Tag / The Bear TV Series

by mvfour

Liza Colón-Zayas Ushers Hispanic Heritage Month With a Bang Winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy at the Emmys — First Latina to Do So in This Category!

But Emmy honors for Latinas didn’t stop with the Puerto Rican actress. Selena Gomez and showrunner Issa López also broke entertainment barriers.

Liza Colón-Zayas with her Emmy for Best Supporting Actress for “The Bear.”
Photo: courtesy of 76th Annual Emmys.

One of the night’s biggest surprises at the Emmys this year came when actress Liza Colón-Zayas secured the win for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for “The Bear.” Colón-Zayas plays the outspoken and talented sous chef, Tina Marrero, who relishes standing up for herself and the rest of the kitchen staff in the hit series “The Bear,” now in its 3rd season. If you’re unfamiliar with “The Bear,” it’s about a professionally-trained chef, Carmy (Jeremy Allen White, winning Best Actor in a Comedy Series this year), who comes back to revitalize his family’s restaurant after his brother passed away. Conflict arises when Carmy brings in new staff and attempts to work with the existing staff, often resulting in explosive situations that both invigorate and debilitate Carmy’s mental state.

Liza Colón-Zayas’ character (Tina) often bumps heads with Carmy. But she does so endearingly and authentically, and that’s why she was victorious against her equally talented nominees as she gushed about on the Emmy stage, who share the category: the incomparable Meryl Streep (“Only Murders in the Building”), Carole Burnett (“Palm Royale,”), Janelle James and Sheryl Lee Ralph (“Abbott Elementary”), and Hannah Einbinder (“Hacks”).

Liza Colón-Zayas in her one-woman show ‘Sistah Supreme.’ Photo courtesy of Playbill.

Emmy-winning Colón-Zayas began her entertainment career by writing, starring, and producing her one-woman off-Broadway show Sistah Supreme in 2000. She segued to television and had supporting roles in shows like “In Treatment” and Law & Order: SVU,” Her portrayal of Tina Marrero is Liza Colon-Zaya’s first Emmy Award nomination and win. With her humbled appreciation for the Emmy acknowledgment and tears of joy, she ended her speech with these parting words:

“To all the Latinas looking at me, keep believing and vote. Vote for your rights!”

Her sound advice couldn’t be more timely as far-Right extremists are looking to roll back reproductive freedoms, institute archaic education policies, and dismantle union worker protections.

*Did you know today is National Voter Registration Day? You can check if you’re registered to vote here.

Sidenote:

Other Latinas who made their mark at the 76th Annual Emmy Awards are Selena Gomez and showrunner Issa López. Gomez is the most Emmy-nominated Latina to date with a third production nomination for the mystery-comedy series “Only Murders in the Building,” receiving her first lead comedy actress nomination this year, becoming only the fourth Latina in history nominated in this category. Moving to the executive producer category, showrunner Issa López garnered three Emmy nominations for directing, writing, and producing the HBO/Max anthology series “True Detective: Night Country.”

While this year’s Emmys included more diversity (the number of people of color nominated increased to 30 of the 96 acting nominees), here’s hoping recognition of creative diversity in all Hollywood award shows will accelerate in coming years.

by mvfour

One of the Most Anxiety-inducing Episodes of FX’s ‘The Bear’ is the “Fishes” Episode from Season 2

I dare you to find a more triggering, more in-your-face Christmas episode.

Jeremy Allan White as Carmy Berzatto; Photo: FX.

The Bear follows Carmy Berzatto (Jeffrey Alan White, The Rental, Shameless), a young fine-dining chef from New York who returns to his family’s restaurant/sandwich shop in Chicago after his brother Michael’s death. He encounters a shop in disarray with an outdated menu, older cooks resistant to change, and his deceased brother’s best friend Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Punisher, Girls) and faux-cousin who thrives on and incites chaos.

What’s an ambitious chef to do? Run for the hills or suck up it and make his family restaurant, known as the Original Beef of Chicagoland, into a respected eatery with exquisite cuisine and potential for a Michelin star.

Carmy decides to stick it out. Season one of this dramedy, slow-paced at first, delves into the relationships, egos, and inevitable turmoil that ensues when new hires (young talented sous chef Sydney, played by Ayo Edebiri, Big Mouth, Abbott Elementary) and old hats in the kitchen don’t see eye-to-eye. Not to mention, there’s a stabbing. Loads of temper tantrums and unpaid bills, broken dishes, and splattered food everywhere in an attempt by Carmy to bring order to the kitchen.

L to R, Sarah Paulson (Michelle), Jamie Lee Curtis (Donna), Jeremy Allan White (Carmy); Photo: FX.

In Season Two, the second episode titled “Fishes” flashes back five years to Berzatto’s family Christmas dinner. It’s the crème de la crème of guest star appearances, from Jamie Lee Curtis, playing emotionally unstable mother Donna, to Bob Odenkirk’s relentlessly pot-shot-throwing Uncle Lee and Sarah Paulson’s calm and collected, hip aunt Michelle, this ensemble of character-actors pulled out all the stops in this frantic episode. However, the pacing didn’t allow viewers to breathe through the scenes. It’s a whirlwind of crazy kitchen food timers, spliced editing, and a crescendo of nonstop emotions, especially between Michael (Jon Bernthal, The Punisher, Walking Dead) and Lee (Bob Odenkirk), where a physical assault is imminent. It’s exhilarating to watch the nonstop, unpredictable turn of events. Something the creators of The Bear and writers strive for.

According to Christopher Storer (creator, writer, and director, Eighth Grade) and Joanna Calo (co-showrunner, writer, Bojack Horseman).

“We wanted the first episode of the series to grab you right away — a way for people to know that they’re going to want to sit down for this and pay attention,” according to Calo.

For Storer, every character is equally flawed.

Nobody’s fixed, and everyone’s a work in progress. Every second counts… It is a natural extension. The thing we talk about a lot is that winning is losing, so even though they have this new opportunity, it still creates a lot of the same problems… Season 2 is about the chance to start fresh and what that means. What does Carmen and Sydney’s dream restaurant look like? But also, at the same time, what does a dream restaurant in 2023 look like? I think that’s the thing they’re battling with.”

Awarded 13 Emmy nominations, you can stream both seasons of The Bear on Hulu and Disney+.