Yes, Chef, The Bear Season 3 Teaser Promises Even More Stress

"The Bear" season 3 officially has a release date, and a snazzy first look teaser to go with it. The hit FX and Hulu series that's dominated award season since it premiered in 2022 (it's so far won 10 Emmys and counting, plus dozens of other accolades) is back for a third peek into the kitchen of a chaotic Chicago restaurant.

New episodes of the series are set to premiere on Hulu on Thursday, June 27, 2024, close to a year exactly after the show's sophomore season dropped. Despite plenty of fans insisting that the series would be better as a weekly release, the new season is poised to continue its tradition of a single-batch drop, and all 10 episodes will be available that Thursday.

The last season of "The Bear" ended with depressed, highly decorated chef Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), his intrepid sous-chef turned partner Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), hotheaded cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and the rest of the team behind sandwich joint The Beef poised to successfully open their high-end restaurant. While we didn't actually get to see what The Bear's opening looked like, the finale showed that a pre-opening "family and friends night" managed to succeed despite a series of problems including Carmy getting stuck in the walk-in freezer, a line cook disappearing mid-shift, the appearance of Carmy's unstable mother (Jamie Lee Curtis), and a fork shortage.

The second season of the hit series subtly transformed the show from a close-up of a high-octane train wreck to a look at something more introspective and, through its dysfunctional characters' rigorous study, hard work, and attempts at healing their psychic wounds, even competent. Like most FX teasers, the first promo for season 3 doesn't actually include any footage hinting at what's next, but it does feature a stylized look at what's going on inside Carmy's mind.

We see him standing alone in a slick-looking white kitchen in a chef's uniform, unfolding his knife set while a digital clock tells the time behind him. It's the same clock viewers saw in the masterful season 2 episode "Forks," in which Richie learned about the value of time from a kind, highly revered chef played by Olivia Colman.

The clock conveys a sense not just of time literally running out — as it often does in a show ruled by the whims of angry customers — but of mortality and other types of ticking clocks. Life is short, as the show's focus on grief and death has reminded us. Does Carmy have time to do what he needs to do? An official synopsis for the season includes a throughline of time too: "Our chefs have learned that every second counts, but this season we'll find out if they have what it takes to make it to tomorrow."

The camera zooms in on the character's glossy eye before a sudden perspective shift shows him from behind, then pulls back to reveal the restaurant's empty (likely closed) front-of-house, an equally empty street, and eventually, the full Chicago skyline. There's a sense of loneliness and pressure here, which makes sense given that Carmy drove his girlfriend Claire (Molly Gordon) away in the final minutes of season 2. Based on this first look, it seems like last year's season of growth paved the way for even more stress this time around.

"The Bear" will premiere on Hulu on June 27, 2024. Season 4 has also reportedly already been filmed (or may be filming now).