The Bear has been renewed for season 5 — but is the cast planning for it to be the final season?
During an exclusive interview promoting her partnership with STEM, Abby Elliott weighed in on the future of the show, saying, “I don’t want it to end. I love everybody. I love this family, the characters and also the real-life actors. We’re now very close. I could see endless stories.”
Elliott, 38, who plays Natalie, could see The Bear returning for multiple additional seasons.
“The show could go on if that was ahead of us. We all have fallen in love with the characters and want to see what they do and want to see how they continue living and how the restaurant continues,” she continued. “Personally, I think that there are just stories upon stories still to be told.”
What to Know About ‘The Bear’ Season 5 Amid Controversial Carmy, Claire Arc
The Bear, which premiered in 2022, explores the food industry through the lens of a talented chef named Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), who returns to Chicago shortly after his older brother Mikey’s (Jon Bernthal) death to take over their family sandwich shop, The Beef. After closing the local spot, Carmy and the employees reinvent the restaurant into The Bear, which has found success and failure.
While the team builds up The Bear until it starts thriving, season 4 took a surprise turn in the finale when Sydney (Ayo Edebiri), Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and Natalie found out that Carmy was preparing to retire and leave the restaurant to them.
“With Natalie, she really got into the restaurant because [it’s] what she now loves doing. She’s really good at her job there. But I think she got into it because she loves Carmy so much and just wanted to take care of him,” Elliott explained. “At the end of the day, she always wants what’s best for him.”
Elliott hinted how season 5 would pick up after Carmy’s shocking decision, adding, “If Carmy is going to go through with what he says he is, I think she will 100 percent support him. But I think she also genuinely loves the restaurant and wants it to succeed and wants everything to work because she loves the family that she has there.”
In response to Us‘ pitch about a spinoff focused on Natalie and her husband, Pete (Chris Witaske), Elliott showed her support. “Oh, my God, I would love it,” she gushed.
‘The Bear’ Season 4 Ending Explained: Was It a Series Finale?
Elliott isn’t just focused on filming season 5 of the hit FX and Hulu series. Her newest venture featured Elliott in the role of a Pest Insurance agent for STEM’s new campaign, which highlights the STEM
Light Trap and Fan Trap.
“I am a mom, and bugs always come into our house because my kids go in and out a lot into the backyard. So, I’m constantly looking for products that will help control them, and I love this STEM campaign. It’s a parody of the very serious insurance commercials, and I stay calm under pest-induced chaos,” she shared. “I really connected to the character of the calm insurance agent because I have to stay calm in the kitchen in The Bear. That’s a character that I’m used to playing.”
Elliott has used real-life experiences to inspire her performance in the campaign.
“In my own life — having two kids — there’s a lot of chaos happening there. Pests can induce chaos, and it’s just hilarious to see people swatting and batting at bugs. So, this will help you,” she noted. “The STEM Light Trap has really helped me. It’s a plug-in and it attracts the insects to it with the light and then just traps them behind. That is such a great product.”
The Bear is currently streaming on Hulu.
