{"id":17476,"date":"2025-06-26T22:49:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T22:49:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/17476\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T22:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T22:49:11","slug":"if-the-bear-season-4-premieres-without-promotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/17476\/","title":{"rendered":"If \u2018The Bear\u2019 Season 4 Premieres Without Promotion…"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThe Bear<\/a> is out of hibernation. FX<\/a> premiered the fourth season of its hit fine-cuisine dramedy on Hulu on Wednesday, June 25, which may come as a surprise to you.<\/p>\n

\n\tAhead of the first season of The Bear, you could not take New York City mass transit without being bombarded by ads for the unknown cooking show starring the guy who played Lip on Shameless. But even commuters couldn\u2019t fathom that the billboard they were staring at would turn into the new show of the year, let alone the summer. Ahead of the fourth season, anecdotally, it felt like there were further ads on the street \u2014 but there sure were plenty on our TikTok feeds. (A spokesperson for FX told us the marketing campaign was as robust as ever.)<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019ve probably also read little season four promotion in the press \u2014 like in The Hollywood Reporter, for example \u2014 and there are multiple reasons for that.<\/p>\n

\n\tFX had initially set up a junket for The Bear for Monday, June 9. The virtual press conference had a dual purpose: 1) to promote The Bear season four, and 2) to act as an FYC (For Your Consideration) awards campaign for season three. The junket was canceled \u2014 a scheduling issue, we were told at the time \u2014 and it was not rescheduled. <\/p>\n

\n\tThough we were told that talent would still be available for individual interviews, the show\u2019s three leads \u2014 Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri \u2014 were still \u201cmostly unavailable due to scheduling,\u201d FX said. (White has the Bruce Springsteen biopic from 20th coming later this year and Moss-Bachrach stars in July\u2019s Fantastic Four.) <\/strong>Series regular and executive producer (and former culinary consultant) Matty Matheson was also unavailable, as were other show producers, presumably including series creator and showrunner Christopher Storer.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt least they all had time to enjoy a meal at Musso & Frank.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebriri celebrated The Bear\u2019s upcoming fourth season with a dinner for the cast and producers at Musso & Frank Grill on Monday.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDavid Jon\/Getty Images for FX Networks<\/p>\n

\n\tOK, so that was just a little spirited ribbing. Of course they should celebrate the premiere for themselves \u2014 and this group has to go fine dining. <\/p>\n

\n\tFor those not in the entertainment-media business, it is rare to not have producers and major cast members made available to the press ahead of a new season \u2014 and exceedingly rare during awards campaign season. FX won the most Emmys of any network in 2024, so it\u2019s not exactly amateur hour for the brand; they known what they\u2019re doing and they clearly do it well.<\/p>\n

\n\tTV journalists are usually granted access to screeners ahead of a new season\u2019s release. A smaller pool than usual was sent screeners for The Bear season four (and for seasons two and three). FX shared screening links with only a select group of critics, which included (one at) THR. An FX spokesperson told THR that more than 219 critics and reporters were given early access at 108 publications. To be fair, curating a tight list of critics and publications is not a wholly uncommon practice for the highest-caliber of series \u2014 HBO does it too. It is network PR\u2019s job to control access and avoid leaks. Screeners are a privilege, not a right \u2014 it\u2019s just that usually more people are in on that privilege.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat critics could and could not do \u2014 or rather, when they could or could not do something \u2014 with those screeners is a bit weirder. Reviews of The Bear season four were embargoed for publication until 11:15 p.m. PT Wednesday night (which is 2:15 a.m. ET on Thursday), or a seemingly random six hours and 15 minutes after premiering (8 p.m. ET\/5 p.m. PT on Wednesday). It wasn\u2019t random at all, THR math found. The collective runtime of all 10 season four episodes is precisely \u2014 you guessed it \u2014 six hours and 15 minutes. So in theory and in practice, a super fan could watch and finish (exactly) the entirety of The Bear season four before the moment a TV critic\u2019s review could influence their opinion and action. But that wasn\u2019t the point of it, the FX spokesperson said. The embargo was simply an attempt to not spoil information about the season\u2019s guest stars or how the season ends.<\/p>\n

