‘The Bear’ is over, but these stressful shows hit the spot
‘The Bear’ is over, but these stressful shows hit the spot
Some are louder, some are quieter, but all of these shows understand messy people trying to survive messy lives.
“The Bear” is officially over, which feels weird to even say. For five seasons, this show somehow turned sandwiches, fine dining, family trauma, grief, ambition, and workplace panic into one of the best dramedies on TV. It’s basically a panic attack with good food, and somehow that became the appeal. You didn’t just watch Carmy, Sydney, Richie, Sugar, Tina, Marcus, and the rest of the crew try to keep a restaurant alive. You watched a bunch of wounded people try to build something better without totally falling apart. So if you loved “The Bear” and need another messy, stressful, deeply human show to watch next, these are the four I’d start with.
The Bear
Carmy, a young fine-dining chef, comes home to Chicago to run his family sandwich shop. As he fights to transform the shop and himself, he works alongside a rough-around-the-edges crew that ultimately reveal themselves as his chosen family.
Loved ‘The Bear’? Watch: ‘Boiling Point’
“Boiling Point” is the most obvious next stop if what hooked you in “The Bear” was the actual restaurant chaos. This four-part British series picks up after the 2021 movie of the same name, with Carly running her own restaurant, Point North, alongside a lot of the same staff from the film. That setup already puts it in the same emotional neighborhood as “The Bear,” because the restaurant isn’t just a workplace — it’s the place where stress, money, ego, exhaustion, and personal problems all show up at the exact worst possible time.
The big difference is that “Boiling Point” is more straight-up drama than dramedy. “The Bear” has weird little bursts of comedy, family absurdity, and character looseness that break up the panic. “Boiling Point” is much more grounded and raw. But if you loved watching a kitchen crew try to get through service while everyone’s private life is quietly on fire, this is the best follow-up. It gives you the same sweaty, one-bad-shift-from-disaster feeling, just with a little less humor and a lot more British restraint.
Boiling Point
Eight months after her mentor Andy Jones suffered a heart attack, Head Chef Carly is battling to forge a name for new London restaurant Point North alongside her old kitchen crew. With the pressure to draw in new, hungry customers and the financial squeeze to keep the business profitable, the team must find a way to manage their complicated personal lives whilst creating quality food day in, day out.
Check out: ‘Industry’
“Industry” doesn’t have kitchens, chefs, or anyone lovingly plating food under impossible pressure. Instead, it follows a group of young bankers trying to survive at Pierpoint, a brutal investment bank where every conversation feels like a test and every mistake can wreck your career. On paper, that sounds pretty far away from “The Bear,” but the shows are closer than they look. Both are about people who are very good at what they do, but also maybe destroying themselves to prove it.
What makes “Industry” such a strong follow-up is the pressure. “The Bear” turns a restaurant into a stress machine, while “Industry” does the same thing with finance. The difference is that “The Bear” still believes in found family, even when everyone is yelling. “Industry” is colder, sharper, and way more ruthless. But if you loved Carmy’s perfectionism, Sydney’s ambition, Richie’s need to matter, and the way work becomes identity, “Industry” scratches that same itch. It’s brutal, but just as addictive.
Industry
In the cutthroat world of international finance, a group of young graduates compete for a limited set of permanent positions at a top investment bank in London. The boundaries between colleague, friend, lover, and enemy soon blur as they immerse themselves in a company culture defined as much by sex, drugs and ego as it is by deals and dividends.
Watch next: ‘Reservation Dogs’
“Reservation Dogs” is not a workplace show, but stay with me, because emotionally, it absolutely belongs here. The FX series follows four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma as they deal with friendship, grief, family, community, and the dream of getting out. It’s funny, loose, specific, and quietly devastating when it wants to be. Like “The Bear,” it’s a show about people carrying a loss they don’t totally know how to talk about.
That’s really where “Reservation Dogs” lines up with “The Bear.” Both shows understand that grief doesn’t always look like big speeches and dramatic breakdowns. Sometimes it looks like jokes, errands, bad decisions, food, silence, and people showing up for each other in small ways. “The Bear” is much more frantic, while “Reservation Dogs” has more room to breathe, but they share that same mix of humor and ache. If the part of “The Bear” that stuck with you was the found family, not just the food, this is the pick.
Reservation Dogs
Four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma steal, rob and save in order to get to the exotic, mysterious and faraway land of California.
Wildcard pick: ‘Ramy’
“Ramy” is the wildcard here because it doesn’t match “The Bear” through setting or structure. It follows Ramy Hassan, a first-generation Egyptian-American Muslim in New Jersey, who is trying to live a better, more meaningful life while constantly getting in his own way. The show is mostly in English, with Arabic woven in throughout, and that mix is part of what makes its world feel specific. It’s funny, awkward, spiritual, messy, and often uncomfortable in exactly the right way.
But the real connection between the two shows is shame. Carmy and Ramy are very different guys, but they’re both stuck in that horrible loop where they can see the person they want to become and still keep sabotaging the path to get there. “The Bear” puts that struggle into work, family, and the restaurant. “Ramy” puts it into faith, sex, culture, guilt, and identity. It’s less propulsive than “The Bear,” but if you loved watching a talented, damaged person try to grow up emotionally in real time, “Ramy” is the one for you.
Ramy
Ramy, the son of Egyptian immigrants, is on a spiritually conflicting journey in his New Jersey neighborhood, pulled between his Muslim community that thinks life is a constant test, his millennial friends who think life is full of endless possibilities, and a God who’s always watching.
More to watch after finishing ‘The Bear’:
‘Shameless’ | Netflix
Shameless
Chicagoan Frank Gallagher is the proud single dad of six smart, industrious, independent kids, who without him would be… perhaps better off. When Frank’s not at the bar spending what little money they have, he’s passed out on the floor. But the kids have found ways to grow up in spite of him. They may not be like any family you know, but they make no apologies for being exactly who they are.
‘Somebody Somewhere’ | HBO Max
Somebody Somewhere
Sam is a true Kansan on the surface but beneath it all struggles to fit the hometown mold. As she grapples with loss and acceptance, singing is Sam’s saving grace and leads her on a journey to discover herself and a community of outsiders that don’t fit in but don’t give up, showing that finding your people, and finding your voice, is possible. Anywhere. Somewhere.
‘Atlanta’ | Hulu
Atlanta
In this wildly imaginative show from creator Donald Glover, a one-hit wonder hip-hop artist and his cousin navigate the world of small-time fame in the music industry. “Atlanta” is impossible to categorize - alternately funny, touching, strange, surreal, and perceptive. Each episode switches tone, serving almost as a standalone film featuring recurring characters. There are no rules on “Atlanta” - Justin Bieber is Black, invisible cars exist - the world is whatever Glover needs it to be for that particular episode. This gem is one of the most inventive shows on TV.
‘Hacks’ | HBO Max
Hacks
Explore a dark mentorship that forms between Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a legendary Las Vegas comedian, and an entitled, outcast 25-year-old (Hannah Einbinder).