Over the past two years, The Bear has become one of television’s must-watch series. Overflowing with incredible character performances, smart writing, and breakneck pacing, it’s easy to see why America has fallen in love with Carmy and his ragtag kitchen crew at The Beef. One important driving force behind the spectacle of the show is the absolute chaos that runs through almost every episode. As the audience, we’re left on the edge of our seats to see if the restaurant will live to see another day. As we prepare for all the drama on the show’s highly anticipated third season, Complex has created a cheatsheet of the key characters from The Bear, ranked from least to most chaotic.
10. Marcus Brooks
Marcus is the least chaotic character on this list because let’s face it, he’s the sweetheart of the show. Throughout the series, Marcus has had one goal in mind: to hone his craft for the betterment of the restaurant and his future. He’s the kind of pastry chef anyone would want on their team, flying to foreign countries and learning from experts in the pursuit of the perfect dessert. Whenever there’s drama, Marcus stays out of it and puts his nose to the grindstone.
9. Claire
Claire is not only Carmy’s love interest on the show, but also one of his last tethers to a stabilized, happy life. She’s smart, charming, and driven to make the life she wants. Graduating from medical school and currently employed as an ER doctor, she shows that same determination to crack the protective layer that Carmy has built up from years of living in a destructive environment. While Season 2 ended with things not looking good for their relationship, viewers were left hoping Claire will not give up.
8. Tina Marrero
Tina is a character that has shown a lot of growth over the show’s two seasons. At the beginning of the series, Tina was very stubborn and refused help from pretty much anyone, especially from outsiders or new acquaintances. We see this in her ever-evolving relationship with Sydney, and her time in culinary school. While she was difficult to work with at first, Tina thrives in culinary school and shows an eagerness to learn, taking her new position as Sydney’s sous chef very seriously.
7. Ebraheim
The yin to Tina’s yang in terms of progression, Ebraheim starts out in the show as an immigrant thriving to do whatever it takes to better himself in his new country. When The Beef restaurant is undergoing vast changes, Sydney sends both Tina and Ebraheim to culinary school. While Tina thrives in this environment, Ebraheim struggles and quits the school. Ebraheim is a very relatable character in the sense that change can be overwhelming for him. But after some encouragement from Tina, Ebraheim bounces back and manages the takeout window when the restaurant reopens.
6. Neil Fak
We are now entering the realm of the show’s more chaotic characters. Fak is in the middle of this list because—even though he may cause some unintended chaos—he sure as hell means well. As the mechanic of the team, Fak is called upon whenever something breaks or shuts down in the restaurant, and as you might expect, that happens often. As the frequent bearer of bad news about the extent of damage and the cost of repairs, Fak can end up taking the blame. He also has a tendency to get into fights with Richie, with both of them jockeying for position as honorary members of the Berzatto family.
5. Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto
Carmy’s sister is thrown into this tornado of a business venture simply because her name is on the consignment sheet. Sugar may want the best for her family, but she tends to sometimes turn a blind eye to their destructive habits. She cosigned for the original restaurant despite knowing her brother’s struggle with mental health and addiction, and she pushes to modernize the restaurant under Carmy’s leadership, knowing he has issues himself. Sugar avoids confronting problems head on, letting them run amok, creating chaos amongst her siblings and their mother Donna.
4. Sydney Adamu
A classically trained chef brought in by Carmy to help modernize The Beef’s kitchen, Sydney is initially a fish out of water. But that’s just what Carmy thinks the restaurant needs to change old habits. Sydney is met with resistance from a staff that’s set in their own ways, and she doesn’t always deal with these challenges with the most grace. She was combative, and could sometimes be degrading and unempathetic, instead of trying to understand where her new teammates were coming from. Sydney may seem like the more mature character at first, but she also has a lot of growing to do as she becomes a key leader at The Beef.
3. Carmy Berzatto
The Bear’s protagonist is the epitome of being one’s own worst enemy. Most of his decisions in the show’s first two seasons have led to problems in his professional and personal life. He admits that he has a hard time finding enjoyment in life because he’s worried it could be ruined at any moment. He leaves his happy life as and award-winning chef in the Michelin Star world to take over a family restaurant after his brother commits suicide. A noble task, but Carmy is more motivated by his own guilt than a desire to help rebuild a struggling business. When encountering difficulties at work, Carmy will go quiet and let his anxiety fester until he finally explodes in loud outbursts. On opening night of the relaunch of the restaurant, an overwhelmed Carmy locks himself in the freezer and misses everything. To cap this all off, he alienates himself from Claire by convincing her that he considers love a distraction. Simply put, everything that is good in Carmy’s life, he pushes away, for fear he doesn’t deserve it.
2. Richie Jerimovich
An honorary cousin of the Berzatto brothers, Richie has charm to spare. But it’s hard to deny that he’s a detriment to the success of the restaurant and a menace to the workers it employs. Richie is a divorcee who struggles to have a relationship with his daughter. He has a history of selling drugs, and accidentally spikes the punch at a children’s birthday party with Xanax. During a bachelor party, he gets arrested and charged with assault for nearly killing a guest. Richie can be lazy, irresponsible, and flat out mean, but most of his bad behavior stems from his insecurity. In the second season, we see things start to shape up for Richie as he takes a job at an upscale restaurant. After finding a new sense of purpose running the front of the house at The Beef, Richie has the potential to keep the positive growth going into Season 3.
1. Donna Berzatto
Carmy, Sugar, and Mikey’s mother has only appeared in two episodes, but that’s all she needed to make an impact. There’s no sugar-coating this: Donna is chaos incarnate. In a flashback episode, we are taken to Berzatto Christmas Eve as the family prepares dinner. Mikey is still alive and each member of the family is at their most toxic, picking fights with anyone who makes eye contact. But none are as unhinged, triggering, or volatile as Donna. While multiple family members offer her help, Donna prefers to make herself the victim. Even when she accepts some help, she gives frantic instructions that even a trained chef would have trouble following. All of this hits an insane crescendo as she gets into the car and drives it straight through the living room. At the end of Season 2, she refuses to go inside the revamped restaurant, possibly because she can’t bear to see her children succeed without her.
Season 3 of The Bear premieres on Jun 27, 2024, over on FX on Hulu.