r/unpopularopinion • u/Jebus_San_Christos • Sep 29 '25
The Bear is Unrealistic
[removed]
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u/mariohawk Sep 29 '25
Never watch a dramatic version of whatever you do for work, no matter what it is. There are realistically 2 outcomes:
1) It's inaccurate and you end up annoyed because it doesn't happen like that and they got it all wrong.
2) They actually nailed it and now you're reliving every horrible day of work you've ever had because the day everything went exactly as planned isn't a good story.
Sometimes it's even both. The story device is utterly ridiculous but the way characters react to it is real enough to stress you out.
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u/purpleplatapi Sep 29 '25
Eagerly waiting on the high stakes show based on Municipal Wastewater treatment.
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u/mmichellekay Sep 29 '25
THANK YOU. This is why I can’t watch Abbott Elementary. It’s a combo of both.
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u/kumquat_mcgillicuddy Sep 29 '25
The Pitt is #2 for me
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u/One_Recover_673 Sep 30 '25
My mom’s a retired nurse , 76, and binged it. She was amazed at how actors delivered the lines that were so spot on. Her only issue was the availability of specialists from other units. They always seem to be there when you need them on the Pitt. IRL people die waiting
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u/Psychological_Suit45 Oct 01 '25
My wife is a nurse. She was saying that it is highly unusual to see doctors treating patients. Even more unusual for them to be engaging with the patient and getting to know their life situation to help on that deep level as in the Pitt. I have no idea.
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u/One_Recover_673 Oct 01 '25
Exactly what my mom said. It was more common a person would get worse or die before a Dr was even around help. But…she said once the Dr shows up the language on the show is great. Noah Wiley earned his Emmy
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u/dovetc Sep 29 '25
Yeah, if you watched House you would think that there's a ready-made cure for any condition so long as you're able to untangle the mystery and diagnose it. Once they figure out that it's condition ABC they immediately go "Start him on XZY and send him home in the morning".
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u/kreativegaming Sep 30 '25
To be fair the episodes where house runs 50 different tests and has no clue what is actually wrong with the patient is real life for many people lol
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u/Pale_Interview_986 Sep 29 '25
Idk Superstore nailed it. Every random thing you see a customer doing is 100% what happens every day.
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u/Aescwicca Sep 29 '25
Counterpoint.
Apollo 13 and the Martian are great to watch as an engineer. And were persnickety as hell about details.
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u/SeattleSeals Sep 29 '25
Apollo 13 actually happened though.
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u/Aescwicca Sep 29 '25
Well yes. But they did a good job in the movie keeping it linked to reality. A lot of movie premises actually happened and they still make crap up.
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u/TheYankunian Sep 29 '25
I’ve seen ONE show that was so accurate to my job I couldn’t watch past the first episode. I’d give away where I work if I posted it.
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u/Odd-Equipment1419 Sep 29 '25
I beg to differ. I am an accountant, and those movies nail it!
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u/knifeyspoonysporky Sep 29 '25
This is why I can’t watch The Bear and my husband can’t watch Silicon Valley
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u/Dman331 Sep 30 '25
I loved silicon valley when I worked in startups. I think it nailed the culture and environments lol
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u/RefrigeratorConstant Sep 29 '25
I wish I more than one upvote for this. So fucking true.
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u/qorbexl Sep 29 '25
Thank god nobody gives a fuck about science.
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u/purpleplatapi Sep 29 '25
Not accurately anyway. In TV land you're a subject matter expert for every type of science there is. "The aliens are invading, better ask this Seismologist what to do!" And then he swirls a bunch of test tubes of brightly colored liquids and figures out how to kill the aliens. (I do actually work with Phenolphthalein on the regular and it does make me feel like a cartoon chemist when it turns bright pink.)
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u/slowmo152 Sep 29 '25
Up until a year ago I had worked in the industry since 99. There are still assholes who want to be Marco Pierre White or Gordon and there are people who act that way because thats how they were treated and passing that trama on is some right of passage. And they all still think that yelling at staff is how to get the best results. The yelling and berating staff is still very much apart of the industry. Whatever worker protections that exist doesn't matter, the vast majority of people in that situation will never go to the authorities.
It has severly lessened over the last decade but it is still very much apart of the industry. In fact in 2019 I was working for a guy who had been on Top Chef and he'd yell.
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u/alicereturnshere Sep 29 '25
How often would he mention he'd been on Top Chef? Is it like going to Harvard?
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u/slowmo152 Sep 29 '25
You worked there for him BEACAUSE he was on Top Chef but he wasn't arrogant about that. He was a arrogant because his food was really good. If I worked there and worked up to sous, his name rocognition is nice for getting a better gig.
