The season three premiere of FX and Disney Plus’ acclaimed drama achieved a 24 percent viewership increase from its previous season
The Bear’s season three premiere has broken streaming records, reaching 5.4 million views in four days. Disney has confirmed the first episode of the FX comedy-drama’s third season achieved the milestone in its first four days on US streamer Hulu.
This marks the best-ever performance for an FX premiere on the platform and the most-watched season premiere for any scripted series, Variety reported. The total number of views combines data from Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ in the US, as well as on Disney+ internationally.
Disney added that the data shows a 24 percent viewership increase from The Bear’s season two premiere in the same timeframe, marking a second consecutive increase since a 70 percent audience growth from its debut season. Available to stream now, season three of Christopher Storer’s hit series follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a successful young chef who returns home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop after a family tragedy, eventually transforming it into a fine dining establishment.
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Every episode of The Bear is available to stream exclusively on Disney+, which TV fans can join from £4.99 a month. Disney+ members can get the equivalent of two months free by paying for a year upfront, bagging 12 months for the price of 10 on the Standard or Premium plans.
A 12-month subscription to the Premium plan now costs £109.90, saving £21.98 compared to paying monthly and includes higher video quality up to 4K UHD and HDR, plus the ability to stream on four devices simultaneously. This includes hit shows like Shōgun, Welcome to Wrexham and new Star Wars thriller, The Acolyte.
Disney+ now costs as little as £4.99 a month for the Standard with Ads plan, but members can get 12 months for the price of 10 by paying for a year upfront on the ad-free Standard or Premium plans.
Disney+ is the only place to stream epic shows including Shōgun and Welcome to Wrexham, plus blockbuster franchises like Star Wars and Marvel.
The Bear – which has already been renewed for a fourth season – has earned overwhelming acclaim from critics and general audiences since it debuted in 2022, winning 10 Emmys and four Golden Globes for its first run. It was also named an AFI Television Program of the Year for two years running and boasts a 97 percent Rotten Tomatoes score – while its first season boasts a perfect 100.
The series is fronted by The Iron Claw star Jeremy Allen White as Carmy, alongside Ebon Moss-Bachrach as ‘cousin’ and colleague Richard “Richie” Jerimovich and Ayo Edebiri as sous-chef Sydney Adamu. Carmy’s brother Mikey – who appears in flashbacks throughout the series – is played by The Walking Dead star Jon Bernthal.
Since the new season dropped last week, fans of the series have taken to social media to sing its praises, with many hailing it as ‘like no other show’. Viewers have been particularly impressed by its debut episode, which some described as ‘one of the most beautiful TV episodes’ ever.
Writing on X, @SJTimes13 said: “The Bear season three premiere is one for the history books. This is absolutely monumental television.”
@ShaneRyanHere said: “Started The Bear season three and had that fear I sometimes get with a new season of a great show, that it will drop off. Took about 90 seconds to remember this one is on an artistic level like no other show I’ve seen and essentially can’t fail. Unreal first episode.”
@BrazNathan said: “The first episode of season three might be one of the most beautiful TV episodes I have ever seen. From the character depth to the music to the astonishing cinematography. I didn’t want it to end.”
Not everyone is convinced though, as @salaciousbcum said: “Three episodes into the new season of The Bear. Do we still have to pretend this is a great show?”
However, @danicolang disagreed: “The Bear season three has already swept the next award seasons again.”
The Bear season three is streaming now on Disney+, watch it here.
Alternatively, a host of new shows are streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video, including season four of The Boys and post-apocalyptic action-adventure Fallout, both of which can be streamed free with an Amazon Prime 30-day trial.
