is back, baby. After an oddly sluggish , “Next” returns us to the show’s baseline. Whereas “Tomorrow” roved the world and was extremely light on dialogue, “Next” restores the frenetic, overlapping rhythms that first made us fall in love with The Original Beef: a freewheeling jazz beat, the alto sax screeching with rancor even as the bassist strums a steady heartbeat of unconditional love.
Though Christopher Storer’s background is in TV and stand-up specials, it’d be easy to assume that he came up in theater; his dialogue is so dense, punchy, and character-specific that it practically leaps off the screen. And “Next,” a bottle episode set almost entirely within the cramped confines of the kitchen at The Bear, is the closest the show’s come to a play. We pick up where “Tomorrow” left off, with a sleepless Carmy ensconced in his castle with his six reworked dishes; a frantically scribbled list of Non-Negotiables; and a partnership agreement outlining how much of the restaurant Sydney, Natalie, and he each get a cut of.
“Next” “Next” Over the course of 25 real-time minutes, each member of Carmy’s quirky little family enters one by one, immediately clocking that their fearful leader is far from fine. (The fact that he decided to quit smoking literally hours before sure doesn’t ease the tension.) The first to arrive is Chi-Chi, played by none other than Christopher J.
Zucchero, the owner of the IRL Mr. Beef. He’s come bearing a box of micro.