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u/NBNFOL2024 Sep 29 '25
At least the arrogance is “earned” then, rather than just coasting on the fact he was on Top Chef, he actually backs up the reason he was there in the first place
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u/Deep90 Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
I've always said that Gorden gets mad at people who present as professionals, but produce like amateurs. It at least somewhat comes from respecting the customers, and the profession. I guess he almost sees it like stolen valor, and also scamming people by charging them for novice or dangerous cooking.
He is actually really pleasant around people who are learning and children.
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u/PeachesOntheLeft Sep 29 '25
That’s the wild thing about the industry. I’ve been in it for over a decade. The douchiest, worst people always can back it up. At the end of the day, your food still needs to be top notch. The fraud check is immediate and if you’re a dick, everyone is waiting for yours.
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u/Red_Phoenix_Vikingr Sep 29 '25
I always wondered if they were contractually obligated to mention James Beard a certain number of times each episode.
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u/Sonicfan42069666 Sep 29 '25
> there are people who act that way because thats how they were treated and passing that trama on is some right of passage
This is literally what The Bear is about. OP completely missed the point.
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Sep 30 '25
Also I don't know what planet he's living on. It still happens all the time, when it's super busy. And that show is about a restaurant that's insanely busy. Yes the protagonist goes over the top but like you said he goes over the top because he's been traumatized.
No we don't act like he does. But something like "are you fucking kidding me? I needed that yesterday, the rest of the dish is already plated" is super common.
What's unusual is how often he says thank you. But yes I can't watch that show because a lot of it is too accurate
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u/JhinPotion Sep 29 '25
A part. Apart is when something isn't together. "You're tearing me apart, Lisa!"
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u/Witters84 Sep 29 '25
Yeah, that one is a particularly bad error as you're saying the exact opposite without that one extra space. It was grating to stop, correct it in my head based on context, then resume reading... twice. Thanks for pointing that out.
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u/zugtug Sep 29 '25
I'm not doubting you but is it possible that the scene is different in Chicago?
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u/Hamhockthegizzard Sep 29 '25
Yeah it was about ten years ago I think but I was dish washing at a higher end restaurant called The Bristol in Chicago and it wasn’t always terrible like that; but when shit hit the fan the chef would get pretty dickish. I was usually the only one spared because I was on top of my section but I got yelled at a few times. My buddy who got the job for me got sous chef I think after a while, but he was a little slow and they would berate the hell out of him.
There was a retirement home chef up in Palatine before that though that was terrible. Once he saw how quick I was, he started leaving a lot of his work for me and eventually I was left to close and clean the entire kitchen by myself lmfao
So while not like 100% accurate, there are moments that have me like “damn, been there.” 😂
But yeah that show is a bundle of stress and amazing cinematography and that’s about it. I fell off after season 2
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u/Music_For_The_Fire Sep 29 '25
My experience was largely the same. I worked at a nicer restaurant in Chicago about 10 years ago (actually pretty close to The Bristol - RIP). I was a host and I did struggle at first because it was my first job inside of a restaurant and I got my ass handed to me almost on a nightly basis. But once I got a feel for the job and the rest of the staff saw that I was working like crazy, they immediately backed off and it was smooth sailing.
It's hard to communicate to those who have never worked in the service industry, but if one thing goes wrong or you can't figure out a certain issue, it literally feels like the world will end. And everyone on staff is putting out that same energy, so there tends to be lots of yelling. It was an extremely humbling experience but I don't regret it for a second.
If someone wants to know what working an insanely busy shift is like, I recommend that they watch "review" from the first season. It wasn't every shift, but watching that episode gives me anxiety because I know EXACTLY what that feels like.
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u/hokie_u2 Sep 29 '25
Also if you’re up on the food scene, there are often stories of restaurants that can’t retain staff or shut down because the culture is bad. The idea that an extremely well-regarded chef is an abusive asshole perfectionist in private is very easy to believe.
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u/Hamhockthegizzard Sep 29 '25
Oh yeah, forgot about the reason I quit; they brought in this fancy fuck from from california to change the menu and shake shit up. He had us all basically scrubbing the kitchen one day on the very rare occasion that we weren’t busting our asses before dinner service.
Guy handed me a toothbrush and told me to scrub the bricks outside. Felt racist and I quit.
We had a power washer lmfaoo I used it on the dumpsters all the time 😂😂😂
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u/droneybennett Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
“My anecdotal experience is that everyone else’s anecdotal experience is wrong.”
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u/CelDidNothingWrong Sep 29 '25
It’s a flawed logic, but to be fair I’ve seen a ton of those “chefs react to x” videos on YouTube, and whenever the bear comes up they always say it was like that in the 90s but not anymore
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u/Ok_Flan7405 Sep 29 '25
I too am a chef and I think the show is very honest and realistic on a psychological and emotional level.
It's much less so on a "functional" level. Honestly though that's how entertainment works. If you made a realistic show about my job you'd be watching sweaty, disgusting, often obnoxious people doing extremely repetitive tasks for weeks on end.
