"Yes, chief": a prequel episode of "The Bear" was released before the final season

The streaming service Hulu has released a new standalone episode of the cult TV series "The Bear" — a few weeks before the start of the final, fifth season. The episode titled "Gary" came as a complete surprise to fans of the show: no announcement, no trailer — on the morning of May 5, 2026, it just appeared on the platform. According to Deadline, the director was the creator of the series Christopher Stohr, and the script was written by the main actors themselves — John Berenthal and Ebon Moss-Bakrak. What is known about the new episode, the final season and the series itself is in the Izvestia material.

"The Bear": why the whole world is talking about the series

The plot centers on young chef Carmen "Carmi" Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), who returns to Chicago after the death of his older brother Mikey to take over the running of the family eatery. A dilapidated sandwich bar with dirty walls against ambition, guilt, grief and the desire to create a world-class restaurant.

There is an interesting team nearby: Sydney's friend and chef partner (Ayo Edebiri), cousin and eternally annoying Richie (Ebon Moss-Bakrak), cousin Natalie (Abby Elliott), silent culinary genius Marcus (Lionel Boyce) and exuberant Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis).

The show has been described as "the most stressful in the history of television," and for good reason. Each episode literally reproduces the physical feeling of working in a professional kitchen: the screams, the pressure, the endless stream of tasks, not a second's respite. But beneath that surface is a story about family, trauma, ambition, and the price of perfectionism.

The key figure who hasn't been in the series since the beginning is Mikey Berzatto. Karmi's older brother passed away before the first episode, but his presence is felt in every scene. It is around his memory, debts and unfinished business that the entire narrative of the show is built. The role of Mikey was played by John Berenthal and it was he who became one of the main authors of the new episode.

A new episode of "Gary"

On the morning of May 5, 2026, Ebon Moss-Bakrak posted a post on Instagram (owned by Meta, a recognized extremist and banned organization in Russia) with a laconic announcement: "Cousins! Primos! Cugini! Meet Gary! We are so excited to share this Richie and Mikey adventure." Almost simultaneously, a new episode of "The Bear" appeared on Hulu — without warning, without a marketing campaign, and outside the main catalog of the series. You can only find it through a direct search by name.

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The episode "Gary" is a prequel set around 2019, several years before the events of the main series. Mikey and Richie travel to Gary, Indiana, a small rusty industrial town south of Chicago, on behalf of cousin Jimmy (Oliver Platt). The task is to deliver a mysterious box, the contents of which they themselves do not know.

As IndieWire reports, what starts as a routine errand quickly turns into an unpredictable adventure: stops at iconic hot dog joints, spontaneous basketball games, and escalating chaos in bars. Richie, clearly inspired by the trip, reads facts about Gary to Mikey from his phone and records a special CD for the trip, but at the same time nervously monitors the time: he needs to get home by 17:15, because his pregnant wife Tiffany believes in the omen about childbirth.

Mikey Berzatto: The Ghost that keeps the show going

John Berenthal's appearance in "Gary" is an event in itself. Mikey Berzatto is technically dead from the very first minutes of the series: he died before the action began, and his death is the starting point of the whole story. Nevertheless, it is Mikey who is the emotional center of the "Bear": through memories, flashbacks and individual episodes, the show consistently collects a portrait of a man who is no longer there, but without whom it is impossible to understand any of the remaining ones.

Berenthal appeared in the series back in the early seasons — in short flashbacks, which each time reversed the perception of his character. "Gary" is the first time he's been given a whole hour of screen time and allowed to shape the narrative himself.

The role earned Berenthal an Emmy Award in the Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series category for the second season. According to Gold Derby, Jamie Lee Curtis also received the award for the same season, in a similar category among actresses. Both appeared in the show as guests, but their work was perceived by critics as one of the best in their categories for the entire season.

The history of the Bear Awards: 21 Emmys in four seasons

Few series in the history of television have had such a rapid and controversial award trajectory. The first season of "The Bear" was released in June 2022 and brought the show 10 Emmy Awards from 13 nominations, including the main one — "Best Comedy Series". During the second season, according to The Hollywood Reporter, the series set a record for the most nominations for a comedy show: 23 nominations, an achievement that previously belonged to Studio 30. As a result — 11 wins.

After last year's triumph, the third season showed the worst result in history: no wins with 13 nominations. Critics attributed the failure to the revival of classic comedies and the old question: can "The Bear" even be considered a comedy show? The creators themselves were evasive.

As a result, over the course of four seasons, the series has garnered 49 Emmy nominations and 21 wins. In addition, there are five Golden Globe statuettes and recognition from the Screenwriters Guild, the Directors Guild, the Producers Guild and many other professional associations.

The end of an era: what happened in the finale of the fourth season and what to expect from the fifth

The fourth season was released on June 25, 2025. Its finale called into question the very existence of the restaurant: Karmi informed Sydney and Richie that he was leaving — giving up his share and leaving the kitchen, which he himself had created. The restaurant passes into the hands of the partners. According to TVSeriesTalks, the fourth season received 85% on Rotten Tomatoes — critics noted that the show "regained momentum after a more controversial third season."

The fifth season is the final one. Filming, which took place in Chicago under the working code name "The Fugitive" (a reference to Hitchcock), ended in February 2026. Jamie Lee Curtis posted a farewell post on Instagram back in February.

The official premiere date for the fifth season has not yet been announced, however, according to tradition, all previous seasons were released in the last week of June. What will happen in the final season is still unknown. But the episode "Gary" has already begun to rewrite what viewers thought of Mikey and Richie. And if Christopher Store is true to himself, the finale of "The Bear" will not be a grand closing, but something much more unexpected.

On May 5, Medialogia presented the results of the Russian series rating for the first quarter of 2026. The absolute leader was the project "Very Strange Things", which scored 15,948 points. In second place is the series "Lilies of the Valley" (8829), and in third place is "The First Department" (7745). The fourth place was taken by the anime "Magic Battle" with 6419 points, and "Sled" rounded out the top five with 3563 points.