It wouldn’t be a new season of The Bear without Taylor Swift being incorporated into the narrative.
During season 4, which was released on Wednesday, June 25, Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) got another Swift-inspired moment while speaking with his ex-wife’s new husband, Frank (Josh Hartnett). Richie and Frank’s attempts to get Richie and Tiffany’s daughter out from under the table at the wedding played out as Swift’s “Style” set the mood faintly in the background of the scene.
The needle drop should come as no surprise to fans of the show. Richie specifically has a strong connection to Swift, 35, after a scene in season 2 showed him rocking out to “Love Story” in the car.
After season 2 of The Bear started streaming in June 2023, executive producer Josh Senior discussed how the show was able to secure “Love Story.”
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“No, [it wasn’t hard]. A lot of people ask that question, and I wonder why they’re asking. Her team was like, ‘Great. This is cool. How much money do you have? You have that much money? Let’s go,’” Senior recalled to Billboard in July 2023. “She was exceedingly generous and cool with one of our actors singing along to the song. Those are things that sometimes people just say no to, and that was probably one of the easiest songs to clear.”
The episode received so much praise that Moss-Bachrach, 48, thanked Swift when he won a Critics Choice award.
“I’ve gotta thank my two special scene partners this year, Olivia Colman and Taylor Swift,” Moss-Bachrach said in January 2024, while accepting the trophy for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Season 3, which aired in 2024, included more Easter eggs such as Eras Tour merchandise, friendship bracelets and more. The fourth season, meanwhile, kept it more subdued when it came to Swift mentions. Instead, the Hulu series seemed to be preparing its audience for a conclusion.
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The finale revealed that Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) was moving away from the restaurant after secretly wrapping things up. He signed his ownership to Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) — and later Richie — before the last scene showed The Bear empty.
There have been rumors that The Bear could be coming to an end due to White, 34, Edebiri, 29, and Moss-Bachrach’s busy schedules.
The chairman of FX Content and FX Productions, John Landgraf, previously called it “accurate” when Deadline asked him in September 2024 if he still didn’t know whether there would be more seasons of the hit Hulu series.
The Bear is currently streaming on Hulu.
