Everything to Know About "The Bear" Season 2 — Including Some Major Cameos

In "The Bear" season one, Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto moves to Chicago to take over his family's sandwich shop, The Beef, after inheriting it from his brother, Michael. While in New York, Carmy worked at the best restaurant in the city and was a rising star in the world of fine dining. But when he moves back to Chicago, his new, strong-willed staff couldn't care less about his acclaim and aren't thrilled about his grand ideas to change the restaurant. But as the series progresses, the staff (and Carmy) come around, they start to work more efficiently together, the kitchen gets cleaner, and it becomes clear that — even through all the yelling and fighting — they have grown together and created a fantastic menu.

The penultimate episode of season one contains mostly screaming as the chefs try to get a handle on their new to-go ordering system. Carmy freaks out and lashes out at his sous chef, Sydney, and his baker, Marcus (Lionel Boyce), both of whom end up quitting. However, by the end of the finale, they return to The Beef. Carmy apologizes to them, but it's clear there's a lot to work through between the three.

Near the end of the season, Carmy and co. find a ton of money hidden in the tomato cans, left by Carmy's brother, Michael. Earlier in the finale, it's revealed that Michael and Carmy always envisioned opening a restaurant together called The Bear. At the end of the episode, Carmy posts a sign at the door saying The Beef is closed and The Bear is coming soon.

In season two, Carmy, Sydney, Richie, Carmy's sister Natalie (Abby Elliott) and the rest of the crew try to transform the restaurant into The Bear. They create a ruthlessly fast timeline and face tons of challenges when it comes to renovating and retooling the space.

"The Bear" season two includes White as Carmy, Edebiri as Sydney, Moss-Bachrach as Richie, Boyce as Marcus, Liza Colón-Zayas as Tina, Edwin Lee Gibson as Ebra, Matty Matheson as Neil Fak, and Elliott as Natalie, aka Sugar. Oliver Platt is also back as Cicero, aka Uncle Jimmy, who continues to loan them money for the restaurant. Chris Witaske is Pete, Sugar's husband.

Molly Gordon also joins the cast as Claire, Carmy's childhood friend he reconnects with who's now a doctor. Episode three also features cameos from quite a few real-life Chicago chefs, and Will Poulter cameos in episode four as a chef who helps train Marcus during his trip to Copenhagen.

In a 29 June interview with Variety, Poulter confessed that he "literally begged" to be on the show. "I called them," he explained. "I asked if I could meet with Chris Storer and basically communicated that I was such a fan of so much of his work, but especially 'The Bear.'" He called the experience "one of the best experiences of my life."

"He was kind enough to gift me with the offer to play Luca and it really changed my life, to be honest. It kind of helped me realise a dream of playing a chef on TV," Poulter explained, adding that he has "immense" respect for people who work in the restaurant industry and that they don't "get enough thanks." His mom, he said, also went to culinary school.

Episode six, titled "Fishes," takes place almost five years before the events of season two and flashes back to a Berzatto family Christmas. Jon Bernthal reprises his role as Carmy's late older brother, Michael (who died by suicide before season one), but the episode also features a ton of other cameos. The most significant is Jamie Lee Curtis as the family's overbearing matriarch, Donna. Bob Odenkirk also joins in the fun as Uncle Lee. Sarah Paulson plays Cousin Michelle and Chicago-native John Mulaney plays her partner Stevie. Gillian Jacobs plays Tiffany, who was then still married to Richie and pregnant with their daughter.

In episode seven, Oscar-winner Olivia Colman pops up as the chef at a three-star restaurant.

All 10 episodes of "The Bear" season two are streaming now on Disney+.