‘The Bear’ Gets a Glow Up. Is That a Good Thing?

The trajectory of FX’s “The Bear” has mirrored the fortunes of its characters. Over three seasons, what started as a scrappy half-hour comedy about a band of gritty Chicagoans running a sandwich shop has now become a cultural phenomenon about those same characters running a fancy restaurant — in suits and Thom Browne chef’s whites, no less.

The show has always had an elegant, consumer-friendly sheen (see: the internet frenzy over the T-shirts that its star, Jeremy Allen White, wore in the first season). But its cast members are now household names: Mr. White, who plays Carmy, is a Calvin Klein underwear model, and Vogue called Ayo Edebiri, who plays Sydney, “Hollywood’s most beloved new star.”

Their A-list status coupled with the show’s eye-popping run of celebrity cameos — by actors, comedians and chefs — can make it seem like watching “The Bear” is no longer like paying a visit to the neighborhood joint that’s a bit rough around the edges, but serves delicious food. Instead, it’s like going to the kind of place where you might look around at the crowd and wonder if you’re dressed well enough.

In a chat that has been edited and condensed, Styles staffers shared their thoughts about the series’s glow up and third season, which premiered last week to mixed reviews.

Minju Pak Is there a change in the way the characters are written or portrayed this season?

Joseph Bernstein It seems pretty similar to me? I guess because they have the fancy restaurant now, there’s marginally less “gritty Chicago” content. Fewer shots of Carmy in what appears to be an efficiency sleeping in a nasty twin bed.

Katie Van Syckle I think one example is Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and his shift to being a guy who “wears suits now.”