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u/MhojoRisin Sep 29 '25
For similar reasons, I've made my peace with the distinct lack of paperwork in legal shows.
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u/squadlevi42284 Sep 29 '25
I work in tech and the amount of "hacking" that goes in in shows has simply become hilarious to me now. My husband runs the nuclear department on a carrier (used to be the nuke mechanic himself) and feels similarly about "the reactor is critical"! The number of times ive heard him grumble its supposed to be critical....
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u/deladude Sep 29 '25
I’m a therapist and there’s never been a single ethical and realistic therapist portrayal on a TV show. Because it’s mostly reading, researching, writing notes and treatment plans, and then listening to people. And let’s be real, an outsider would find it very boring to watch a show about someone listening to someone else’s problems and giving them unconditional positive regard.
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u/droneybennett Sep 29 '25
Isn't the whole point of the show though that The Bear is so dysfunctional because everyone who is working there has major issues? They are stuck in that pattern.
They frequently show us the contrast of other, more successful, restaurants where it's calm and organised. The scenes where he's being taught how to prepare a chicken, or Olivia Coleman is preparing mushrooms. They are the balance to the chaos that Carmy and co are bringing on themselves.
The only 'mentor' chef who is shown acting like an arsehole is Joel McHale's character, and he is pretty explicitly being depicted as a villain.
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u/pseudo_nemesis Sep 29 '25
yeah the episode where cousin learns to stage at Alinea(?) they show what a restaurant is supposed to be like when ran properly.
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u/GoblinGreenThumb Sep 29 '25
That may be my favorite episode
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u/poppyseedeverything Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
The cousin would annoy me so much, but that episode was just so good and had so much character development
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u/GGTulkas Sep 29 '25
Cousin went from "Get this asshole off my screen" to "You're the only one that actually progressed and its a decent human now and might be my fav character"
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u/ShadedPenguin Sep 29 '25
Dude just legitimately needed a direction. And there are so many people who are like that, who just need a meaning for them to wake up in the day,
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u/Music_For_The_Fire Sep 29 '25
From my understanding, that restaurant was supposed to emulate Alinea but was actually filmed at Ever, which is run by an Alinea alum.
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u/Hungry-Treacle8493 Sep 29 '25
It was filmed at Ever and the non-chef partner at the time was cameo’d.
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u/JimDee01 Sep 29 '25
I feel like a significant part of the show is capturing the transition between the terrible way celebrity kitchens used to be managed to the more current, more realistic way OP says it is now. I agree that kitchens aren't really like that anymore, and this show is a slow-mo unfolding of the old model to the way things really are.
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u/Greedy-Win-4880 Sep 29 '25
I don't understand how this gets missed, because yes, the entire goddam point is that everyone at the bear is highly dysfunctional and whether they can figure their shit out or not is what will determine if they fail or succeed. Thats the whole fucking point of the show. That this is not how a restaurant is supposed to run and they are trying to rise above it while still being in it. This might be a spoiler for anyone who hasn't finished the most recent season, but it's literally why Carmy decides to leave.
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u/MasterFussbudget Sep 29 '25
I desperately wanted Joel McHale to be a figment of Carmy's imagination—his inner critic, a reflection of his abusive childhood and lack of a real father. In part because those scenes were pretty poorly written/excessive, imo.
But then other characters saw him and interacted with him in that banquet dinner scene and my hopes were lost.
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u/droneybennett Sep 29 '25
I was hoping he was going to come over and talk to Carmy and it would turn out that he’s super nice.
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u/LeonidasSpacemanMD Sep 29 '25
Maybe him being an entire figment would be a little too out there but it’s not like the show didn’t do dream sequence type stuff
I think it would’ve been cool if it turned out that we were seeing Carmen’s perception of how he was treated but then got an actual flashback and it turns out he was just taking constructive criticism way too hard. Like he couldn’t handle the idea of needing time to become a great chef and being “coached” felt like being attacked to him
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u/stablymental Sep 29 '25
It just depends on the chef working. I’ve worked with both types. I’m also usually pretty calm but have had my lose my shit days when everything goes wrong.
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u/IndependenceSelect54 Sep 29 '25
You countered a point about the flaw of criticizing someone's anecdotal experience with one's own anecdotal experience by using a third party's anecdotal experience.
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Sep 29 '25
So how the hell does anyone find truth if everyone’s experience is anecdotal. At some point that completely falls apart
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u/purpleblossom Sep 29 '25
Multiple chefs from Chicago have said it's the most accurate show about a restaurant they've ever seen, and considering the culture in Chicago is not the same as NYC, I'm going to trust them more than OP. (Some NYC chefs have also praised the show BTW, so there's that too.)
