By now, it’s almost a summer tradition: binge-watching a new season of The Bear in one breathless sitting, then sitting with the emotional hangover for days. And thankfully, FX isn’t pulling the plug just yet – the wildly acclaimed series has officially been renewed for Season 5 (thank god).

Yep, Carmy, Sydney, Richie and the rest of the crew at The Bear will be back for another round of beautiful chaos in the kitchen. Season 4 just dropped on Disney+, and it’s already stirring up praise – both from fans and critics – for its layered storytelling and those perfectly timed emotional gut punches.

Here's what you need to know about the next instalment.

When will it be released?

We've been served up each new season of The Bear promptly each June on Disney+, so we don't expect season 5 to leave us hanging. We'll be pre-emptively making space in our calendars for season 5 in June 2026. (But, of course there's no official word on an actual release date yet.)

Who is returning?

As always, Jeremy Allen White returns as the high-strung culinary genius Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto, while Ayo Edebiri’s Sydney will continue to ground The Bear season 5. Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is still on his redemption arc for S5. The rest of the cast are apparently locked and loaded too. So we won't see any beloved characters pulling an Irish goodbye just yet.

There had been some concern about the cast’s packed schedules – White’s playing Bruce Springsteen, Edebiri is everywhere (and deserves to be), and Moss-Bachrach is officially entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But clearly, the gang is finding time to come back to the kitchen.

Why is the show so good?

FX chairman John Landgraf summed it up best: “Year-in and year-out, The Bear continues to be one of the best shows on television.” And he’s not wrong – last year it swept the Emmys with 11 wins, including Outstanding Comedy Series.

Not bad for a half-hour show about a Chicago-sandwich-shop-turned-fine-dining-battleground.