[imagesource: FX]

Watching authentic characters navigate interpersonal challenges and problem-solving at work may not be exactly the kind of show you would want to watch as you decompress from your own job and life.

However, one soon realises that Hulu’s much-talked-about show The Bear has a lot more on its menu than just tension and sweat.

That’s according to a review from Rolling Stone, which admitted to needing a temporary break after getting 10 minutes into the third episode of the show about a busy and bustling Chicago sandwich shop.

Underneath all the too-real chaos, The Bear eventually offers something that feels rewarding – whether that be from the satisfaction of having made it to the final episode, or from really getting into the nitty-gritty of each well-cast character and all their arcs.

It’s the kind of show that’ll have you pumping your fists with joy one minute and giving you a heart attack the next.

Over to Alan Sepinwall:

The scene that inspired my break was actually more mild than many that had preceded it. The show’s main character Carmy (Jeremy Allen White [from Shameless]), a James Beard Award-winning chef who has come home to save the family business after the death by suicide of his brother Michael (played in flashbacks by Jon Bernthal), is barely even in it.

Instead, after spending two episodes clashing with the kitchen staff — and particularly with Michael’s stubborn, obnoxious best friend, “cousin” Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — over trying to run things the way they do in Michelin star restaurants versus Michael’s haphazard “system,” Carmy decides to make a more formal change.

He promotes ambitious new hire Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) to sous-chef, and tells her to institute a French-brigade hierarchy of the kind she and Carmy are used to from their work in fancier restaurants. Sydney promises that after a rough adjustment, this will make everything run much more smoothly.

That’s the synopsis in a simple form, but it’s the intense, uncomfortable, and raw sense of place, as well as the conflict and the characters, that really get under your skin.

Have a look-see at the trailer:

By the time you reach the “emotionally brilliant seventh episode” you’re so invested in Carmy, Sydney, Marcus, and all the others, that even though it feels like you’re witnessing a “two-ton stress bomb” about to go off, you have all these “people to root for and conflicts [you] have grown to care deeply about”.

If that sounds as incredible to you as it does to Sepinwall, then check out The Bear on FX on Hulu.

To stream all seven episodes, you’ll need to subscribe to Hulu with a monthly subscription. In South Africa, you would need to organise a VPN to do that.

Just be sure to pick the VPN correctly as there are plenty of VPNs available in the markets and not all of them work as well as others. The kind of device you use matters a lot in this. For example, we’re currently using the CyberGhost VPN for Samsung because we have a Samsung device. From Android to iOS and Windows, all of them cannot be compatible with one VPN service. I suggest you check yours and purchase a VPN service accordingly.

I’m sure your tech-savvy friends can help you out.

[source:rollingstone]