Close-up of Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto in The Bear looking straight ahead
By
Kyle McLeod
Published 52 minutes ago
Kyle is a senior writer at ScreenRant and has been part of the team for over two years. Having led coverage on The Walking Dead projects alongside Rick & Morty, Kyle is well versed in numerous genres.
Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Kyle is a passionate journalist who has a keen interest in TV and film. He has six years of experience studying journalism including a HND in Practical Journalism and a BA Honours in Journalism, Media and Communication and History. Alongside his love for TV and film, Kyle enjoys video games, football and Formula 1.
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The Bear has been one of streaming's most popular shows ever since it debuted in 2022, and season 5's latest filming update is a real statement towards Netflix and other platforms. With streaming services changing how content is consumed, TV production has seen a massive overhaul, resulting in projects taking significantly longer to come out.
Yearly installments feel like a thing of the past as most mainstream shows tend to take two years or more to release new content. Fortunately, Prime Video has begun fixing its time-between-seasons problem by offering faster production cycles and spinoffs to fill larger gaps, but Netflix is yet to shake this bad habit, as Stranger Things' 9-year run has proven.
Therefore, Jeremy Allen White's confirmation that The Bear season 5 will start filming in January 2026 feels like a lesson the platform could learn from. The show will only be around half a year removed from season 4 by the time the next outing begins shooting, proving that a high-quality series can still be completed at a swift pace.
The Bear Filming In January Means The Show Could Continue Its Yearly Release Slate
Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto with a stern look in The Bear season 4
With all four seasons of The Bear coming out one year after the other, it's clear this award-winning masterpiece hasn't been held back by a fast production schedule. Whereas competitors frequently take a long time to ensure high standards are met, The Bear has delivered consistently good content annually, with only season 3 coming under serious scrutiny.
Whether this streak would continue or not in 2026 remained a mystery though, as it was unclear when filming would officially start, but Jeremy Allen White's update means the series could easily return sometime next year. It may seem like a big ask to film and edit an entire season in less than 12 months, but The Bear's track record offers hope.
Very rarely has the show faced any major setbacks with its turnover, and filming for each season has typically been quick. Even though it has taken a while to get the ball rolling on season 5, it seems feasible that everything could be wrapped up for a late 2026 release, assuming there are no hiccups along the way.
Naturally, this installment could take a little longer than usual, since The Bear season 5 will look to improve its Rotten Tomatoes score after seasons 3 and 4 faltered compared to the first two, but with the show remaining popular and plenty of story still to tell, it looks like the comedy-drama will be back sooner rather than later.
The Bear’s Reliable Release Schedule Helps Make It One Of The Best Streaming Shows Around
Sydney (Ayo Edebiri) with her hair half braided in The Bear Season 4 Ep 4
Despite season 3 causing division and season 4 not quite reaching the heights of the first two outings, The Bear has still been exceptional overall, and its reliable release schedule has contributed. While other shows are judged harshly due to taking two or more years to release 6–8 episode seasons, The Bear earns some leeway due to its consistency.
After season 1, each installment has featured 10 episodes and has been released almost exactly one year apart. Some people have even questioned The Bear's surprising release strategy, as the show drops all its episodes at once, but this has prevented fans from becoming impatient since they know exactly what to expect.
The Bear Seasons
Rotten Tomatoes Score (Critics)
Rotten Tomatoes Score (Audience)
The Bear Season 1
100%
92%
The Bear Season 2
99%
92%
The Bear Season 3
89%
53%
The Bear Season 4
84%
68%
Yearly seasons have also helped keep the show relevant and ensured viewers remember what happened the last time out, something that becomes harder with big gaps between content. This means even when there is a slight dip in quality or a potential delay, there is more reason to forgive The Bear's shortcomings, since it has built a strong and reliable reputation.
As a result, it has maintained its status as one of the best shows around despite a slight drop in form, and while there is a lot of pressure on season 5 to perform, sticking to its annual release schedule and continuing its chaotic storylines should ensure The Bear stays on top of the streaming game.
Despite The Positive Filming Update, The Bear Could Miss Its 2026 Release Slot
Sydney, Richie, Luca, and others lined up in The Bear season 3 finale
As of now, The Bear still has a great chance of meeting a potential 2026 release slot, but this could all change rather quickly. Alongside having big guest stars, The Bear's main actors have all had massive career boosts since the show started, meaning any sort of delays could cause serious problems, given how busy certain names are.
Jeremy Allen White is fresh off his Bruce Springsteen biopic, Ebon Moss-Bachrach is now tied to the MCU, while Ayo Edebiri had an extremely active 2025, not to mention the rest of the cast's potential commitments. In addition, parts of season 4 were also filmed with season 3, an advantage the next installment won't have.
This leaves the project in a somewhat vulnerable place, and after The Bear season 4's ending, it is important that the upcoming outing starts strong and maintains this momentum. Therefore, any production snags could push season 5 further and further back, which may eventually rule out any hope of it arriving next year.
Based on how steady the series has been previously, I'm remaining optimistic about a 2026 release for The Bear season 5, but there are more factors than ever that could cause setbacks, meaning it is anything but a guarantee, despite the positive filming update.
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8.4/10
9/10
The Bear
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Drama Comedy Food Release Date June 23, 2022 Network Hulu Showrunner Christopher Storer Directors Ramy Youssef Writers Catherine Schetina, Alex Russell, Karen Joseph Adcock, Sofya Levitsky-Weitz, Stacy Osei-KuffourCast
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Jeremy Allen White
Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Richard 'Richie' Jerimovich
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The Bear
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Netflix
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