The Beef Turns Into The Bear In Season 2, And The Cast Explains What It Was Like ‘Literally Ripping’ Everything Apart On Set
From The Beef to The Bear.
Spoilers for Season 2 of The Bear are ahead. You can stream both installments of the FX dramedy with a Hulu subscription.
In Season 1 of FX's The Bear we came to know and love the set of The Beef. Just about every moment of the first season took place in that restaurant, and I know I grew to love it. Well, now in the new season on the 2023 TV schedule, things are looking very different. Carmy’s business is getting a face-lift and a full gut as it turns itself into The Bear, and to film this transformation the cast was “literally ripping” apart the set too.
The cast of The Bear had mixed emotions about tearing down their beloved set of The Beef. On one hand, it was fun for Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who plays Richie, and Lionel Boyce, the actor behind Marcus, to cause some chaos and pack up the set. However, it also had its emotional moments, as Moss-Bachrach explained to CinemaBlend:
I can totally see why this would be emotional for them. This set was the place the cast came together to make its magnificent first season, and I’d imagine filming in such a small space with this group of people really bonded them. However, as it was revealed at the end of The Bear's first season, it was time to grow out of their old digs and into some new ones. To put it simply, Carmy and especially Sydney are bound and determined to make a restaurant worthy of a Michelin Star.
For Lionel Boyce, who plays the lovable baker Marcus, tearing down the set felt kind of like the last day of school. While the comparison threw me for a second, it actually makes a lot of sense once he gave his reasoning. The actor explained:
He’s right, that feeling of only seeing a few folks at school and finding that everything has been put away is really odd, and can feel quite final. In the show we see a lot of Marcus, Richie, Carmy and Fak tearing down the restaurant while the rest of the crew is working outside of their building.
However, also like school, The Beef is moving up, and Boyce explained how literally tearing down the set helped him play out that transition as Marcus, he said:
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Watching those scenes it’s clear how emotional the moment is for them. It’s also obvious how much fun they had tearing down this set to make room for their new one. Like many storylines on The Bear, this renovation is chaotic, fun and heartfelt (in a sense). So now, knowing that the actors literally went through the same experience taking apart their set makes it all the more meaningful to me.
To see the transformation of The Beef into The Bear, you can stream Season 2 of The Bear right now on Hulu.
Riley Utley is the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. She has written for national publications as well as daily and alt-weekly newspapers in Spokane, Washington, Syracuse, New York and Charleston, South Carolina. She graduated with her master’s degree in arts journalism and communications from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University. Since joining the CB team she has covered numerous TV shows and movies -- including her personal favorite shows Ted Lasso and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also has followed and consistently written about everything from Taylor Swift to Fire Country, and she's enjoyed every second of it.