The Bear parents guide: Will your kids say “Yes, chef!” to this FX comedy?

The Bear Season 3 is now on Hulu, with all 10 episodes dropping last week. The stressful, technically a comedy show has won a slew of awards and blasted its cast into the stratosphere of fame. But will you be saying “Yes, chef!” to your whole family watching it? Or is it not order up for the FX on Hulu series?

Set in Chicago, the show stars Jeremy Allen White as a professional chef named Carmy who is called back to his family’s quick-service beef sandwich shop after the death of his brother. There he meets another young chef named Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) who slowly helps him build the beef shop into a high-end restaurant. And in Season 3, after semi-successfully opening The Bear, the name of the restaurant, they now have to deal with keeping it running – and the prospect of getting reviews.

The show is created by Christopher Storer, and also stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, and more guest stars than you can believe they can fit in an episode of television.

It’s a hit series that came to a boil in Season 1 and looks like it won’t stop cooking any time soon. So is it okay for families? Let’s discuss.

The Bear Parents Guide: Explaining The TV-MA Age Rating

Pretty much the only warning on the show, particularly in Season 3, is for “language.” That’s far from the only reason the show has a TV-MA rating, though.

Sex & Nudity: These people don’t have any time for sex or nudity, there’s cooking to do! Season 2 does introduce a romance between Carmy and a woman named Claire (Molly Gordon), and there’s a lot of kissing and an implied – but not shown – sexual relationship. That’s pretty much it.

Violence: There’s relatively frequent throwing of food and plates, and while this isn’t strictly violence the show has non-stop and pervasive arguments and shouting. This also sometimes transitions into fisticuffs. However – and trigger warning here – Carmy’s brother, played by Jon Bernthal, died by suicide, something that you don’t see but is a constant presence through all three seasons of the show. 

Language: Non-stop. This is definitely where the show earns the TV-MA rating, as everyone is shouting and cursing at each other for nearly every minute of all three seasons.

Drinking & Drugs: Yeah, these are chefs, so there’s a fair amount of drinking going on, in addition to the wine served at the restaurant. There are also frank discussions of drug addiction and recovery.

Overall Verdict: What Age Is The Bear Appropriate For?

So, here’s the thing. What the above doesn’t reflect is that while this “comedy” is sometimes funny, it’s mostly stressful and upsetting. Often extremely well done, but the main takeaway nearly every viewer has from this show, due to the family drama, the heartbreaking sadness, and the relentless pace of the restaurant is that they need to take a break after watching every episode.

If you don’t mind language, there’s not a lot of typical “content” I would warn you away from. And if you have kids interested in joining the restaurant industry there are a slew of name chef guest stars, as well as relatively accurate depictions of working in a kitchen. But just know this is not an easy watch.

To that end, anyone age 13 and up can probably watch this, but you may want to watch with them just to discuss any family drama, and make sure they take breaks and drink lots of water.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 988.