‘The Bear’ Is Officially Closing Its Doors After Fifth Season

Just one day after dropping a surprise prequel episode, FX confirmed long-standing rumors that the upcoming fifth season of The Bear will be its last. All eight new episodes are hitting Hulu on June 25. They’ll also air on FX throughout June, July, and August. 

When The Bear wrapped up its season last year, head chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) quit the restaurant and left it in the hands of his staff. The new season begins in the immediate aftermath. “The fifth and final season of The Bear picks up the morning after Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie and Natalie ‘Sugar’ (Abby Elliott) discover that Carmy has quit the food industry, leaving the restaurant to them,” reads the longline for the new season. “With no money, the threat of a sale and a torrential storm in their way, the new partners must band together with the rest of the team to achieve one last service, hoping they’ll finally earn a Michelin star. Ultimately, they learn that what makes a restaurant ‘perfect’ might not be the food, but the people.”

There was no official indication that The Bear was going to conclude this year until Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Carmi’s mother, Donna Berzatto, let the news slip on Instagram in February. “FINISHED STRONG!” She wrote. “Surrounded by an extraordinary crew and group of writers and producers and scene partners on the show that Chris Storer created, completing the story of this extraordinary family that we have all fallen in love with.”

Weeks later, she spoke to the press about it on the red carpet for the premiere of Prime Video series Scarpetta. “Everybody’s confirmed the show is ending!” she told Access Hollywood. “I don’t understand why that’s such a, unless I’m going to get a call from all the people saying, ‘You just told.’ I think everybody understood that it was the last season of the show. If it isn’t then I’ve completely blown it.” (There was little reason to doubt Curtis, but FX refused to comment on the matter until now.)

The surprise prequel episode that just dropped, entitled “Gary,” centers around Richard “Richie” Jerimovich (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and “Mikey” Berzatto (Jon Bernthal) taking a trip to Gary, Indiana prior to the events of the first season, which takes place in the aftermath of Mikey’s death.

“COUSINS!  PRIMOS!  CUGINI!!! Get ready for GARY!!!! We are so excited to finally share this little adventure with Richie and Mikey,” Moss-Bachrach wrote on social media. “Written by me and [Bernthal].  Directed by the one Christopher Storer.  Making this was a dream come true. Thanks to the beautiful people of Gary, Indiana and as always Chicago, Illinois.”