The Bear Season 3: What Song Is Used In The Premiere?

Spoilers for "The Bear" season 3 follow.

"The Bear" season 3 premiere episode is a stunner. Rather than jumping back in and picking up where the story left off in season 2, season 3's premiere, titled "Tomorrow," is essentially a 37-minute montage with very little dialogue. Director Christopher Storer, who also wrote the episode, jumps back and forth in time. We see scenes happening after the events of the season 2 finale, but also go backwards, showing flashbacks to when Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) left Chicago to go work in New York. We see Carmy in various kitchens, working with various other chefs, and interacting with characters we saw last season, including Olivia Colman as Chef Terry and Will Poulter as Luca. 

We also see Carmy receiving word that his brother MIkey (Jon Bernthal) has died by suicide. There are also flashes of moments that will actually pop up later in the season, subtly giving us a glimpse of what's to come. It's altogether brilliant and unconventional. As I watched the episode, I assumed the montage was just a way to kick things off, and then the "real" story would start. But the montage just keeps going, providing us with tons of information about the characters without ever blatantly spelling things out. And all of it is scored to haunting, droning music that sounded very familiar. As the music played over the scenes, I assumed that if this wasn't the work of Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, then it was very much someone trying to sound like them. Sure enough, during the end credits, the music is credited to Reznor and Ross. But this isn't actually new music they created for "The Bear." In fact, it exists on an album you can listen to right now. 

The music in "The Bear" season 3 premiere is actually a track called "Together," off the Nine Inch Nails album "Ghosts V: Together." You can listen to the full track above. The "Ghosts" albums are a series of instrumental releases from Nine Inch Nails; little odds and ends that don't fit anywhere else. If you're a fan of the soundtrack work of Reznor and Ross (see: "The Social Network" and the recent "Challengers"), and craving more, these albums are perfect.

"Ghosts V: Together" was released for free in 2020, during the height of COVID-19. NIN released the album, along with another free "Ghosts" album, "Ghosts VI: Locusts," as a way of giving something back during in the midst of the pandemic. As they wrote on their website: "Hours and hours of music. Free. Some of it kind of happy, some not so much. ... As the news seems to turn ever more grim by the hour, we've found ourselves vacillating wildly between feeling like there may be hope at times to utter despair—often changing minute to minute. Although each of us define ourselves as antisocial-types who prefer being on our own, this situation has really made us appreciate the power and need for CONNECTION."

This actually isn't the first time "The Bear" used music from this particular NIN album, either. The season 2 finale, titled "The Bear," used the track "Hope We Can Again." 

"The Bear" season 3 is now streaming on Hulu.