7 Shows Like The Bear to Watch If You Like The Bear

The Bear Season 2 is officially a go, but we have to keep ourselves busy until we get new episodes. The FX-produced Hulu dramedy about the staff at a struggling Chicago restaurant gave us so much in its first season (sandwich inspiration, a great soundtrack, Jeremy Allen White's hair) that it seems difficult to imagine any other show comparing, but if you're looking for something to watch until you're reunited with the Original Beef crew, we're here to help. 

We've rounded up some recommendations for more family-focused dramedies, more series about chaotic workplaces, and more shows about food. Consider this list your very own The Bear-inspired tasting menu.

The Bear Watch on Hulu

Industry

For another breakneck series about up-and-coming professionals trying to make it in a cutthroat world, check out Industry. HBO's simmering finance drama follows a group of young graduates working to solidify their positions at Pierpoint & Co., a distinguished London investment bank. If you like the way The Bear mixes the personal with the professional, you'll be captivated watching Industry explore the ways ambitious people bring their unresolved traumas into the office and let them influence the way they work. You don't even need to understand financial jargon to appreciate its excellent cast, including Myha'la Herrold, Ken Leung, and Harry Lawtey, or to appreciate how the show expertly ratchets up the stakes with every episode. -Allison Picurro 

Shameless

It has come to my attention that there are people out there somehow unaware that Jeremy Allen White got his start on a long-running television show called Shameless, and that just will not stand. On Shameless, White plays Lip Gallagher, the eldest son in a family living on the South Side of Chicago (he can't escape the Windy City!), struggling to get by and doing anything to avoid becoming like their alcoholic, absentee father (William H. Macy). Carmy is like an elevated version of Lip; their undying love for their families, explosive tempers, and impressive intelligence make the characters feel like two sides of the same coin. Does Shameless eventually dip in quality and continue for about four seasons too long? It sure does. But if The Bear is White at his best, we have Shameless to thank for allowing him to spend 11 years fine-tuning his skills.

Ramy

Before creating The Bear, Christopher Storer directed episodes of Ramy, comedian Ramy Youssef's semi-autobiographical dramedy. Youssef stars as Ramy Hassan, a first-generation Egyptian American living with his family in New Jersey. Ramy is in a perpetual war with himself, unable to find the balance between becoming what he believes to be a "good Muslim" and doing the things a lot of American 20-somethings do, like dating and partying. Ramy doesn't reach the frenetic heights of The Bear, but it's full of Storer's indie movie sensibilities while also functioning as an insightful and heartfelt look at faith, family, and how being a dirtbag won't actually get you very far in life.

Sweetbitter

If you're looking for another show set in a restaurant, Sweetbitter is a fish-out-of-water story about Tess (Ella Purnell), a young, inexperienced waitress working at one of New York City's most high-end restaurants. While Sweetbitter has more of a "20-something just trying to figure it out in the big city" vibe than The Bear, it earns its spot on this list with the way it focuses on the dynamics of the staff at the restaurant. One of the best parts of The Bear is watching the members of the Original Beef's kitchen gradually grow into a dysfunctional family unit, and Sweetbitter pays similar attention to developing Tess' relationships with her coworkers in a way that should feel comfortingly familiar.

Succession

Family is work and work is family, or something like that. So much of the success of The Bear's narrative relies on the intermittently revealed details of Carmy's relationship with his brother, Mikey (Jon Bernthal). His loyalty and love for Mikey, and his profound grief over his death, is the reason he takes over as owner of the Original Beef at all. That's not exactly what happens in Succession, HBO's drama about a family of billionaires vying for control of their father's media empire and, more importantly, his approval, but at a base level, these are two shows about what happens when familial expectations clash with raw ambition. The Roy siblings are driven not only by their desire for success, but by the unattainable reward of pleasing their dad, just as Carmy is driven by his desire to find an unattainable connection with his brother. Succession and The Bear, two of modern TV's most anxiety-inducing shows, are in conversation with each other at all times.

 
This Is Going to Hurt

Hospitals are perhaps the only environments more stressful than restaurants. Based on Adam Kay's memoir, This Is Going to Hurt is set in the OB-GYN ward at an underfunded British hospital and stars Ben Whishaw as a fictionalized version of Kay, who is consumed by his work and can't seem to stop bringing it home with him. His personal life suffers because of it, but his dedication to his job is too great to slow down. Like The Bear, This Is Going to Hurt operates at a breakneck pace, and can vacillate rapidly between comedy and drama, putting a spotlight on the everyday tragedies that spring up in the life of a working person.

The Chef Show

The Bear's reverence for food can only be matched by lovingly crafted reality shows about the joy of cooking. The Chef Show is nowhere near as chaotic as The Bear, but if you have an appreciation for the culinary industry, you'll enjoy watching Jon Favreau and Roy Choi's docuseries, which is something of a spin-off of Favreau's 2014 dramedy film Chef. In the series, Favreau and Choi travel around the world to celebrate different cuisines and the people who prepare them. It's a lowkey, chatty show that finds joy in making and sharing meals, and might just teach you something about the life of a chef.