One of the best FX shows ever just finished its third season. If you’re like us, you probably want even more of The Bear in your life after the drama/comedy wrapped up another 10 episodes of kitchen madness. Following the anxiety, excitement, and family bonds of Carmy Berzatto and his crew as they transform a Chicago sandwich restaurant into a fine dining experience, the series expertly mixes melancholy human elements with dark humor and deft filmmaking techniques like musical composition and montage.
The Bear doesn’t really have many mirrors on television at the moment. Some shows share the series’ high-octane dysfunction, while others possess the same type of camerawork and direction. If you’re missing the Hulu series, we’re here to round up the shows that are most similar to it in one way or another. These are the 10 shows like The Bear.
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The Sopranos (1999)
6 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Stars
James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Created by
David Chase
Watch on max
The Sopranos is the original HBO dysfunctional family drama that all others in the genre live in the shadow of. Tony Soprano juggles mafia violence with the traditional stresses of a wife and kids. Similar to The Bear, The Sopranos makes sure to involve plenty of inside jokes about Italian culture and intergenerational trauma. Tony and Carmy both need an extra dose of mental health help to make it through life, but they never seem to get over the hump and outgrow their pasts. Like Jeremy Allen White, James Gandolfini turns in a marvelous lead performance.
BoJack Horseman (2014)
6 Seasons
Genre
Animation, Comedy, Drama
Stars
Will Arnett, Aaron Paul, Alison Brie
Created by
Raphael Bob-Waksberg
Watch on Netflix
BoJack Horseman is much darker than The Bear, but they both come from the same lineage thematically. This Netflix animated hit follows the depressing post-acting career of the titular protagonist, a talented but troubled performer who wallows in self-pity much the same way Carmy does in The Bear. Both shows find slivers of hope in the madness of brilliant minds, but BoJack Horseman might also entice fans of other animated adult cartoons.
Hell’s Kitchen (2005)
There aren’t many scripted shows featuring high-intensity cooking. For those who watch The Bear mostly for the culinary theatrics and gorgeous plating, Hell’s Kitchen gives a reality television spin on the series. Gordon Ramsey’s most famous program should give fans a good fill of yelling, screaming, and divine cooking simultaneously.
BEEF (2023)
2 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Joseph Lee
Created by
Lee Sung-jin
Watch on Netflix
Steven Yeun and Ali Wong are electric in this Netflix Original series about two misunderstood drivers who let a road rage incident dominant every thought and motive in their lives for weeks after the fact. The show is a thematically rich look at how career aspirations, family turmoil, and mental health problems amalgamate into individual decision-making that manifests into unforgivable results. A second season with a new set of actors should be coming soon.
The Newsroom (2012)
3 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Stars
Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr.
Created by
Aaron Sorkin
Watch on max
Jeff Daniels’ famous monologue in the first season of The Newsroom gets most of the publicity in this series, but the rest of the episodes expertly dissect the inner workings of a political journalism outfit and the people who make up said business. If you enjoy the bickering and tangible occupational intensity of The Bear, The Newsroom delivers a similar experience through a contrarian lens.
Better Call Saul (2015)
6 Seasons
Genre
Crime, Drama
Stars
Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks, Rhea Seehorn
Created by
Peter Gould, Vince Gilligan
Watch on Netflix
Better Call Saul is arguably the most artistic drama of the last decade. With inventive camera shots, devastating musical montages, and brilliantly misunderstood men at the center of the drama, both The Bear and Better Call Saul look to elevate the television medium with high-class filmmaking. These aren’t your typical TV experiences. Each episode feels like it belongs in an art gallery. The plots and themes aren’t all that similar, but the stylistic vigor comes from the same gene pool.
Shameless (2011)
11 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Stars
William H. Macy, Emmy Rossum, Jeremy Allen White
Created by
John Wells, Paul Abbott
Watch on Netflix
Jeremy Allen White got his television start on Shameless, so even if there weren’t any similarities between this show and The Bear, fans of one program are likely to enjoy the other. It just so happens that many of the same screaming matches and cursing competitions take up the episode runtimes of both shows, as the Berzatto and Gallagher families just never seem to come to grips with their own flaws.
Maid (2021)
1 Season
Genre
Drama
Stars
Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson, Anika Noni Rose
Created by
Molly Smith Metzler
Watch on Netflix
Maid is a fantastic miniseries following the heroic efforts of a mother who cleans homes and takes care of her child against the backdrop of interpersonal agony. Margaret Qualley embodies the problems her character overcomes with a realistic tone and acting presence, and her singular efforts are similar to Jeremy Allen White’s in The Bear. Both shows are great at making the audience think about the tole of a career on a person’s well-being.
Sons of Anarchy (2008)
7 Seasons
Genre
Crime, Drama
Stars
Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, Tommy Flanagan
Created by
Kurt Sutter
Watch on Hulu
A lot of Carmy’s inner turmoil in The Bear is caused by his allegiance to his brother’s legacy and how it affects his every emotion and decision in the food industry. Sons of Anarchy grapples with the same themes as the main character, Jax Teller, abides by a book of conduct his father wrote in an attempt to prop up his downtrodden motorcycle club and the small town it resides in. It’s hard to describe, but both series exude that classic FX flair.
Reservation Dogs (2021)
3 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Stars
Devery Jacobs, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Lane Factor
Created by
Taika Waititi, Sterlin Harjo
Watch on Hulu
Reservation Dogs tows the line between comedy and drama in similar ways to The Bear. While both series are roughly 30 minutes episodically, they examine the darkness within the human spirit alongside a touch of hilarity and deft line delivery from the main cast. Reservation Dogs deserves a lot of acclaim for bringing Native American issues to the forefront of American pop culture and television discussions.