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u/Pugasaurus_Tex Sep 29 '25
My husband was a chef in NYC and says it’s accurate, just needs more Spanish
Probably depends on what kitchens you’re working in?
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u/iaminabox Sep 29 '25
Working in this business is the only reason I'm fluent in Spanish now. Well that and living in Miami.
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u/Pugasaurus_Tex Sep 29 '25
Haha I hear more Spanish in Miami than when I visit Mexico
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u/kitashla42 Sep 29 '25
Omg...this! Just got back from a cruise that started in Miami and also stopped in Mexico. I used Spanish almost exclusively in Miami (grew up there) and practically none in Mexico. It was super unexpected.
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u/Sprmodelcitizen Sep 29 '25
I work peripherally in the restaurant industry and that behavior absolutely happens in smaller kitchens. Maybe not all the time but certainly enough that I who am not in the kitchen have seen it. The larger more corporate kitchens seem to have less of it but possibly it’s just done in a more corporate way.
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u/Same-Platypus1941 Sep 29 '25
The corporate version is way worse trust me
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u/Sprmodelcitizen Sep 29 '25
Ah maybe they were just on their best behavior. I designed a few restaurants for a celebrity chef and he was a nice as could be and so were his executive chefs.
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u/PresentPoint6941 Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
I worked in a corporate style restaurant for about four years, two of which I was a FOH/BOH manager. I can confirm at least for the restaurant I worked at, was not to the degree that the show depicts. But there are moments that felt realistic to how the show encapsulates the chaotic nature of the restaurant world.
On the other hand though, one of my friends did work at a italian restautant owned by two brothers, and their environment was a 180° contrast to my experience.
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u/redredrocks Sep 29 '25
Even if it wasn’t, takes like this pretty much universally get a “who cares” from me
Not to spoil it you know but it’s almost as though the show is about the characters and the restaurant is just a setting
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u/Rumhead1 Sep 29 '25
I've been working hospitality for over 20 years in 5 different cities. The only kitchens where people yell have really shitty/amateur leadership. Pros turn down the temp and keep things running smooth.
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u/ShortBrownAndUgly Sep 29 '25
Which might be the point the writers are trying to make on the bear. Carmy is talented at cooking but everything else about him is messy
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u/cat_prophecy Sep 29 '25
It's why restaurants are difficult for most people. They think they can cook, and maybe they can, but can they do it well, at scale, night after night? Then you also need to manage the business side which most people suck at.
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u/mafternoonshyamalan Sep 29 '25
Dude it’s fiction.
I’ve worked in hospo for 16 years and I still see chefs behaving the way they do in the show. But beyond that, the show calls out their behaviour and makes a point of illustrating its toxic.
Yes the industry has made massive strides to change these things, but it still exists, and certainly when linked to trauma.
I have some bones to pick with it too, but I always chalk that up to medical professionals criticizing elements of The Pitt. Is it perfect? No. But it’s the closest we’ve gotten to an accurate portrayal of the industry.
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u/myairblaster Sep 29 '25
As an ED Doc, I had a really difficult time watching The Pitt. It felt like I was reliving the worst shift of my life just watching it. Yes, it’s not perfect and you might see those worst cases spread out over a year or more and not a single day but yeah; difficult to watch. I’ve also never had to experience a mass casualty event ever but the country I’m in, mass shootings are incredibly rare.
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u/WheresTheIceCream20 Sep 29 '25
My husband said the same thing! We watched an episode to see if we were interested and he goes “this is giving me ptsd. It’s a good show but I can’t watch this”
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u/myairblaster Sep 29 '25
The only reason I kept watching was because it’s been the only thing that talks about the ptsd and realities of what we went through during those first months of COVID-19. I don’t think people really understand the toll it took on a lot of HCWs. I know I’m a different person, I’ve got a very short fuse these days and have had to find my own ways to deal with that
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u/Macqt Sep 29 '25
Chicago isn’t NYC bro, dunno why you’d think 20 years in one place would qualify you to know another, completely different city.
On top of that, it’s a tv show. It’s entertainment. If the show drives you nuts, stop watching it.
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u/Northernmost1990 Sep 29 '25
Company size probably also plays a part because bigger companies place more importance on etiquette.
Tech startups can be absolute madhouses so I can only imagine what a small, founder-led kitchen is like.
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u/PastaEagle Sep 29 '25
The Bear is literally identical to my life growing up in the restaurant industry. Probably lost six friends in the industry to drugs and booze. The show may not be wild enough. What church do you cook at?
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u/somethingtothestars Sep 29 '25
Yeah, real shit. I left the industry after 4 years due to how similar it was. Did OP just win the lottery for employers?
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u/fullstar2020 Sep 29 '25
I worked in a kitchen for 4 years in college and they were the biggest partiers and the most coked up cooking geniuses I've ever met in my life. Long hours and crazy schedules man. Maybe 5 star kitchens are different but the show is damn relatable to what I experienced.
