Commentary: The Marketing Misstep Of ‘The Bear’

It must be frustrating for films and TV shows to rely so heavily on marketing to portray their image to a potential audience. A lot of times, great stories sink or swim on this portrayal. For instance, The Orville’s marketing set it up as a sitcom parody of Star Trek. While the show was heavily influenced by Star Trek, it was its own full-fledged science fiction adventure. FX’s The Bear faces a similar challenge. Because of Jeremy Allen White, who also starred in Shameless, The Bear’s marketing looked as if it was merely that previous series in a kitchen. And this is true to an extent, but the show is really so much more than it’s marketing campaign communicated.

The show essentially has White play a very gifted chef who left his job in a world-class restaurant in order to take over his brother’s sandwich shop after he committed suicide. He brings his world-class skills and talents to this sloppy shop and completely transforms not only the way the kitchen operates, but also how all of the other employees view their craft. They soon have an appreciation for the work that they are putting out. It’s about dining culture and atmosphere, something that the show’s marketing campaign really didn’t express enough. Instead, the marketing gave the show a similar vibe to Shameless, which oftentimes puts comedy first and foremost before drama.

Of course, the series certainly has plenty of drama similar to Shameless. The shop is really a family and friends affair, filled with colorful characters that are merely trying to survive in a very hard economic climate. This type of storytelling is very similar to Shameless. But The Bear has a whole other side about food and the restaurant business. It’s very hard to stand out in today’s climate of competitive television. A show like this truly deserves better from its marketing team so that its image actually reflects just how much it says about dining competitiveness and culture.

The Bear is now streaming on Hulu.