Best 100%-Rated Show of 2023 Coming to Netflix (and It's a Must-Watch for The Bear Fans)
The new Brit is similar to The Bear, but full of British sardonic wit.
Summary
FX's The Bear has been impressing critics and audiences alike since its first season, putting it on par with the most prestigious series, such as those produced by HBO. Both seasons proved to be as anxiety-inducing as they were deep, relatable and touching.
A key feature of the show was the frantic balancing of incredibly stressful workplace sequences with moments from the characters' personal lives (sometimes just as stressful), allowing us not only to relate to them, but to understand the trauma and motivation to continue working in the restaurant industry.
It was recently announced that the show has been renewed for a third and fourth season, which will be filmed back-to-back. Unfortunately, their release won't be anytime soon, so if you're not afraid of a nail-biting narrative and no less chaotic pacing, we suggest you stock up on sedatives just in case and familiarize yourself with the new British series that, like The Bear, chronicles the havoc and stress of the restaurant kitchen. It's coming to Netflix soon, and the show is definitely worth checking out, considering it has a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
New British Kitchen Drama
We're talking about the series Boiling Point (yes, it already has an incredibly evocative name), which premiered on BBC One last October. The series, which consists of four hour-long episodes, is really worth watching, so it's great that more people will now be able to get to know it, as it will be available on American Netflix in a month's time.
Created by Philip Barantini, James Cummings and Stephen Graham, the series is a sequel to the feature film of the same name, developed by Cummings and Barantini and released in 2021, which tells the story of a drama set in the kitchen of an upscale restaurant in London. It stars Stephen Graham himself as head chef Andy and Vinette Robinson as Carly, his sauce chef. And while the new series continues the story, it can also be seen as a stand-alone, as it now focuses on Robinson's character and Andy's other former employees as they try to stay afloat by opening a new restaurant in Point North.
Of course, as in The Bear, it's not just a cushy job; it's a daily struggle with stressful micromanagement, arguments, spiraling meltdowns, and sometimes far more dire consequences.
Rapturous Reviews from Critics and Audiences
On Rotten Tomatoes, the new series received a perfect 100% from critics and a very impressive 90% from audiences. Of course, comparisons to The Bear were inevitable, but many noted that this series has much more stress and tension, and the effects on the mental and physical state of the restaurant kitchen workers are sometimes much more critical (it's amazing that Carmi in The Bear didn't have a heart attack under those conditions).
Each of the characters is also going through drama in their personal lives, which sometimes spills over into the way they work and interact with their co-workers. All in all, the bosses in Boiling Point are incredibly fascinating to follow, as the show delivers impressive character development in just 4 episodes.
What Boiling Point has in common with The Bear is, of course, not only the workplace setting and the stress associated with constant overwork. First and foremost, it is the way in which the characters' emotions are conveyed: the original movie, like the 18-minute single take in Season 1 of The Bear, is shot as a one-shot. The British series is no less evocative in its tension and frenetic pace.
All four episodes will be available on Netflix on April 29.