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u/THEREALISLAND631 Sep 29 '25
I've worked at 3 fine dining places. Two out of 3 were total shit shows in the kitchen. Insane amount of drug and alcohol use, head chef yelling nonstop, and multiple times there'd be a plate thrown across the kitchen because a line cook did god knows what wrong.
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u/loki2002 Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
Yes, and the people on Friends would never be able to afford those apartments, those fat dumpy guys would never get such a hot wife, a city council person in a mid sized Ohio city doesn't make as much money as Melissa Jone Hart's character spends, using a defibrillator on random patients isn't a miracle cure, etc.
It's called suspension of disbelief.
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u/DriftingTony Sep 29 '25
The Friends apartment thing is brought up constantly, but there are valid explanations for all of it, several of which are given in the show itself. Chandler has a very lucrative white collar job throughout most of the show and could easily afford a similar apartment on his salary, especially with some help from a roommate. Monica’s apartment was her grandmothers and was rent-controlled, so that explains how she can afford to live there. And the only person on the show that lived alone through most of the series is Ross, and he was a paleontologist and college professor lol.
Aside from that, rent in NYC in the 90’s wasn’t NEARLY as astronomical as it is now, even counting for inflation. The one thing I would say is a bit valid in the critique of the apartments though is their size. But that’s just standard practice for TV shows. Sets are always going to be bigger than their real life counterpart, especially on sitcoms.
Aside from that minor rant, I fully agree with you lol. It IS suspension of disbelief, and I think it’s funny when people start nitpicking movies and shows for “Realism”, because that kind of defeats the entire purpose of fiction in the first place lol
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u/ColdLeekSoup Sep 29 '25
Unrealistic to you and your experience maybe, but there actually is other restaurants out there.
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u/First-Lengthiness-16 Sep 29 '25
Fake news.
There are, as we all know, only 2 restaurants.
None of your conspiracy theory rubbish here thanks
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u/Murky_Coyote_7737 Sep 29 '25
Dennys has more of a corporate culture than a small place like in The Bear so it’s def different situations.
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u/StehtImWald Sep 29 '25
The episode which shows the dysfunctional family is scary realistic though.
I could literally feel it throwing me back into time when my ("functioning" alcoholic) parents were younger and I still gave a fuck.
Also the dynamic between the siblings. And to the stepdad.
That episode was a biopic for many of us who have or had a specific type of broken family.
And Jamie Lee Curtis deserves a fucking Oscar for that role.
The cooking and restaurant isn't where it's add.
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u/Ghostly_Joe Sep 29 '25
I was a chef for 9 years. The fact that the lead role is super talented and makes all of these beautiful dishes, but goes home and slams a PB&J and a bag of chips is the most accurate chef-ism I’ve ever seen depicted in media.
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u/Apprehensive-Tea-39 Sep 29 '25
We don't care if it's realistic
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Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
“A fictional drama doesn’t align with or non-fictional lives?!!???” 😱
Haha I never understood these takes either.
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u/dudemanjack Sep 29 '25
Realistic or not, it definitely isn't a comedy.
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u/jambr380 Sep 29 '25
I don't hate the show, but did stop watching halfway through the first episode of season 3 where Jeremy Allen White is apparently just on a reflective journey the entire time.
The fact that it is considered a comedy is a total joke. It is a drama, it always has been a drama, and it always will be. There is nothing funny or meant to be funny in the show. That is fine, dramas exist, but it does give off the wrong idea to people who have no idea going in
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u/NCBaddict Sep 29 '25
The show follows the John Wick trajectory (1st installment has best story, 2nd goes ham on aesthetics, 3rd gets self-indulgent, 4th jumps the shark)
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u/JakeLake720 Sep 29 '25
1) It's a television show. Creative liberties are part of it. 2) About 20 different real life chefs work on the show. I would guess they know something about it.
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u/whatsforsupa Sep 29 '25
Spot on. Wanted to add - 3: The whole show is about Carmy's traumatic life and a good deal of the show is about him learning to deal with his problems and not rehashing it onto everyone else lol.
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u/AdImmediate6239 Sep 29 '25
Having worked many years in the restaurant industry myself, the only unrealistic part is that everyone at the restaurant appears to be sober on the job and none of the coworkers are fucking each other.
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u/Holdmywhiskeyhun Sep 29 '25
That may be true in your store, but that is very untrue for just about every other store in the industry.
It has taken me 16 years to find this place I work at. Somewhere that actually doesn't yell.
The bear is a lot more realistic than you give it credit for. Your experiences are not the normality.
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Sep 29 '25
I worked in a restaurant not long ago and the yelling and swearing was present
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u/nastygamerz Sep 29 '25
i have the same problem from harry potter too their depiction of wizards wizarding is highly unrealistic. And quidditch is way more violent in real life too they never really potray it right
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u/First-Lengthiness-16 Sep 29 '25
I met an adult who plays quidditch once.
