The Bear parents guide: What you should know before letting your kids watch the comedy-drama

Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri in The Bear | Image via Instagrama: fxnetworks
Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri in The Bear | Image via Instagrama: fxnetworks

FX's The Bear premiered in 2022 and is among the most popular shows in recent years. The show follows the story of Carmy, a trained chef, who returns to take over his family's beef sandwich shop after the death of his brother, Mikey. With an engaging narrative on how Carmy, with the help of Sydney, another chef, and his family and friends, turns the shop into a high-end restaurant called The Bear, the show is a must-watch for everyone.

However, as per IMDb, the comedy drama has a TV-MA rating, making it unsuitable for viewing by children under the age of 17. The show deals with sensitive subjects such as suicide and mental health struggles, which might be inappropriate for children, which is the reason the show is not suitable for children to watch.

More on this in our story.


The Bear parents guide

The Bear stars Jeremy Allen-White as Carmy, who comes back to his hometown, Chicago, and takes over the family sandwich shop. Over the 4 seasons, we see the chaotic journey of Carmy turning the shop into a high-end restaurant and trying to keep it afloat. The drama series is lauded for trying to replicate the tension that goes on behind the counter in a restaurant.

It surely is not an easy watch as we see the employees and Carmy try to complete the orders and maintain the place from turning into a mess. Apart from the inner workings in the restaurant, The Bear also presents the complicated lives of the characters and is filled with lots of family drama. However, it is the storyline of Mikey's s*icide and its impact on Carmy and his family that might be the primary reason for the TV-MA rating of the show.

Furthermore, the use of inappropriate language and arguments between the characters, which also includes cursing and shouting, might also be a reason this show is unsuitable for kids and has a TV-MA rating. Along with cursing and shouting, teh most violent activities that have been shown in the comedy drama are the argument scenes, where sometimes the characters even resort to breaking things such as plates, which might be intense for kids to watch.

Additionally, when it comes to n*dity, The Bear has only a few kissing scenes and some suggestive montages, which might be inappropriate for children's view. Further, since the show is about the restaurant business, there are numerous scenes where people are seen consuming alcohol, and also shows Cramy smoking after various intense moments that he encountered in his restaurant.

While the show might be suitable for mature adults and older teenagers due to the themes of depression, s*icide, and other psychological issues, with proper parental guidance, the show can also be shown to teenagers aged 15 and above due to many other themes, especially for the show's depiction of familial love that Carmy and his family and friends share.


Along with Jeremy Allen-White, The Bear also stars Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Lionel Boyce, Abby Elliott, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Jon Bernthal, among various others.

Also Read: Young Sheldon parents guide: What you need to know before letting your teen watch the TBBT spin-off?

Edited by Debashri Roy