\n\tReview embargoes are a very common logistical practice in TV and film, though one\u2019s exact timing can sometimes speak volumes about the internally perceived quality of the product. For example, in the movie world, a day-of-release embargo on reviews is often a sign the studio knows its movie sucks. In TV, it is much more nuanced. For example, it has become common for a platform \u2014 especially a streaming one \u2014 to embargo a review until 12:01 a.m. on the day of a TV premiere. You have to pick a time, and in an industry that barely programs to time slots anymore, the literal first minute of the day on which a new show or a new season is released is as good as any. The embargo for The Bear season four, however, is rare.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut it\u2019s not the craziest we\u2019ve ever seen. It\u2019s not even the craziest we\u2019ve seen in the past month or so. For its feature film Ballerina, a spin off from John Wick, the studio Lionsgate (basically) asked critics to adhere to one embargo for positive reactions and a later one for negative takes. That did not go over well<\/a>, nor should it have. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd we\u2019re not suggesting that FX believes The Bear season four stinks \u2014 they don\u2019t \u2014 our belief is that the strict rules surrounding this one reflects the seriousness Storer feels for shielding fans from even the smallest potential spoilers on his show. Again, we have receipts.<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the night of the season four premiere, an FX rep emailed media asking that a \u201cspoiler alert\u201d be issued \u201cat the top of all detailed reviews\/recaps\/coverage.\u201d Generally that\u2019s just good practice if there are semi-significant spoilers. But FX (and Hulu) didn\u2019t even release the episode titles and descriptions for The Bear season four until Thursday. That\u2019s maybe a bit much.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis precedent here was set well before the new season. For season one, when The Bear was a totally unknown summer show, a combination that rarely results in a flood of Emmys, the \u201cdo not reveal\u201d spoilers list even included the guest casting of Oliver Platt as Carmy\u2019s (Jeremy Allen White) uncle. No offense to Platt, but reporting his role is not exactly akin to breaking the next James Bond. We\u2019re not saying that\u2019s a crazy-egregious example of what goes on inside The Bear\u2019s PR machine, but it is an example.<\/p>\n

\n\tFX is generally very press-friendly, which is why much of this feels particularly unusual (and makes it easy, correctly or incorrectly, to presume that Storer is the applying a particular level of pressure here). But FX is also fan-friendly, a job the spokesperson said it must take as seriously as it does its interaction with the media. That can often be a delicate balancing act, the spokesperson said. And they don\u2019t always get it right. You know who else doesn\u2019t always get things right? The media.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut the media loves FX, and we do feel that, typically, it loves us back. Since we\u2019ve been talking inside baseball throughout this whole story, here\u2019s a recent very inside baseball example of the love-fest: When FX\u2019s longtime publicity boss, John Solberg, internally announced his plans to retire, many entertainment publications (like THR) covered it as industry news<\/a>. That\u2019s not exceedingly rare, but it is a tip of the cap to Solberg\u2019s impact on the business, both professionally and personally. Most (if not all) of us genuinely like John, but John earned the coverage through his accomplishments. As has Solberg\u2019s boss, John Landgraf.<\/p>\n

\n\tLandgraf, is considered one of the most reputable executives in the business. When he speaks, we cover. Landgraf is a TV genius who has shepherded FX to the top of most critics\u2019 lists. (Solberg is the one who fostered those reviews, and the one who oversaw the rules related to The Bear\u2019s season four publicity campaign.) Landgraf also famously coined the phrase \u201cPeak TV\u201d<\/a> \u2014 in 2024, he declared it over<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo none of this is a shot at FX \u2014 not from us, at least. We see the experience with The Bear\u2019s publicity machine to be a one-off. But it is still just\u2026 off.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tChristopher Storer at the Emmys<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Bear needed season four to be good \u2014 while the first and second seasons were beloved by both critics and everyday viewers, audiences turned their backs a bit on season three (the critical reception was also down, but not as dramatically).<\/p>\n

\n\tThe restrictive embargo has now lifted, the season four reviews are in, and they\u2019re\u2026pretty good, to be honest. Yes, the new season has endured the show\u2019s worst critical reception thus far, but the sentiment from TV critics is still generally positive. <\/p>\n

\n\tWell, not all TV critics. THR\u2019s Angie Han didn\u2019t love it.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn her review<\/a>, Han wrote that \u201cthe latest run has the feel of a show burnt out from the effort of trying to outdo itself. Rather than push forward or drill deeper, it retreats into familiar territory as it prepares, maybe, to wind down for good.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe spark that lit up earlier volumes has dimmed significantly,\u201d Han wrote. <\/p>\n

\n\tOf course, by now, you\u2019ve had more than those six hours and 15 minutes to decide what you think for yourself about The Bear season four. If, that is, you knew it was even on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Bear is out of hibernation. FX premiered the fourth season of its hit fine-cuisine dramedy on Hulu…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":17477,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[171,12560,16952,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-17476","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-fx","10":"tag-the-bear","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114752111579949838","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}