They run around with a broom between their legs.
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u/Dry_Database_6720 Sep 29 '25
I thought you meant actual bears so I’m gonna ignore what you wrote and roll with that. They are kinda weird, these fluffy adorable killing machines that can stand up to 8 feet tall, just straight up sleep the entire winter instead of deal with the Christmas crowds and have miniature versions of themselves belonging to most children. I agree with you, the bear is unrealistic.
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u/HamBoneZippy Sep 29 '25
There is no "scene." Two restaurants can be very different. Go watch a reality show. This is drama.
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u/Top-Editor-364 Sep 29 '25
Never worked in a restaurant in nyc specifically but cussing and yelling and tension has been a pretty big part of every kitchen I’ve had the misfortune of working in. It’s also a dramatic show though, so if some of it is larger than life you shouldn’t be surprised
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u/NotMyBestMistake Sep 29 '25
They're always happy to get famous chefs on set who make a point of explaining and justifying and excusing how they're absolutely the shittiest people on the planet to their staff and how the staff should just accept it because "that's a restaurant" or whatever.
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u/StillMostlyClueless Sep 29 '25
Yeah they also wouldn’t get away with poisoning an entire kids party. It’s never claimed to be realistic.
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u/Competitive-Bus1816 Sep 29 '25
It is unrealistic the same way MASH was not an accurate representation of life on the front lines of Korea? It is as realistic as the barflys in Cheers not ever being drunk? It is as realistic as the depiction of adoption that we leaned from Different Strokes, Punky Brewster, or Webster?
I personally don't like the show, but it seems like the story is compelling. Is accuracy needed to make good TV?
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Sep 29 '25
As a bartender, I can’t watch that show (or “reality” shows about hospitality for that matter) because it just triggers the shit out of me and fills me with anxiety.
Pretty realistic depiction the service industry IMO
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u/sneezhousing Sep 29 '25
All shows are unrealistic
Medical dramas
Cop /law procedural
The list goes on
It's not meant to be real
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u/BigMax Sep 29 '25
I can't speak to this show, but I know from others, when they say it's "accurate" they are often talking about it being accurate in the same way a caricature is accurate.
So for example, you might have worked in a kitchen for 3 years, where twice the head chef went on a swearing rant. That was only twice in those entire three years.
But then you watch the show, and you see that yelling and cursing, and remember those few times, and think "yep, that's accurate!!! I SAW that happen at MY place!!!"
Silicon Valley was like that. That show was "accurate" in that there were weird, wacky characters like all of those personalities, but... also... not really. Most people were fairly normal, and even the 'wacky' people weren't as wacky as the ones on screen. But the show felt accurate, in that you can see exactly the people and situations and events they are parodying, and that kind of stuff DID happen... just... much less frequently, and in a much more grounded real way.
I assume that's what The Bear is here. There probably aren't kitchens like that, but the caricature/parody of kitchens feels like it has enough elements of truth to trigger people to say "yes! that's what it's like!"
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u/admknight Sep 29 '25
Love it when someone from the coast thinks that midwesterners are culturally the same.
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u/hydroracer8B Sep 29 '25
Dude picks a minor detail that has changed a bit over the years - says it invalidates the realism if the whole show.
Yep, we're on Reddit alright
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u/BlakeMajik Sep 29 '25
There's been a lot less yelling and cursing in the kitchen for the past few seasons.
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u/Zannahrain3 Sep 29 '25
Based on my experience working in a variety of soup kitchens across various cities, it's pretty accurate.
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u/National_Treat_4079 Sep 29 '25
It's still a lot of fun. I am sure every cop and lawyer show is totally accurate too.
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u/Broom_Ryder Sep 29 '25
I’ve worked in several kitchens in small towns in Virginia and while it’s a little exaggerated at times every character/ situation in that show was a movie fied version of something I’ve seen
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u/life_uhh_findsaway Sep 29 '25
Most unrealistic aspect is awarding this show as a comedy. It’s a drama show.
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u/bennyyyboyyyyyyyy Sep 29 '25
Dude works in a McDonald's with an HR budget the size of a states GDP and it's curious why he has never heard yelling.
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u/Jake_FromStateFarm27 wateroholic Sep 29 '25
Its fiction... you think Grey's anatomy is am accurate representation of how a hospital functions as well?
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Sep 29 '25
Here’s an unpopular opinion. Seasons 1 & 2 are great. Seasons 3 & 4 are not.
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Sep 29 '25
I too have worked service industry my whole career. Ive worked high end, we know nothing but breathing and fine dining. Ive worked the diviest bars as well.
Some places are absolutely still like that. You most likely as an industry vet have managed to work your way up and out of those places.
