tomatoesthat consistently placed the show above 80%, while also earning nominations and winning several awards from various award bodies, including the Golden Globes and Emmys. Despite remaining positively received, however,critical consensus forThe Bearseason 4saw it only earn a 77% score, with critics finding its story and pacing meandering.
The Bear Season 5 Latest News
The Bear Season 4 Revisited The Staff Amidst A New Struggle
The main cast ofThe Bearis contractually committed to season 5(viaVariety). While this does not necessarily mean that a fifth season will happen, it suggests that it wouldn’t take too long for the show to start filming again shouldThe Bearseason 5 move forward.
The Bearseason 4 was released on August 14, 2025, continuing from the cliffhanger ending of season 3 with 10 new episodes that explored the impact of its fallout. Between a risky financial situation, new opportunities elsewhere, and personal demons, the staff of the restaurant were left to grapple with whether they had a future or would wind up following in the footsteps of fellow ill-fated establishments. With these developments, White returned, alongside Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss Bachrach, Abby Elliot, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Lionel Boyce.
The Bearseason 4 also saw the return of several supporting characters, who played a far larger part in the recent episodes. Matty Mateson and Edwin Lee Gibson returned to portray Neil Fak and Ebraheim, while Oliver Platt and Molly Gordon reprised their roles of Cicero and Claire, playing key roles in pushing the cast’s personal stories forward. As such,they were promoted to have greater roles across the season.
The Series' Future Will Rely On The Showrunner’s Decision
At the time of writing,The Bearhas not been renewed for a fifth season. When speaking toVarietyin July 2024, FX boss John Landgraf shined a light on the show’s future as season 4 filmed, revealing just what would have to be considered before any decisions on the future were made. According to the chairman of FX Networks,The Bear’s future would be less reliant on whether the series met the streaming service’s standards,and would instead be placed into the hands of Storer himself.
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.
ForThe Bear, Landgraf stated that while he personally hoped that Storer would at least be willing to produce one more season, the priority would be to ensure that they didn’t compromise on the show’s quality. As such, he stated that the decision to continue the series would be placed into the hands of Storer, should he decide to take the characters any further. However,shouldThe Bearbe renewed soon, it is possible a fifth season could receive a release window of June 2026, as the series has enjoyed consistent yearly releases since it first aired.
The Bear Season 5 Cast Details
Season 4 Seemingly Set Up A Major Cast Exit
After a tense battle to keep the Restaurant open after a mixed-to-negative review in The Chicago Tribune written during the events of season 3,The Bearseason 4 pushed the cast to make some major strides in their personal and professional lives. One such development saw Carmy, who, after repairing his relationship with Claire (Gordon) and his mother, Debra (Jamie Lee Curtis), make moves to leave the restaurant business behind, realizing that his career was harming his life. As such,Carmy named Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) and Natalie (Elliott) as co-owners,leaving White’s future role inThe Bearuncertain.
Jon Bernthal
Michael “Mikey” Berzatto
Edebiri’s presence in a future season feels more certain, however, as despite having the offer to leave behind the stresses of The Bear, Sydney chose to remain even before learning she had been assigned co-owner. Furthermore,she insisted that Carmymake Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) co-owneralongside her, something which, after he and Carmy share one more initially tense but eye-opening conversation about their grief over Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) death, he agreed to. As such, it is likely Edebiri and Bachrach would lead a future season, as Carmy named Sydney “The Bear” and told her he believed she could succeed.
The Bear Season 5 Story Details
The Bear Season 4’s Cliffhanger Set Its Cast Into Uncertain, But Optimistic, Directions
However, as had been seen with previous seasons,The Bearleft viewers on a cliffhanger once more, as despite their personal growth, the two new co-owners of the restaurant still had to contend with whether it could prove itself a sustainable business. Steps were taken to ensure that the Bear could improve its prospects throughout the two-month grace period, such as franchising the sandwich window and focusing on a single menu. Despite this,the season saw Sydney and Richie admit that they were unsure whether the restaurant could continue under their management, as Cicero’s (Platt) countdown hit zero.
As such, shouldThe Bearbe renewed for season 5, it could be the last, given how elements of season 4 felt that they were pushing its characters towards their endgame. A potential fifth season could see The Bear, now under Sydney and Richie’s full leadership, seek to renew itself, not only by proving itself a financial success but by earning a far more positive review. This would allowthe new leading duo to prove Carmy right by showing that they can correct the major mistakethat almost led to their end.
Meanwhile, Carmy’s departure could allow him to rediscover the spark that Mikey saw in him and was keen to preserve, should White choose to reprise his role. While he stated that his decision had been made because he had lost his passion,a key moment in season 3 saw Mikey tell Tina (Colón-Zayas) in a flashback to before his death that he had faith in Carmy’s generation, while praising what his younger sibling had become in his culinary career. As such, by giving Carmy the chance to heal,The Bearseason 5 could easily be the series' cathartic swansong.
