“The Bear ”Cast Reacts to Surprising Way the Final Season Is Set Up (Exclusive)

Kirsten AcunaFri, June 26, 2026 at 1:00 AM UTC

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Ebon Moss-Bachrach in season five of 'The Bear.'Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/FX -

The final season of The Bear takes place over one intense day as the restaurant faces an uncertain future

"I was excited by the prospect and the ambition of shooting the whole season," Ebon Moss-Bachrach tells PEOPLE

"Those episodes are hitters .... You're not getting bored," says another star of the final season

The Bear makes a big change in its final season.Out now, season 5 of the hit FX series, which sees chef Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) transform his late brother's Chicago sandwich shop into a buzzy restaurant, unfolds over the course of a single, stormy day.

The bold story choice, which reunites the staff for what may be their final kitchen service as the restaurant faces an uncertain future, was met with enthusiasm from the cast.

"I think we first started hearing rumblings about it a year before we shot it. I thought it was an inspired idea, a way to really return the focus to the restaurant and to the family—the nucleus—of the Bear," Ebon Moss-Bachrach told PEOPLE, adding that creator Christopher Storer and co-showrunner Joanna Calo had been discussing the concept for a while.

"Personally, those are my favorite days of work, when everyone is together, packed in," added Moss-Bachrach, 49, who plays Richie, the restaurant's sharp-tongued but deeply devoted maître d'. "I like the symphonic kind of chaos of trying to make those scenes. I was excited by the prospect and the ambition of shooting the whole season that was just one service, one prep, one day."

Previous seasons of The Bear have spanned weeks and months, but never across a singular day.

Liza Colón-Zayas, who plays the show's resilient "mama bear" chef, found the final season's fast pacing "amazing and brilliant."

Liza Colón-Zayas was impressed with the structure of the final season's episodes.Credit: FX

"It makes sense because the clock is ticking down," Colón-Zayas, 53, says, referencing the countdown that hit zero at the end of last season that marked the restaurant's looming profitability deadline, and the subsequent uncertainty among the staff about what comes next now that they've run out of money.

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"The urgency with getting through hour by hour, minute by minute is brilliantly portrayed this season," she adds.

Criticisms of The Bear's most recent seasons noted its shift away from the core kitchen staff's dynamic in favor of stylized montages, an increased focus on real-world culinary stars, a stalled will-they-or-won't-they romance, and a plot that some felt lacked momentum. By bringing the show's main characters back together to cook, the frenetic energy of the show's fifth season marks a return to form.

Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and the rest of The Bear's crew are back in the kitchen in season five.Credit: FX

The resulting chaotic, anxiety-ridden episodes keep viewers on the edge of their seats as the team attempts to pull off one final service despite one setback after another.

Matty Matheson agrees. "Bottling season 1 energy is near impossible," Matheson, 44, who plays Neil Fak and also serves as the show's culinary consultant, says, adding that he "was stoked" about the season's direction.

Matty Matheson plays the hilarious Neil Fak on 'The Bear.'Credit: Kurt Iswarienko/FX

"I think Chris [Storer] wanted to have a very, very big idea going in, and I think he definitely landed it," he added. "Those episodes are hitters. It is a continuous thing. You're not getting bored. It's not repetitive…. [It's] an intense show."

Of what he hopes fans take away from the show, Matheson says, "We want it to live on with the people that love it, [who] really connect with this show. We want that to live on forever. Making people happy is an amazing thing."

All episodes of The Bear are now streaming on Hulu. The first two episodes will air on FX at 9 p.m. ET, with subsequent episodes airing weekly on Thursdays at 9 p.m. until the Aug. 6 finale.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”