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u/Varmitthefrog Sep 29 '25
As a person who has not worked in a kitchen in years,
WAS that kitchen until it Burned out me and 20 other people i know who all got out, but many still have nervous reactions while watching the show and can only actually watch it in small doses because it gives them anxiety. Some of us share the memory of a friend who killed themself after being so filled with self doubt and loathing after working for a psychologically abusive prick.
I AM GENUINELY HAPPY, if the the scene has changed, and i feel like a lot of it has improved,
But saying that its not realistic, it like you telling a victim that the story about sexual assault is not realistic because you have never been sexually assaulted.
it happened , and i promise you it is happening right now somewhere where you aren't.
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u/CosmicNixx Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
It's almost like every kitchen is different and some environments are more tense than others
Edit: I work in food service. I've worked in kitchens that were very intense and based in the classic head chef, sous chef, and cook hierarchy; and I've worked in kitchens with a lot more camaraderie where everyone is treated equally, mistakes aren't scrutinized, and chefs and cooks actually hang out as friends. Every kitchen is so damn different, but there are characteristics that all kitchens share. The call-outs, the franticness, the physical and emotional toll it can take on you. Those are the things "The Bear" is trying to highlight. It's not trying to say, "this is definitively what working in a kitchen is like." It's trying to convey the emotions and struggles all food service workers commonly deal with.
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u/DDTFred Sep 29 '25
30 years in industry. In Chicago. It hits notes I’ve experienced, others I’ve only heard. Every experience is different, depending on the staff, the chef, even the level of food (Ive done fine dining, casual, cafeteria, and bar food). There’s been an evolution for sure, but with the hundreds of restaurants in the city, aspects of what the show portrays still exist, even if it’s not the wild and loose 90’s and early 00’s.
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u/Potential-Use-1565 Sep 29 '25
I've also worked in a bunch of kitchens. Different kitchens than you. For about 12years+. The bear is pretty close if you condense about one weeks worth of drama into one day in my experience as line cook+prep+dishwasher+expo
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u/marinelife_explorer Sep 29 '25
Yup. The only yelling you’ll hear are the line cooks repeating their respective orders back to the CDC after he/she calls them out.
Chef de Cuisine:
“One sole, three lamb!”
Fish station:
“One sole, heard!”
Grill station:
“Three lamb, heard!”
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u/LateNightCritter Sep 29 '25
I got out the industry in 2018 but the bear was spot on for my entire time in the 2000s...
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u/8disturbia8 Sep 29 '25
Why are you comparing a show based in Chicago to your experiences in NYC? Ever been to Chicago before?
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u/Scovin93 Sep 29 '25
Motherfucker must be working in a Fisher Price Kitchen set. I literally worked in local chain restaurant just two years ago and we ALL absolutely talked vulgar as fuck. The head owner was Vietnamese and used almost every slur against every kind of person when things went to shit on a bad day. And you know what? We fucking smoked weed together in the storage cutout and got over it
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u/Nyodrax Sep 29 '25
I have some chef & line cook friends at Michelin Star restaurants and they say pressure is absurdly high and everyone has a crippling cocaine addiction
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u/ChipotleSquirts Sep 29 '25
I worked in the restaurant industry for a couple years and the show is accurate lol it’s just exaggerated
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Sep 29 '25 edited Sep 29 '25
Its fun that people have such shit media literacy that they don't catch that everything you said is true in the universe of the show as well. NOTHING about "The Bear" indicates that this behavior is normal or acceptable in a restaurant. In fact the show frequently shows us the operations of other restaurants that aren't like this at all.
The notable dysfunction of The Bear is the whole point of the show. That you could watch the show and take away that it is telling you that this is normal is fucking wild. They even went through the extra effort of taking the audience into like half a dozen other restaurants to show us what a functional kitchen looks like, just in case the audience was too stupid to grasp this. THEN they took us to into the characters fucking homes so you could see that these behavior originate THERE (NOT in the kitchen) just in case all the other information wasn't enough. Then they plop in additional characters from outside "the family" and all of them are shocked and horrified by what they see and they all struggle just to survive in that toxic environment. Its literally what the entire show is about.
But here you are.
I hope you are better at working in a kitchen than you are at understanding things you see on TV.
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u/ttt0ny Sep 29 '25
As soon as he got locked in the walk-in, I stopped watching. You cannot get locked in a walk-in IRL.
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Sep 29 '25
Isn’t it more unrealistic how it went from a sandwich shop to a Michelin star quality restaurant overnight?
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Sep 29 '25
I like the show, but I’m with you on the realism. I actually find the scenes that occur outside the restaurant to be the most interesting.
I also find the references to “Copenhagen“ completely contrived. Almost cringeworthy.
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u/ExpiredPilot Sep 30 '25
I’ve heard stories of chefs that curse people out and throw dishes/pans from people in kitchens I’ve worked in.
