Carmen’s attempts to get things on the level and, god forbid, make a go of the Beef are an exercise in how things can go from bad to worse. It comes with a motley staff of waifs and strays who’ve been there for years and have about as much interest in things like hygiene and customer relations as a gorilla. The restaurant (the brilliantly titled The Original Beef of Chicagoland – yes, I have my T-shirt on order) is a beaten-down mess. It’s been left to him by his big brother Mikey, the charismatic totem who suddenly blew his brains out, leaving no note, evidence of a painkiller addiction and a fermentation tank of family recriminations. This is a TV show that will give you one.Ĭarmen Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White) is a brilliant, award-winning young chef who’s been working at the world’s best restaurants until he moves back to his native Chicago to take over the family shop. Some TV shows, we used to say, are not for those of a nervous disposition. Most of the dialogue is barked instructions or vicious effin’ put-downs. There’s rarely a scene when there isn’t a phone ringing, an alarm going off, bills piling up, ashtrays overflowing. There’s stress and tension from the opening frame to the very end.

It doesn’t span worlds or universes, its seven, sharp half hours and a 45-minute finale are set largely in a working kitchen and it is fiercely, deliberately claustrophobic. The Bear (Disney+), a new American drama series set in a backstreet Chicago restaurant, is a small production.

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