“The Bear” is back — sort of.
While the wait for the fifth (and possibly final) season continues, FX and Hulu surprise dropped a prequel episode of the series today, May 5.
Emmy winners Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Jon Bernthal took to Instagram to announce “Gary,” a prequel episode that follows their “Bear” characters on a work trip to Gary, Indiana.
The joint post notes that they “are so excited to finally share this little adventure with Richie and Mikey.” Moss-Bachrach and Bernthal co-wrote the episode.

Per the episode’s official description, the hour-long episode explores “the two friends’ complicated relationship, uncovering new layers of Mikey’s (Bernthal) mental state while offering crucial insight into the man Richie (Moss-Bachrach) is when audiences first meet him in Season 1 — adding emotional context that reframes their story from the very beginning.”
“Gary” is exclusive to Hulu and appears as its own show; it is not housed within “The Bear”s catalog. To stream it, you’ll have to search for “Gary” on the streaming service.
If you’re new to Hulu (or restarting your subscription), you can get started with a 30-day free trial on the streamer’s basic (with ads) plan. After the trial period, you’ll pay $10.99/month. If you want to upgrade to Hulu ad-free, it costs $18.99/month.
If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the Disney+ Bundles, all of which include Hulu. These bundles start at $12.99/month for ad-supported Disney+ and Hulu and goes up to $32.99/month for Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max, all ad-free.

Though an official date has yet to be confirmed, it’s expected that Season 5 of “The Bear” will premiere in June.
Neither FX nor Storer have commented on whether or not “The Bear” will wrap up with its upcoming fifth season, but recurring guest star Jamie Lee Curtis seemed to confirmed that the show would be coming to an end in an Instagram post.