The Bear star says beloved restaurant drama can ‘easily do four more seasons’

Exclusive: Gary ‘Sweeps’ Woods actor Corey Hendrix shares his predictions for the Emmy-winnning drama’s future

The Bear star Corey Hendrix has predicted that the wildly popular restaurant drama could “easily” continue for another four seasons.

The Independent spoke to Hendrix at Stella Artois’ “Let’s Do Dinner” series in Los Angeles on Thursday, which was held in collaboration with the FX series ahead of its forthcoming third season.

Hendrix, who plays Gary “Sweeps” Woods in The Bear, said: “Of course, I want to say it can go on forever. But I think we can easily do like four more seasons or something.

“Because the first two seasons were a lot but I still feel like we haven't really gotten there yet.”

He continued: “The first season is the introduction. The second season, it's like we're trying to see if we can build this restaurant and now [in season three] it's like, okay let's see what happens. Let’s see if this is a good idea. So I still think it’s like everyone’s still trying to get there. So I feel like there are plenty more seasons left in The Bear.”

The Bear dominated awards season this year, picking up six trophies at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Carmy Berzatto actor Jeremy Allen White.

‘The Bear’ actor Corey Hendrix at Stella Artois’ ‘Let’s do Dinner: Summer Series’ in Los Angeles, California (Courtesy of Stella Artois)

The series follows award-winning chef Carmy as he attempts to turn his deceased brother’s sandwich shop into a fine dining destination. Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri also star and were awarded at this year’s Emmys.

The series debuted on FX in 2022 and has so far released two seasons. The third season will be released on June 27, 2024.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Moss-Bachrach reflected on the show’s runaway success while admitting that fans yelling his character’s name (Cousin) at him in public had gotten exasperating.

“Sometimes, you know, you’re just not having a great day,” he said. “And it’s just like: I’m sorry, man, I don’t have much for you.”

Hendrix (centre) with chefs Justin Pichetrungsi of Anajak Thai and Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco (Courtesy of Stella Artois)

Asked whether he’d had similar interactions with fans, Hendrix told The Independent: “People see me in random places and are like, ‘Hey, what’s up, chef?’ or ‘Hey, chef!’

“Because Sweeps is a supporting character, people recognise me but they don’t realise why right away. I just was in Beverly Hills and got a facial, and they were like, ‘You look so familiar.’”

Rather than clearing things up, Hendrix said he prefers to say: “I don’t know why I look familiar.”

Before season three has even been released, it was reported that the show had already been picked up for a fourth season, which was filmed back-to-back with the third.

It is thought that the decision to film two seasons of the program without a break is due to the schedules of the actors, with Edebiri and White being particularly in demand.

In 2023, Edebiri, who plays sous-chef Sydney, starred in several additional projects including Bottoms, Theater Camp, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The 28-year-old also made a cameo in the charming teaching faculty comedy, Abbott Elementary.

White, who plays tortured head chef Carmy, recently acted in the Zac Efron-fronted wrestling drama The Iron Claw and is set to play Bruce Springsteen in a biopic titled Deliver Me from Nowhere.

The Bear season three is out on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ in the UK and Ireland on 27 June.