How to watch the highly-anticipated second season of 'The Bear'
Just a month after its groundbreaking summer 2022 premiere, FX officially renewed The Bear for Season 2. FX Entertainment President Eric Schrier said "The Bear has exceeded our wildest creative, critical, and commercial expectations. We can't wait to get to work on Season 2."
And just like that, we're approaching the Season 2 premiere of the hit restaurant dramedy that Mashable Entertainment Reporter Belen Edwards called "a delectable treat."
Golden Globe winner Jeremy Allen White and costars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri — along with the rest of the kitchen staff — are back to transform The Original Beef of Chicagoland into a newer, fancier family-style restaurant aptly named The Bear. Here's everything you need to know to watch the chaos unfold in Season 2 of the critically acclaimed original series.
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When is Season 2 of The Bear?
The highly-anticipated second season of FX's The Bear premieres on June 22, 2023. Hulu will drop all 10 episodes at once, so fans can binge-watch Season 2 as quickly or as slowly as they desire.
Is The Bear on FX or is it only on Hulu?
Even though The Bear is an FX Original, it's only available to watch on Hulu. It's confusing, we know. The series is produced by FX Productions, but will premiere as a part of Hulu's dedicated FX content hub for current, classic, and new FX Series. FX's branding has been a bit chaotic in the streaming world over the past few years, but all you really need to know is that you can't watch The Bear on cable; only on the streaming service.
Can you watch The Bear online for free?
If you've never subscribed to Hulu before, you can easily watch The Bear for free. The streamer is pretty generous with its trial period for newbies. And since Hulu plans to drop all 10 episodes at once, you can easily binge-watch Season 2 within that trial period. Sprint customers and students also have a couple of options to score a free subscription.
How to get Hulu for free
Best for most people: Hulu 30-day free trial
For Hulu newbies, it doesn't get much better than a 30-day free trial. In fact, it's quite rare for streamers to still offer trials at all, let alone such a generous one. If you take advantage of your free trial (which is valid for both the No Ads plan and the Basic plan) right around the time of the Season 2 premiere on June 22, you can easily watch the entire season for free. If you decide to keep your subscription after the trial, you'll have to pay either $7.99 per month ($79.99/year) for the Basic plan with ads or $14.99 per month for the No Ads plan. Cancel before the month is up and you'll owe zero dollars.
Best for Sprint customers: Hulu Basic (with ads) annual subscription
Sprint customers, if you haven't already, be sure to claim your free Hulu Basic subscription if you're on the Unlimited plan. As long as your Sprint Unlimited plan is active and in good standing, you'll have free access to Hulu. If you decide to switch plans or cancel, your Hulu subscription will be suspended. You can see FAQs and terms on the Sprint (which is now T-Mobile) website.
Best for students: Spotify Premium for Students with Hulu
Students looking to tune into The Bear Season 2 have a few great options. Our favorite is Spotify Premium for Students, which not only offers a generous one-month free trial, but also includes Hulu (with ads) for no extra charge. Once your free month is up, you'll pay just $4.99 per month for both Spotify Premium and Hulu. Of course, you'll have to have access to a .edu email address to prove you're actually a student in order to secure the deal.
Alternatively, you could sign up for a student account via Hulu without Spotify for just $1.99 per month. There's currently no free trial, but at $1.99 per month, that's totally forgivable.
Other ways to watch The Bear on Hulu
If you don't qualify for any of the free options above, there's still a way to save on a Hulu subscription, but it will require some commitment — a full year, to be exact. Only interested in watching The Bear and going on your merry way? You can also sign up for a single month and cancel once you've finished all 10 episodes. You won't technically save any money this way, but you won't waste any either. If you're all about getting the most bang for your buck, the Disney bundle (which includes both Hulu and Disney+ or Hulu, Disney+, and ESPN+) can save you up to 49%. You'll pay more overall, but you'll get access to two or three different streaming services for one low price. It's all about personal preference in the age of streaming.
Best for long-term viewing: Hulu (with ads) annual subscription
Opting for an annual Hulu subscription instead of paying monthly will knock the $7.99 per month cost down to only $6.67 per month. That saves you about 17% by simply paying for a whole year in advance. If you're a new or returning subscriber, you may even qualify for a free month trial, which would then knock the price down to about $6.15 per month for 13 months. With a long-term subscription, you can rewatch The Bear Season 1 and 2 as many times as you want, plus tune into other FX and Hulu Originals we highly recommend — like Tiny Beautiful Things and The Great.
Best bundle deal: Hulu + Disney+ (with ads)
The Disney Duo Basic bundle gives you access to all the content Hulu and Disney+ have to offer for only $9.99 per month — that's just $2 more than paying for Hulu on its own. You can also add ESPN+ into the mix for $12.99 per month with the Disney Trio Basic Bundle and save a total of 49%. It's certainly not the best option for someone looking to only watch The Bear and move on, but if you're hoping to watch tons of new series and films (and even some live sports) this year, the Disney bundle is one of the best deals around.
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Frequently Asked Questions
"As they strip the restaurant down to its bones, the crew undertakes transformational journeys of their own, each forced to confront the past and reckon with who they want to be in the future," a press release for the new season reads. The Bear Season 2 follows award-winning chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto and his kitchen staff as they transform the grimy sandwich shop The Original Beef of Chicagoland into The Bear — a fancier, family-style restaurant.
The main cast members you know and love from Season 1 will return for Season 2: Jeremy Allen White as Carmy Berzatto, Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richie Jerimovich, Abby Elliott as Natalie "Sugar" Berzatto, Lionel Boyce as Marcus, and Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina. Matty Matheson, Edwin Lee Gibson, and Oliver Platt will also return to their recurring roles as Neil Fak, Ebraheim, and Jimmy Cicero in Season 2.
New cast members include Booksmart star Molly Gordon as a woman from Carmy's past and Better Call Saul's Bob Odenkirk as another guest star.
Christina Buff is a Nashville-based freelance writer for who covers shopping with a splash of entertainment. If you’re ever wondering what streaming service you need to watch something (and the cheapest way to sign up for it), she’s your girl.
Christina received a B.S. in Business Communication (concentration in writing) from Stevenson University and began her professional journey writing and editing press releases. Since then, she’s written content for a marketing agency, blogged for celebrities, and covered local news, politics, women’s lifestyle, fashion, beauty, and just about everything in between for various publications.
When she’s not writing, she’s probably enjoying live music, studying human design, or embroidering and upcycling clothes. You can follow her on Instagram at @touchinfinity.