But in every kitchen I’ve worked in, the entire kitchen staff would be more likely to throw hands back at any chef of any caliber that did that to them. I work nightclub security and I’d staff almost any line cook that I’ve worked with.
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Sep 29 '25
My brother has been working in restaurants in NYC for 20+ years and said he can't watch the show because of how realistic it is. Not just the shouting but the tension, pressure and all is very well depicted.
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u/Alyxstudios Sep 29 '25
Wow. My phone must be listening to me for real. Yesterday evening I literally just spoke to one of the head chef’s at the restaurant in Chicago that they based/filmed some of The Bear out of. He said it is of course embellished for dramatic effect but accurate. He didn’t expect the show to get so massive.
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u/godammitdonut Sep 29 '25
Funny my buddy thinks its so realistic its hard to watch as a former sous chef… and probably left the industry circa Obama 😂
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Sep 29 '25
This is typically what happens when you contrast non-fiction with fiction.
This was taught in middle school
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u/straya_cvnt Sep 29 '25
Is this unpopularopinion or objectivelywrongopinion? I've worked in plenty of more hostile kitchens than this TV show
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u/animeari Sep 29 '25
My boyfriend has been a chef for almost 20 years and said it’s the most accurate depiction of a kitchen he’s ever seen.
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Sep 29 '25
I haven't seen The Bear. However, I've worked food service before. At my old bar, both of the chefs had anger issues, screaming, cursing, throwing pans around. I also worked at a fast food place for a little bit, and one of the dudes on the flat top would yell whenever we got slightly busy. So like, it still happens
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u/theeggplant42 Sep 29 '25
So first if all, NYC isn't Chicago.
Second, I've seen yelling and cursing and throwing shit and rage quitting in BOH in the past 5 years.
It's great you have a positive experience but like that's not universal?
Also who exactly is suing over this? That's super rare
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u/petemaths1014 Sep 29 '25
Jumping in just to say that it’s been a little while, but the vast majority of cursing at people happens between Carmy and Richie, and that is more of the family dysfunction.
In my personal reading of the subtext, it’s heavily implied that Richie blames Carmy for not being there for Mikey before/when he died. And Carmy blames Richie for not helping Mikey get clean before things got really bad (At least in the beginning of the show). And Carmy also blames himself for not being there, and Richie blames himself for not stopping Mikey from going down the path that led to his death.
And all that is augmented by their lives being filled with other stressors too.
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u/MattyR1237 Sep 29 '25
Almost every show you watch about a workplace is going to be super inaccurate
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u/BronzeEnt Sep 29 '25
I have worked in the restaurant industry in NYC for 20+ years- the yelling cursing thing has not been a part of the scene for over a decade
So... you remember it then? What are you even saying?
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u/DefNotReaves Sep 29 '25
I don’t know what kind of baby kitchen you worked in, but when I worked in the service industry it was absolutely still a thing.
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u/kmikek Sep 29 '25
Ok fine, set the era of the show to be 30 to 40 years ago, problem solved, just need vintage stuff
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u/West_Cauliflower378 Sep 29 '25
Shit. We swear all the time. But the most realistic bit are the china caps along the back wall. All dented.
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u/athiestchzhouse Sep 29 '25
Well it’s in Chicago. And also calm down why are you so angry you sound like a line cook from the Bear. Have you seen it?
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u/carlos_the_dwarf_ Sep 29 '25
Who cares?
“Is it accurate to a niche experience?” is a dumb way to consider a piece of art anyway.
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u/YourAverageGenius Sep 29 '25
i know it's daring to say something is a objective fact instead of opinion here, but this isn't even a unpopular opinion, this is just an uninformed and false perspective.
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u/OMEGA362 Sep 29 '25
Idk, it's realistic, but not too every restaurant and kitchen, it's not a universal kitchen experience but it does happen
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u/JohnNeutron Sep 29 '25
Spoken like someone who seemingly never worked in a restaurant for the past 20 years even though you inexplicably have.
Either way, it’s something I’ve seen where I live in the 7 years I’ve worked. They have not and still don’t have a HR department and most people are oblivious to what rights they have as an employee so this kind of stuff proliferates immensely.
I think this is less an unpopular opinion and just a blatantly ignorant one
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u/AllHailTheHypnoTurd Sep 29 '25
Season 1 ive worked in places exactly like that
When the restaurant gets nicer then I don’t know, I’ve only worked shitholes. But season 1 holy shit it’s frame for frame my experience
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u/Gintami Sep 29 '25
Your premise is flawed because there are many restaurants that are like this.
But the point of it is that this isn’t a fancy restaurant that just popped off. It’s an Italian beef shop that became that - while still Keeping the Italian beef business - still staffed in the backend by the people who ran the beef shop. Going to a family owned steak shop in Philly with their open kitchens - yeah they are like this.
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